Another example of an effective form of fancy elastic weaving may be seen at Fig. 3, where the center or rubber part of the web is made to imitate a shirred effect. In the regular method of shirring a piece of plain elastic web is used, under tension, and is passed through a sewing machine where a wider piece of ribbon or some other light non-elastic material is stitched to it by a series of needles running side by side. When the web contracts, upon being released from tension, the non-elastic part forms in a regular fluting on the face of the web. At the same time the remainder of the wider non-elastic section frills up on either side of the elastic part.
Fig. 1A.—Harness and Chain Draft for Fig. 1
Fig. 2A.—Harness and Chain Draft for Fig. 2
The method of producing this effect direct upon the loom is done by an interchange of weaves, first making a short section of single cloth and then changing to a short section of double cloth weave. There being no binder warp employed to knit the upper and lower cloths together, the strands of rubber will lie between the two cloths so formed. Upon the contraction of these strands of rubber the outer cloths are thrown out, and appear as flutings on the web, while the side sections in which there is no rubber will complete the frill effect. This woven method has in it the advantage of making both sides of the web alike, whereas in the stitched shirring the back of the goods is not so presentable and unfits it for many uses. It also eliminates the added expense of labor in assembling the different parts.
Novel Decoration at Edges
A novel form of decoration is seen at the extreme edge of the fancy frill at Fig. 4. This may be produced by what is known as the draw-in method. This effect was formerly produced by the use of additional banks of shuttles in a rise and fall lay, but is now made by using two threads of cabled silk coming from spools, these threads being worked by the harness the same as a warp. They are very lightly delivered by a delicately adjusted return spring arrangement. The threads are operated on a special harness, being passed through the harness eyes outside of all the other warp stock, and then through a dent in the front reed as far away from the other stock as is desirable to form the size of the loop required.
Fig. 3.—Woven Shirred Effect