Shirtings are heavily-sized goods, 125 per cent. not being unusual. The widths vary from 38 to 50 inches, length about 37-1/2 yards long-stick. Reed and pick from 12 square to 19 × 18. These goods are made to weight—thus, a 39-inch 16 × 15 weighs 8-1/4lb.; a 45-inch, 9lb.; a 50-inch 10lb. Various kinds are made, some medium-sized. What is known as Indian shirting is the heavy-sized class.
Shirtings are exported to India, China, Japan, Turkey, Italy, Levant. A good class is made, bleached, and exported to Egypt, Japan, India, and China, as white shirtings.
Dhooties are shirtings ornamented by stripes of grey or coloured yarn, and in suitable lengths for Hindoo loin cloths. The stripes are not of very varied character in grey dhooties, being simply tape edges formed by cramping grey or bleached yarn at the selvage. In coloured dhooties, stripes of vari-coloured warps are introduced about an inch from the edge of the cloth, and varying from half an inch in width to 4 inches, sometimes being introduced at intervals all across the piece. In dobby-dhooties these stripes are woven in figures.
A range of dhooties includes all widths from 22 to 50 inches, and the length of scarf varying from 2 yards in the smaller size to 5 yards in the larger. A scarf is the distance between the headings, which in these goods are very extensive, sometimes reaching to 20 inches in length at the juncture of the two scarves.
A Range = 22 inches and 23 inches = 2-yard scarf.
24 inches and 25 inches = 2-1/2 " "
26 inches and 28 inches = 3 " "
29 inches and 32 inches = 3-1/2 " "
35 inches ... ... ... = 4 " "
The higher widths being variously 4-1/2 or 5 yards.
Dhooties are made up in about 40-yard lengths—thus, a piece 44 inches wide would contain 4 double scarves. The yarns employed vary similarly to shirtings, from 30/40’s warp, 36/60’s wefts.
The dress of a male Hindoo consists of a dhootie containing 4 square yards, a doputta of 8 square yards, and a turban of 12 square yards; whilst in addition the Hindoo woman wears sarrie, a similar cloth to the dhootie. India is the recipient of the dhooties in greatest quantity. Sarongs go to Java, patadiongs to the Phillipines.
The shirtings here mentioned must not be confused with the home trade shirtings—goods in which only the finest yarns are used, free from any of the objectionable filling referred to above. To this class belong long-cloths, mediums, Wigans (plain and twill), double warps and twills. Export long-cloths are plain goods, shirting style, 36 yards long, generally 36 inches wide, 12 square, medium size.
Another group of sized cloths, next in importance to the shirtings, consists of the T-cloths, Mexicans, domestics, and madapollams. T-cloths are always 24 yards in length, of coarse yarns, heavily sized, from 28 to 32 inches wide, 12 × 10 to 16 × 16,[4] 4lb. and 6lb. in weight. The name is derived from the mark [T] of the first exporters. Exported to India, China, Japan, South America, Roumania and Servia.