Fig. 26
TAPESTRY VELVET. 2 SHOTS IN THE GROUND
A three-shot fabric is, of course, more expensive to make than a two-shot; and there is also the consideration that, unless the pile is pretty high, the double shot on the top will tend to make the surface grin. The method, therefore, of using a double shot in the ground is sometimes adopted. (Fig. 26.)
The Tapestry branch of the carpet trade has naturally passed through a development similar to that of other makes, in that it has found the demand passing from piece goods to sewn breadth squares, and from them to seamless carpets; and it has progressed accordingly. The greater part of the Tapestry trade at the present time is done in squares, and the enquiry for carpets 9 ft. and 12 ft. wide seems to be a growing one. This tendency throws additional burdens on the manufacturer. Square carpets involve more designing and more printing than piece goods; and the amount of preparation required is a very serious item. Before one complete carpet can be produced, preparations have to be made for from 200 to 300, or, in the case of medallions, double the number. That is one of the disadvantages of the manufacture; a further defect is inherent in the fabric. However accurately and carefully the processes of printing, scraping, setting, and weaving may be carried out, the transition from one colour to another cannot be made quite sudden and complete. The colour will appear to have run; and the shade which belongs to one wire will tend to trespass on to the next. This means that with Tapestry it is never quite possible to produce the clearly-defined pattern effect, which is produced in Brussels and Wilton, and which is naturally looked for in all fabrics of moderately fine pitch.
Apart from this, the Tapestry carpet has much to commend it. It can be produced and sold at a moderate price; it can be made seamless, and it has great potentialities of design; while, for those who like plenty of colour, the range of shades available is practically unlimited.
CHAPTER X
INGRAIN
The kind of carpet that is variously called Kidderminster, Scotch, or Ingrain, differs considerably from any of the carpets hitherto described. Perhaps essentially, and in regard to texture, it is most akin to hand-woven Tapestry, having a flat ribbed surface, without tufts like Axminster or loops like Brussels.
