Fig. 14
SECTION OF CHENILLE AXMINSTER
| A, | Chenille fur |
| C, | Fur wefts |
| D, | Catcher warp |
| E, | Float warp |
| F, | Stuffer warp |
| G, | Chain |
| H, | Filling weft |
In a typical Chenille carpet, such as that which is beaten up 4 to the inch, as above mentioned, the pitch of the design will be 12 or 13 per inch (the beat-up of the weft), and of the sley 7, though, indeed, the latter is arbitrary, and need bear no relation to the fur. There will be three warp beams, the catcher beam, the chain beam, and the stuffer beam. A fourth is often added, called the float. The catcher warp consists of fine cotton, coloured in some neutral shade, so as to be as nearly invisible as possible, its function being merely to hold down the fur weft when it is inserted into the fabric. The chain, or ground warp, which is generally of jute yarn, is double, and is threaded on to two gears, which rise and fall alternately as in Brussels. The stuffer or dead warp, also of jute, runs straight into the fabric, and gives it substance.
For a 3½ or 4 per inch Chenille carpet, of average quality, two shuttles will be used, one carrying the jute binding weft, and the other the fur. There are four picks of jute weft to one of fur, and at the end of the fifth pick the loom stops automatically with the chain and stuffer horizontal, and the catcher warp forming a shed, under which the fur has just been carried. The weavers, two to each wide loom, will then set the fur, taking care that it matches correctly against the last fur shot, and that the pile points upwards. They will also lightly comb up the fur, so that it beds against the last shot, and the catcher threads settle down neatly through the pile. This done, the loom is re-started: the first beat of the sley pushes the fur shot home, and the next four jute shots are put in.
For closer weaves than 4 per inch, two jute weft shots may suffice, while heavy woollen-backed carpets are produced by the employment of a shuttle carrying a woollen weft.
In the case of heavy-backed carpets, the double shed is usually employed, the adjoining chain ends rising alternately, so that they show on the back in diagonal lines.
The object of a float warp, which rises a little above the level of the stuffer warp just when the fur shot is being woven, is to support the fur shot, and give a fuller and more level effect to the carpet.
There is another method of inserting the weft adopted in looms of a different make, whereby it is carried between the catcher and the other gears by a travelling arm, which leads the fur from a basket or can in which it is placed loose. This has the advantage of enabling a long length of fur to be woven, while it also avoids the crushing of the fur which results from its being wound on to a cop. With this method the catcher beam is placed high up in the middle of the loom, and the sley is made of stronger reeds, open at the top to allow the catcher warp ends to descend between them.
From the loom the complete carpet passes to the finishing room, where it is picked back and front, brushed, steamed, combed, and shorn; all these processes tending to fill out and level the surface. It is then passed or examined for any defects that may have escaped notice in the first mending. The ends of the carpet, which are woven without fur, are turned over and hemmed, preferably by machine. The carpet is then subjected to a final scrutiny before being swept, rolled, and dispatched to the packing room or warehouse.
As has been intimated, considerable variety of quality can be obtained in Chenille Axminster by altering the pitch and thickness of the fur in the weft loom, or the beat-up in the setting loom. In practice, however, competition has centred mainly round two standards of quality: one about 12 shots of yarn per inch in the fur, by 3½ or 4 per inch beat-up in the setting loom; and the other about 14 in the fur and 5 in the setting loom. Extra qualities, however, are also largely made, and heavy fabrics which give an excellent imitation of some Oriental carpets.