fancy weaving

This term has various meanings. In a plain weaving district such as Rawtenstall or Burnley, a drill is a fancy cloth, while in a shed where jacquards are used the weavers would call a brocade leno a fancy. Generally a fancy cloth is any cloth that exhibits some additional decorative feature of weave, colour, fancy yarns, etc.

subst. fancy weaving

An open edging for ladies' dress, of silk thread corded. It obtains its name from its resemblance to the convolutions of a hairy caterpillar, the Chenille of France. ———————— This is a term primarily applied to a fancy yarn which is made by weaving. The usual method of production is to arrange two pairs of leno threads in one dent of the reed, with a suitable space between, according to the thickness of the chenille yam required. The yarn can be white, mono-coloured or multi-coloured. In the latter case multiple boxes are required on the loom and are changed in accordance with the design desired. After weaving, the fabric is cut lengthways in the middle of the space between each group of four leno threads. This makes continuous chains of short tufts of weft pile and constitutes the chenille yarn. It is mostly used as weft for the production of table covers, hangings, dressing gowns, rugs, carpets, and as fancy yam effects in dress and other fabrics.

The underside of a cloth as woven in the loom. Some cloths are woven face down for ease in weaving; as, for instance, warp satins, in which the lift is 4 / 1, by weaving face down, only one thread is lifted and four remain down. The pattern in a fancy cloth will always indicate the face, and so will the finish.

A fabric in which an open effect is woven by causing certain threads named doup threads to cross over one or more threads, termed standard threads. Very fancy and beautiful cloths are produced by combining this cross-weaving with other weaves. The term is applied generally to all light fabrics in which the cross-weaving principle is used.

The name given to the special machines used on the Picardy hand looms for weaving the special style of patterns termed " balloon " of the fancy grenadine type. A moveable lath is placed in front of the batten which carries wire hooks arranged at regular distances. The hook tops are formed at a sharp angle instead of the usual curve, and the weaver brings the whole warp down flat on to the batten, and then moves the lath and its hooks so as to take a portion of the warp aside. This part of the warp is drawn down underneath the other portion, and brought up again in another place, a pick being put in the opening, and the whole returns to its normal position for weaving the ground portion.

Fabrics having cords or ribs in the direction of the warp produced by interweaving the weft in plain or twill order with alternate groups of warp threads. The ribs may be emphasised by the addition of wadding or stuffing warp threads. Generally woven in dobby looms. All cotton, all wool or mixed. A standard cotton cloth is made 36-in., 144 X 100 per inch, 40's/50's, with 20's wadding ends. The diagram gives the weave. When the face ends X are weaving plain in one section, the face ends are lifted in the other section, this is for two picks, and then the weave is reversed. The plain ends are separated in the reed. ▪ Another cloth is made 30-in. from 24's warp, 36's weft, with every seventh cord made from coloured yarn. A heavy cloth is made for use as riding breeches in many qualities. Also made with wool yams. The illustration (A) shows a fancy Bedford cord for dress goods. There are ten padding cords to the inch, as shown by the broader cord stripes. These dress goods styles are made from a two-fold warp and single weft, all Egyptian yams. Fabric B is a three-colour fancy weave. The term " London Cord " is given to a heavy cotton Bedford Cord, woven with a 2 X 1 twill face. One quality is 88 X 80 per inch, 16/20's. Frequently padding ends are used to give prominence to the cords. Bedford Cord shirtings are made from the 144 X 110 cloth, usually 33/34-in. and with coloured stripes

(See knitting). All yarns used for knitting are termed hosiery yarns in Leicester, but in America only yarns actually used for knitted footwear come under this term. These yarns are much softer than required for weaving. Miscellaneous Yarns - Goat wools, such as llama and alpaca are employed in spinning. yarns for the knitting trade. Vicuna and camel yarns are used to a limited extent. Ramie yarn is specially employed for knitting gas mantle fabrics. Soft spun flax yams have been used for making underwear fabric. Chenille and other manufactured threads are used to a small extent in warp knitting. Composite yarns, such as union yarns - spun from a mixture of wool and cotton fibres; cordon yarns - cotton and worsted singles, doubled together; wool and rayon or spun silk, cotton and rayon or spun silk are largely used to produce self or two-colour effects. Fancy yarns, such as slub yams, voiles, and curled and loop yarns are also employed. Hosiery Yarns (Cotton) include condenser, hosiery, condenser lisle thread, mercerised and sewing cottons. Condenser yarns are spun in coarse counts from low-grade cotton, Indian and American. They are carded, condensed and mule spun, and possess little twist. Hosiery cotton yarns vary considerably in counts and qualities, practically all varieties of Indian, American and Egyptian being used in varying proportions to obtain suitable mixture for quality and price. Cheaper yarns are carded and mule spun. American and Egyptian cotton yarns are combed mainly with the object of removing seed particles. High-class Egyptian and Sea Islands cotton yarns are super-combed. The chief features of a hosiery cotton yam should be: (1) Regularity; (2) cleanliness; (3) fullness. Regularity prevents the making of cloudy fabric, showing thick and thin places. Cleanliness is essential, as the seed particles clog the eyelet hole in the yam guides and cause breakages. Fullness is desirable to cover the loop interstices. Elasticity and pliability are quite as essential as tensile strength. Yams are usually soft spun and if two-fold soft doubled, average twists in two-fold being 2/10's 6¹/₂T., 2/20's 8¹/₂T., 2/30's 10T., 2/40's 16T., 2/80's 20T. Softer twist less 25 to 30 per cent of average (T= turns per inch). Lisle thread is a comparatively hard-twisted and doubly-gassed thread in which there are no projecting fibres. It is always of a two-fold character, and the doubling twist varies from 24 to 34 turns per inch in 2/60's. It is used largely in the manufacture of ladies' hose tops and feet and for lace hosiery. Mercerised yams are used largely in the fancy trade, a comparatively soft twist again being employed. Sewing cottons for seaming, linking and making-up are specially prepared in two to six cord open and reverse twist. Woollen and Worsted Yarns include lamb's wool, wheeling, skein yarns, gala yams (woollens), worsted, crossbreds, fingering, cashmere, dry spun botany (see under each name). Worsted and crossbred yarns of various qualities are used. These yams are spun softly with " hosiery twist." The drawing may be open, cone or French, and the spinning may take place on cap, ring or flyer frames. The chief essentials of hosiery yarn are softness of fibre, fullness, minimum of twist consistent with the requisite tensile strength, regularity, pliability and elasticity. Cashmere Yarns, as used in the knitted goods industry, are spun from short, loose and weak wools as well as from better qualities by French drawing and mule spinning. A small proportion of real cashmere is used for outer garments. In recent years nylon yarns have been largely employed.

Ancient tapestries in which are shown the arranging and grouping picks of certain colours and lengths in the weaving of fancy designs. This is the basis of the construction of both the Assyrian and Babylonian tapestries.

A fancy yam with a metallic core, in several colours, used for weaving, knitting, etc. The thick yam is dyed in a chemical solution.