Printed fabrics.—Both hand-and machine-made printed fabrics are produced in an enormous variety; on linen, cotton, silk, rayon, mohair, wool, and jute grounds; and on plain twill, rep, damask, velvet, and other grounds.
1. Printed linens are made on grounds which vary in fineness and smoothness according to the scale and decorative character of the design. Hand-blocked linens vary in price with the quality of materials and craftsmanship, and also with the number of blockings required to form the design. In recent years both linen and cotton grounds have to some extent been machine-printed with wooden rollers instead of copper or brass, and against a padded backing, which has resulted in improving both line and coloring, and in giving them much the appearance of hand-blocked fabrics.
2. Cretonnes are made both by hand-and by roller-printing processes on unglazed cotton ground of widely varying texture and decorative effect, and at prices ranging from a few cents per yard for the cheapest roller-printed fabrics up to $15 or more for the elaborately hand-blocked effects. Thick and heavy cretonnes are made for wall panels and furniture coverings, and a few splendid figure panels are available in Gothic, heraldic, and mille fleur designs which resemble the old painted tapestries of fifteenth century France.
3. Chintzes are printed on a fine cotton holland. Glazed chintzes have a varnish-like glow and considerable stiffness; semi-glazed are less glossy and more soft and pliable; unglazed closely resemble good cretonne, but the texture is finer.
4. Warp-prints or shadow prints are made by a process similar to that employed in drum-painting velvet carpets. Designs produced by this technique necessarily lack definition, and have a soft and shadowy appearance which cannot be produced by hand or roller printing. The most effective warp prints are of plain or mercerized cotton.
Embroideries.—Embroideries are justly considered important today. The art of the needle worker ranks close to that of the weaver of fine rugs and tapestries. Two only of its many forms are mentioned here.
1. Crewel work is customarily worked with colored worsted yarns on a plain linen ground, sometimes completely covered, but usually left open to form a background for the pattern. The stitches are varied in direction and character in order to give interest and richness to the texture. Most of the crewel work sold in the stores today is made with the bonnaz embroidery machine, which closely simulates the decorative effect of needlework.
2. Needlepoint embroidery is worked on open canvas. The fine or "petit point" (little point) is formed by stitches taken diagonally from one opening in the canvas to the next. The coarse or "gros (big) point" is made by similar stitches twice the length, and with thicker yarns.
Practically everything written about upholstery fabrics stresses their decorative value or their appropriateness to other furnishings in the room. Little is reported about their physical structure or durability. Those desiring to make a comparison of fabrics for breaking strength, weight per square yard, fabric balance, and resistance to abrasion will do well to secure a copy of Circular No. 483, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The title is "Proposed Minimum Requirements of Three Types of Upholstery Fabrics Based on Analysis of 62 Materials." Copy may be secured from Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., price 5 cents.