Testing Textile Fabrics. This is an age of adulteration, and next to food there is probably no commodity that is adulterated as much as the clothing we wear. Large purchasers of textile fabrics and various administrative bodies, such as army clothing departments, railway companies, etc., have adopted definite specifications to ensure having good material and workmanship. Before the fabrics are accepted they are examined carefully by certain tests to see if they meet the requirements. Wholesale and retail merchants insist on various conditions when purchasing fabrics in order to conform to the increasing needs of the public. Hence every manufacturer, buyer, or dealer in fabrics should be familiar with the tests used to determine the quality of goods he is about to buy.
The tests used are as follows:
1. Identification of the style of weaving.
2. Testing the breaking strength and the elasticity by the dynamometer.
3. Determining the “count” of warp and filling.
4. Determining the shrinkage.
5. Testing the constituents of warp and of filling.
6. Testing the finish and dressing materials.
7. Testing the fastness of the dye.
Directions for Determining the Style of Weave. In examining a fabric for the weave it is first necessary to determine the direction of the warp and filling threads. This is a very simple matter in a great many fabrics that have a selvedge—the warp must be parallel to the selvedge.