Berlin Silk

See Silk Yarns.

Silk yarns are composed of a number of silk filaments twisted together, usually 8 to 12 to form a thread. The filaments have a natural coating of gum which gives strength and elasticity, but reduces lustre. The gum must be boiled off if lustre is wanted, which may be done either in the yarn state or when woven in cloth. Silk yarns are divided into two classes, " thrown silk" and " spun silk," the first being yarns that are made by the processes of reeling and throwing, and the second consisting of yarns spun from waste silk. Thrown Silk, or Net Silk comprises organzine and tram yarns, organzine being made from the most perfect cocoons and used for warps. Tram is made from the inferior cocoons and used as weft. All silk contains a proportion of natural gum, and the amount of gum removed give rise to the following terms: - Boiled-off Silk - Yarn which has had all the gum removed, and has the highest sheen (see Boiled-off). Hard Silk - Yarn that has not undergone any boiling-off process. Ecru Silk - Yarn boiled to remove about 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the gum by light washing in lukewarm water. Souple Silk - Yarn boiled to remove about one-sixth of the gum. Bengal Silk - See Bengal Silk. Berlin Silk - A silk yarn made for fancy hand work. It is produced by doubling from 4 to 8 twisted singles grege by a right-hand twist; then again doubling three of these with a left-hand twist. The thread is very round, smooth, and hard, also known as cordon-net. Blond Silk - A special silk yarn made by doubling three grege threads left-hand twist, then doubling three of these together with right-hand twist. Brights - Silk which has been entirely de-gummed in the skein and then dyed. Bourette, Bourrette Yarn - A low grade of silk yarn made from the waste produced by schappe spinning. Canton Silk - See Canton Silk. Chiffon Twist - Single raw silk threads, 50 or more turns per inch. Used for chiffons, crepe-de-chines, etc. Crepe-de-Chine - Hard twist tram silk, about 40 to 70 turns per inch. Made from 3 to 5 raw silk ends. Usually woven as weft. Crepe Georgette - Hard twist raw silk usually made from two threads 13/15 deniers, 50 or more turns, both right and left twist, used for crepe georgettes as warp and weft. Crepe Twist - This is tram silk hard twisted, having from 30 to 100 turns per inch. Used for making fabrics of a crepe character both all silk and mixtures. Cordonnet Silk - See Berlin Silk; also under Cordonnet. Eri Silk - A raw silk obtained from the wild silkworm " Attacus ricini." Flock Silk - A general term used to indicate silk yarns made from the outer uneven parts of the cocoon. Floss Silk - Used principally for embroidery purposes. It is a thrown silk and made by doubling two thick raw singles with right-hand twist together with a left-hand twist. Galette Silk - A coarse silk yarn made from waste. Grenadine Silk - Organzine silk with a large number of turns per inch. Jaspe Silk - Silk warps printed in the hank. Ombre Silk - Skein dyed yarn in a gradation of shades, which run in sequence of depth of colour, varying from five up to forty shades. Schappe Silk - A spun silk yarn which is made from silk degummed by the maceration process used on the Continent (see Schappe Silk). Soie Ondee - See Soie Ondee. Silk Yarns - In addition to the foregoing yarns see under the following terms for further silk yarns: - Cable, Cevennes, Chappe, Chine, Clochepeid, Crocheting, Crue (see Ecru), Cuite Cusier, Cusirino, Degummed, Docken, Doup-pion. Ecru, Embroidery, Etschingo, Filature, Filature a 1'Europeune, Filet, Florette, Fringe, Goffered, Grege, Gum Hainin, Hard, Kahing, Knitting, Lousy, Marabout, Maybasch, Melange, Mele, Mi-cuit, Minchcw, Nett, Noil, Organzine, Ouvrees, Oval, Pearlina, Pel, Pelo, Poie, Pure dye Silk, Raw (see Grege), Re-reels, Retorse, Senegal, Sewing, Simonita, Soft Singles, Soie Ondee, Souple, Spun, Steeped, Strafilato, Stumba, Thrown, Tors San File, Tram, Tramette, Tsatlees, Tussah, Twist, Washed, Zaguri.

A matting fabric made from cotton for embroidery purposes. It is woven from coarse round yarns, weaving two ends as one and 2-picks in a shed, giving tiny squares as open spaces for the wool yarn with which it is embroidered. The original fabric (about 1820) was made of silk union yarns in white, black, claret and primrose colours. The threads had a strong cotton core with silk wound round it.

A yarn made for hand crochet work. It is a hard, smooth thrown silk similar to Berlin silk.

A dress fabric made of all silk yarns, and with a satin face and crepe-like back. A hard twisted warp and crepe weft is used. The finished cloth is dull but soft. The name Charmeuse is the registered trade mark of a fabric originated by a French firm, Bianchini, Ferier and Co., bat it has been made common by copying the fabric on a large scale. The Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce gives the following opinion: - Charmeuse has been understood commercially for many decades as a woven silk fabric with a lustrous duchess satin-like face and a dull crepe-like back. Originally made from natural silk, this material has been manufactured in the last few years both in part or wholly from rayon. " Tricot-charmeuse " is a knitted fabric, the back of which has an appearance similar to that of Charmeuse. Tricot-charmeuse has been largely used as a rayon hosiery material in Saxony and Thuringia, but such materials have also been called " Charmeuse " for some time past in the factories making Tricot charmeuse. It is considered, therefore, that the term " Charmeuse," without some special designation, has no power of differentiation and cannot be considered for registration as a trade mark.

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A silk dress fabric, also used for upholstery, believed to have originated about 1750 in Berlin, and much in use in France. It had a rib ground, and the two-fold silk warp in two colours was set end and end. When the shed was formed all ends of one colour only were lifted, forming alternate coloured cross ribs in the tapestry cloth. The dress fabric was woven in brocade designs using the two-coloured warps for effect. The colours were two tones of the same colour. Often the weft was of a different colour.

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