CHIFFON NET

A very fine grade of black silk net; used for laces.

The Silk Association of Great Britain and Ireland, Inc., has formulated the following definitions of " Silks ": - (1) Silk means the natural product of the silkworm, whether net, spun, or schappe silk. (2) Woven or knitted textiles and articles made therefrom. Silk goods may only be so called if they contain no other fibre than silk. They may be further qualified as pure silk goods if they contain no tin weighting and no added weight of any kind other than that which is an essential part of dyeing and finishing. (3) The word silk may be used for articles containing silk and other fibres provided it is clearly qualified, as for example, silk warp taffeta, silk warp poplin, silk pile velvet, silk mixture, silk union, etc. (4) Smallwares, certain smallwares containing silks in combination with other fibres (such as Paris bindings, gimps, eyeglass cords, etc.), have been by long established custom known as "silks." Only where there is a clear long established custom may they continue to be described as silk, otherwise the general principles set forth above will apply. The more generally known silk fabrics are as given below: - Armures - Barathea, Loisine, Natte, Ottoman, Roy ale. Repp. Figured Silks - Arras, Broche, Brocatelle, Brocades, Chevron, Chine warp prints. Cote-line, Damassin, Foulard, Lampas, Matelasse, Striped tabaret. Satins - Duchesse, Meteor, Mervelleux, Peau de Soie, Radyimar, Raadames, Radium, Satin mousseline. Satin messaline. Satin lus-mineaux. Satin charmeuse. Satin de Lyon, Satin chine. Satin lumiere, Soleil, Soie de Devil. Twills - Serge, Surah, Sarcenat. Velvet, or pile weaves - Terry velvet frese, Utrecht, Velours de nord. Velours de chiffon, Velours de sabre. Silk warp, wool weft - Bengaline, Cotele, Crepon, Irish poplin, Popeline, Poplinette, Sultane, Sicilienne, Velours Victoria, Veloa-tine. Silk warp, cotton weft - Moirette, Polonaise, Satins, Satinet, Striped linings. Taffetas, plain weaves - Bengaline de Soie, Epingle, Faille Francaise, Glace, Gros grain, Gros de Tours, Gros de Naples, Gros de Suez, Lustring, Pongee, Poult de Soie, Royale, Tabaret, Taffeta mousseline. Taffeta chiffon. Crepe de chine, Ninon, tulle, voile, Marquisette, Moire onde. Moire Faconne, Moire Francaise, Moire Antique.

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.