tufts

In a well-conditioned sheep the wool hairs are usually stuck together in " tufts " or " locks " containing a hundred or more fibres. Often several locks are connected into one large one, called a " staple," the hairs joining the locks together being known as " binders."

The principal types are Axminster, Brussels and Wilton, and brief particulars of each are given below. A more detailed description is given under each name. Axminster is a cut fabric made any width and with any number of colours. It is not produced on a jacquard, therefore the pile does not show on the back. The design is developed by a series of tufts which are bound into the fabric, every tuft is on the surface and only the foundation cloth is seen at the back. There are two principal varieties of these carpets, the Chenille Axminster and the Machine tufted Axminster. The Chenille type is made by two distinct operations, that of manufacturing the chenille weft and that of weaving the carpet with this weft. The " fur or chenille is first woven on an ordinary loom (see chenille) and when cut into the strips is used as weft with a linen, jute or folded cotton warp. The chenille is made preferably with the leno way of shedding in order to bind the wool yarn more firmly. All the figuring weft is on the surface and not embedded in the fabric. The chenille weft is often inserted by hand, but several mechanical methods for doing the work are now in use. From three to six tufts per inch are usual. The chenille Axminster Carpet is also known as the Patent Axminster carpet. The machine-tufted type or Royal Axminster is also formed from pile tufts previously prepared and afterwards woven in the ground warp and bound into the fabric with a binding weft. The tufts may be inserted by hand and the pile is all on the surface of the fabric. This pile is a warp product, whereas for the chenille variety it is weft. Axminster carpets are a product of skill and patience and any number of colours can be used. There are several varieties of machine-made axminster carpets. Wilton is a cut pile fabric woven 27-in. wide from not more than six colours, the yarns are fine counts and design produced by jacquards. Brussels is made almost in the same way as a Wilton, but the pile is not cut and this shows as loops on the face. The yarn is much coarser than for Wiltons. Kidderminster - A carpet made from two or more plain cloths woven together. Each cloth is brought on the face for figuring as required. Turkish - These are hand made. The pile is put into the ground warp by hand as tufts and knotted round them according to pattern. There are two picks of ground weft between each row of pile. Tapestry - Carpets woven from printed warps. The pile is cut or left uncut as required for the design. Persian - Carpets similar to Turkish, being hand made. See also Axminster, Brussels, Kidderminster, Persian Tapestry, Turkish, Wilton Carpets, Body Brussels, Brusselette, Ingrain.

Originally velvet was a fabric made with a short dense pile woven from silk warp. Now the term is applied to fabrics made partly of silk or rayon, and partly of other materials, and to fabrics made entirely of other yarns, besides being indiscriminately confused with velveteen, which is a weft pile texture. There is a constructional difference between warp and weft pile textures. In warp pile velvets the length of the pile is determined by the size of the pile wire, or in other ways, and the pile is cut in the loom. Many velvets are woven double, face-to-face, and cut apart while on the loom. In weft pile velvets the length of pile- is determined by the length of the pile weft floats, and the pile is cut in a supplementary operation after the cloth has left the loom. The distinguishing feature of velvet is a succession of rows of short cut tufts of fibres standing so close together as to present a uniform surface with a rich appearance and entrancing softness to the touch. The quality of velvets is determined by the closeness of the pile tufts and the manner in which they are bound to the ground texture. Various weaves are used according to the weight of fabrics, yarns used, and density of pile desired. The binding of the tufts usually follows one or two systems, either single tufts which are held by only one binding pick, as shown at S, or fast pile tufts which are interwoven with three weft picks as shown at W.

Cotton fabric with a short full pile made by weft tufts, and frequently referred to as cotton velvet. A better definition of velveteen would be weft pile velvet to distinguish the fabric from warp pile velvet, more particularly since the practice has grown of making velvets with rayon weft pile on the same principle as cotton weft pile velveteens. The weaves vary, but all conform to the principle of floating the weft which is to form pile over five or more ends. The pile weft in cheaper velveteens floats over five warp ends and under one, the weave being complete on 6 ends and 6 picks as shown at A. After weaving, the pile picks are cut in the centre of the floats, e.g., along the arrows, in order to make a uniform length of pile. With this construction the weft tufts have only one intersection with the warp by which they are held, and stability in the fabric can only be obtained by mutual support through the tufts, the binding picks, and the warp ends, being present in sufficient number. Another weave for velveteen is shown at B on 6 ends and 8 picks. A method of weaving fast pile velveteen is shown in weave C, where the weft tufts make three intersections and are held by two warp threads. See diagram under Velvet, showing single and fast pile tufts.

tuft-like, in tufts

A tufted carpet, the tufts being inserted into the foundation fabric and held without being knotted. They are the nearest approach to the hand-knotted Oriental carpets that are produced by machinery. The tufts are inserted by rows between the warp thread and are bound and held by the weft, and all tufts appear on the surface, none are hidden.

פְּקוֹלִיןm. pl. (פָּקַל; cmp. פּוּקְלָא) cotton tufts. Nidd.17a בפ׳ או בצמרוכ׳ (some ed. בפוקלין) with cotton tufts or with wool clean and soft. Ib. (Chald.) מאן בעי פ׳ דנהמא Ar. (ed. פְּקוֹלֵי בנ׳) who wants cotton tufts for the bed (v. נַהֲמָא)?

פְּקוֹלִיןm. pl. (פָּקַל; cmp. פּוּקְלָא) cotton tufts. Nidd.17a בפ׳ או בצמרוכ׳ (some ed. בפוקלין) with cotton tufts or with wool clean and soft. Ib. (Chald.) מאן בעי פ׳ דנהמא Ar. (ed. פְּקוֹלֵי בנ׳) who wants cotton tufts for the bed (v. נַהֲמָא)?

Bọrs|te ['bɔrstə] bristle

bụ̈|schel|wei|se (von Gras, Haaren) in tufts; (von Heu, Stroh) in bundles; (von Blumen, Rettichen) in bunches; (von Blumenpflanzen) in clumps

The hairs joining several tufts of wool together in the fleece (see Tufts)

Carpets made on the vertical loom, by Irish village workers of Donegal. They are hand-knotted fabrics of good quality and heavy structure. They are made 8 threads 2-ply 8 skeins warp per inch, and 2-ply 5 skeins weft. The pile weft is 3-ply 3 skeins tied in Ghiordes knot. The tufts are about 2-in. long and give a pile of over ¹/₂-in., with 16 tufts per square inch.