After the cloth is woven it is stiffened, and stretched in a frame for cutting. [Fig. 359] shows the kind of knife used for this purpose. The guide A is selected so as to fit under the float easily and lift the centre of the float to the cutting edge B. The cutter inserts the knife and guide every two ends or “race,” and thus in a common velvet, as at [Fig. 358], one-third of the pile picks are cut each time the knife is run up the piece. The arrows show the ends where the knife is inserted.
Machine cutting is now adopted to some extent for velvets. The piece is moved backwards and forwards automatically, and so the cutter does not require to walk the length of the frame every time the knife is run up the piece.
The term velvet is used by retailers and the general public as referring to silk velvet, and by them all cotton pile fabrics are termed velveteens; but in the trade the lighter and finer classes of cotton weft pile fabrics are velvets, and the heavier kinds, such as those used for clothing purposes, are called “velveteens.” There is no very definite line drawn between the two classes.
Velvets are usually sold by weight when in the grey state. The pattern given at [Fig. 329] is made to weigh from 18 lbs. to 30 lbs. for 100 or 110 yards, 24 inches wide, the yarns being as previously stated, and the various weights obtained by altering the number of picks per inch. About 25 lbs. per 110 yards is a medium weight.
The usual width for home trade velvets is 24 inches (grey), but for shipping 22½ inches is a very common width. The pieces are usually woven two or three in a width of the loom, and afterwards torn asunder.
FIG. 360.
The length of the pile may be increased by increasing the length of the float. [Fig. 360] is a pattern with a seven float, and four pile picks to each backing, or ground pick. This is usually called an E1 velvet, a term probably handed down from the origination of the pattern.
Until well into the last century the pattern [Fig. 358] was the only weave used in the production of cotton velvets, and a patent was obtained for this E1 velvet, and the term “Patent” is still regularly used when referring to velvets with a longer pile than a five float.