Use of Four Leaf Twill
A four leaf twill, however, can be used to great advantage when a heavy body is desired, as for example what is known as “farmer’s web.” These are usually made about two inches wide, and to further add to their weight they have what is termed a cushion back, the weave of which is 7 down and 1 up. The use of these soft weaves on both face and back, while giving the web great thickness on account of the deep velvet-like pile produced, deprives it of much of its firmness. This condition is met by the introduction of an auxiliary back warp, underneath the main back warp, weaving 3 down and 1 up, which knits the upper and lower cloth more firmly together, thus increasing the firmness of handles of the goods.
Fig. 3.—Five Thread Face Over 6 Dent Repeat
Another web among the plain loom products calling for passing mention is that specially made for the police and fireman’s brace. While this has a 7 down and 1 up cushion back similar to the farmer’s web, it differs in having a smooth plain face in place of a twill. This arrangement of combining a plain face with a cushion back necessitates selection of the sizes of yarn used for the various warps so as to maintain a proper balance of the different weaves employed in the face and back. Otherwise the goods would curl up and it would be impracticable to cut them up for manufacture. Consideration must also be given to the effect of padding the size upon such goods in the finishing process, of which we will say more later.
Filling Fancy Effects
All the webs so far described have been such as could be produced on cam looms of various capacities. We will now turn our attention to what are generally understood as fancy effects. It might be well to treat these under two distinct headings. Those made with the shuttle, or what are called filling patterns, and those made from the warp, or what are called stitch patterns.
The figures or fancy effects produced by floating the filling over sections of the warp show up the filling with increased luster in contrast to the warp. They are confined to no particular character of design, and may range from the simplest effect produced on the fancy harness loom or dobby to the more elaborate jacquard design. The ground or body may be either plain or twill, or any other acceptable weave suitable as a base for figuring, while the filling may be of a contrasting color, either of silk or cotton as desired. The figure or design may be made from the same shuttle used for the ground or it may be made by an auxiliary shuttle, either used as an overshot or rise and fall, according to the character of web desired.
Where the figure is made from the ground shuttle it is produced as a sunken effect. It is made by burying sections of the face warp at intervals so that in place of the face warp the filling is seen at these points. No additional figure warps are required for this class of goods, and elaborate designs are obtainable, although there is not the scope for cross coloring that there is in the warp figure method.