FANCY YARNS

See Effect Yarn. ———————— (See Yarns). In addition to fancy coloured yarns there are varieties of specially spun or twisted yarns. See under the following terms: - Bead, Boucle, Bourette, Cable, Chenille, Cloud, Corkscrew, Crape, Curl, Diamond or Chain, Gassed, Genapped, Gimp, Grandrelle, Knickerbocker, Knop, Loop, Marl, Mottle, Permo, Reany, Ruffle Wool, Slub, Snarl, Spiral, Spot, Twist-on-Twist.

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.

Originally called crapes, and were always black and used for mourning purposes. It is a puckered or crinkled fabric. Special hard-twisted yarns are used, and when the cloth is washed or finished a crepe effect is produced which is permanent, due to the shrinkage of the special yarns. The cloths produced by what are termed crepe weaves do not pucker except when hard-twisted yarns are used (see Crepon). The following weave particulars are typical of true cotton crepes produced from crepe yarns in a plain weave and when finished the cloths shrink from 48-in. to 34/5-in. One has 48 ends and 42 picks per inch in the loom and gives 60 ends and 52 picks per inch finished. Warp and weft are 2/120's. The other is woven 38 X 46 in the loom and gives 56 X 60 finished, 100's warp and weft crepe yarns, with 2/80's colour. Both fabrics are picked two right and two reverse.

(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.

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.

Gala yarns are Scottish spun yams of a woollen character obtainable in fancy mixtures and marls for knitting of outerwear. Used for hosiery as well as weaving (see Gala, Yarn Count)

A three-fold yarn made from a thick soft spun thread twisted with another thread of finer counts and a medium twist. This double thread is again twisted with a third and still finer thread, but with the twist in the reverse way. The illustration shows a cloth in which a chain yarn is used for figuring, Both warp and weft are utilised and by weaving these fancy yarns on an open ground cloth a reversible fabric is obtained. The ground cloth is 36 X 40 per inch, 50's/50's cotton yarns and figuring cham yarn 12 X 12 per inch (see Yarns)

Coloured flannel in fancy designs, used as wrappers by ladies. A French production, wool all through, 3 & 1 twill, various qualities. Fancy yarns and lappet effects often used.

A fancy yarn composed of four threads doubled together. A hard twist two-fold thread is doubled with three other single threads in a reverse direction and with fewer turns per inch. These fancy yarns are also made of three threads doubled together in which case the hard-twist yarn is thicker than the others. Sometimes silk is used as one of the threads to give further character.

A Yorkshire make of dress material with dobby effects. Fancy yarns are used, with small bunches of fibre twisted in.

Lace was originally a heavy texture more like embroidery and of two kinds, Lacis or "darned netting" and Cutwork. Laces, often worked in gold threads and coloured silks was also called " spiderwork." Lace is purely an English word, derived from the Anglo-Norman lacier, to lace, bind, tie or fasten, etc. The word appears to have been first used in 1519. It is a fabric of open mesh or net formed by crossing and intertwining threads. Lace was originally purely a hand craft, but today it is machine made as well. There are three main classes: - Point lace, pillow lace and machine-made lace. Point Lace - When the term " Point " is applied to a lace fabric it should mean that the lace has been made by the needle with a single line of thread, but it is now given to many machine-made laces. There are numerous laces sold as point laces and each has some feature not possessed by any other, many of these laces are known by the town where they are manufactured. Pillow Lace - These laces are made by intertwining threads on pins fixed in a cushion over a pattern fastened on to the cushion. Many pillow laces are part hand and part machine made such as Honiton, Valenciennes, Irish, etc. Machine-made Laces - There are three principal classes which can be placed (1) warp fabrics; (2) plain nets; (3) Levers' laces. Warp Laces - This is the earliest form of lace produced on a machine which was the invention of the Rev. William Lee in 1589, and was an adaption of the stocking frame. A warp lace is a series of upright threads that twist upon each other to form a fabric. There are no crossing threads. They are made in widths up to 10-in. and are the cheapest laces made. Plain Nets - John Heathcote, the inventor of the bobbin-net machine in 1809, laid the foundation of the machine-made lace trade. These are formed by a diagonal bobbin thread intertwining with the upright warp threads so that when the web is taken off the machine the mesh is honeycomb shaped. Other shapes followed, such as the square mesh. Cotton, silk, mohair and rayon are all used in making plain nets. Standard plain nets are as follows: - Brussels Net - Close mesh, specially selected fine yarns, in widths 36-in. to 80-in. The mesh varies up to 20 holes per inch. Both stiff and soft finish. Mosquito Net - Made in many qualities and closeness of mesh and from 54-in. to 108-in. Cable Net - Made up to 300-in. wide and from coarser yarns than other laces. This fabric is used as the ground fabric for curtains, etc. Bretonne Net - A very fine fabric, close mesh and finer yarns than Brussels, very soft and smooth finish. Point d'esprit - Fabrics with spots at regular distances. The yarns are not as good a quality as Brussels. Finished both soft and stiff. Paris Nets - Very stiff finish, used by the millinery trade for foundation work. Illusion Nets - A star-shaped mesh fabric, very fine yarns, used for veils and evening dress purposes. Silk Mechlins, or Tulles - A net more round than square in mesh and made from fine silk yarns. Malines is a tulle made in Belgium. Chantilly, or Silk Brussels - Similar to Brussels, but made from black dyed silk yarns. Chambray Nets - A finer all silk net than Chantilly. Levers' Lace Fabrics - These are various fancy laces and are produced on the lace machine fitted with a jacquard. Samuel Draper of Nottingham combined the jacquard with the lace machine in 1813. John Levers invented the machine. Varieties of these laces are Cluny laces. Torchons, Maltese lace. All-overs and numerous others.

See crepe, crepons and crisp ———————— Originally called crapes, and were always black and used for mourning purposes. It is a puckered or crinkled fabric. Special hard-twisted yarns are used, and when the cloth is washed or finished a crepe effect is produced which is permanent, due to the shrinkage of the special yarns. The cloths produced by what are termed crepe weaves do not pucker except when hard-twisted yarns are used (see Crepon). The following weave particulars are typical of true cotton crepes produced from crepe yarns in a plain weave and when finished the cloths shrink from 48-in. to 34/5-in. One has 48 ends and 42 picks per inch in the loom and gives 60 ends and 52 picks per inch finished. Warp and weft are 2/120's. The other is woven 38 X 46 in the loom and gives 56 X 60 finished, 100's warp and weft crepe yarns, with 2/80's colour. Both fabrics are picked two right and two reverse.

Originally called crapes, and were always black and used for mourning purposes. It is a puckered or crinkled fabric. Special hard-twisted yarns are used, and when the cloth is washed or finished a crepe effect is produced which is permanent, due to the shrinkage of the special yarns. The cloths produced by what are termed crepe weaves do not pucker except when hard-twisted yarns are used (see Crepon). The following weave particulars are typical of true cotton crepes produced from crepe yarns in a plain weave and when finished the cloths shrink from 48-in. to 34/5-in. One has 48 ends and 42 picks per inch in the loom and gives 60 ends and 52 picks per inch finished. Warp and weft are 2/120's. The other is woven 38 X 46 in the loom and gives 56 X 60 finished, 100's warp and weft crepe yarns, with 2/80's colour. Both fabrics are picked two right and two reverse.

A fineall-wool light-weight dress fabric in an open fancy weave. Good quality worsted yarns are used. A crepe effect due to spiral twist in the yarns is obtained. The cloth is piece-dyed in cream, tan and other light shades. It is soft enough for infants' wear. Also applied to a plain woven cotton cloth of soft fine yarns, piece-dyed black and other solid colours, used for decorations, such as 84 X 90, 60's/64's, super-combed Egyptian yarns. The cloth has a short nap face. Known also as "Satin Moss", "Vienna", "Snowflake" and "Llama Croise". The Snowflake has flecked yarn and the Vienna is the heaviest variety.

A French term for sponge cloth, or ratine woven from a hard twist warp and soft spun weft, usually a fancy yarn to give the soft and loose woven fabric required. A dress eponge is made from fancy warp and weft yarns, 64-in. wide, 14 ends and 16 picks per inch, weight about 11-oz, per yard. The yarns are looped with the loops bound by a third thread of cotton (the core is cotton and the looping thread wool). Tadpole Eponge is woven from yarn with a thick nub at intervals.

Made in wide widths for use as dresses, coats, etc., good quality yarns, 72-ends, 68 picks per inch. The warp is usually end and end mohair and worsted, two-fold yarns, such as 2 / 60's or 2 / 40's - The weft is single worsted 26's to 32's. Other qualities are made from one kind of warp, but in right and reverse twist, and up to about loo-ends per inch. Cotton weft is used in the cheapest cloths, about 48's yarn dyed black. The photograph shows a typical wool Armure fabric made in a fancy rep weave 84 X 68, 2 / 60's botany / 30's botany. A heavy cloth is also termed "Armure", used for drapery and curtains, woven with brocade figuring on the armure weave ground, and all-wool yarns

Fibreglas textile fibres are produced by two methods, the continuous filament process and staple fibre process. In each process glass marbles, made from melted and refined raw materials are remelted in small electrical furnaces, each of which has many small holes in the base of the melting chamber, through which the molten glass flows in fine streams by gravity. In the continuous filament process more than 100 filaments are drawn simultaneously and gathered into a thread or strand. The strand is attached to a high-speed winder that, as it draws the strand, attentuates each stream of molten glass to a fraction of the diameter of the hole through which it emerges. In the staple fibre process the streams of molten glass are struck by jets of high-pressure air or steam which attentuate the glass into fibres varying in length from 8-in. to 15-in. These fibres are driven on to a revolving drum on which they form a web, which is gathered from the drum and wound on to a tube in the form of a sliver. Strands of either continuous filament or staple fibres are twisted and plied into yarns on standard textile machinery. Fibreglas yarns are particularly suitable where fire-proofness, resistance to acids or other chemicals other than alkalis is demanded. Uses include electrical yarns, cords, tapes, cloths and sleevings which form the basis for a plain and varnished or impregnated electrical insulation material; chemical filter fabrics, anode bags used in electroplating, wicking for oil lamps and stoves, pump diaphragms, special fabrics for resisting high-temperature fumes and acids, facing materials for insulating or acoustical blankets, also rubber-coated, acid-proof and waterproof fabrics. Decorative uses include draperies, shower curtains, tablecloths, bedspreads, lamp shades and some apparel accessories, such as men's neckties. Also decorative work in architecture, dress fabrics, particularly for fancy effects, non-stretching cord for use in radio indicating dials, bookbinding, fire-screens, etc.