=Batiste.= Batiste is of French origin, and is a light, transparent cloth, made from a fine quality of combed cotton yarn. There is a gradual variation in quality ranging from a comparatively coarse to a very fine fabric. The variety of qualities will suggest some idea of the utility of the fabric. Its uses are even more varied than are the qualities. The finer grades are used for dress goods and all kinds of lingerie for summer wear, etc., while the cheaper grades are used for linings in washable and unwashable shirt waists. Batiste is woven in the gray, that is, with yarn direct from the spinning frame, with the exception that the warp yarn is well sized, in order to stand better the strain to which it is subjected during the weaving process.
=Bourrette.= A light weight, single cloth fabric, with two-ply cotton warp and wool or a combination of cotton and shoddy filling, made with the plain weave and in appearance a semi-rough-faced woolen fabric with fancy effects in twist scattered about it. It is used principally for ladies' fall suitings.
=Bedford Cord.= This is one of the most popular types of fabrics, the distinguishing effect being a line or cord running lengthwise of the cloth, the cord being more or less prominent. The cloth is made of cotton, or sometimes of worsted. The face effect of the Bedford cord is generally plain. Occasionally twill-faced cords are used. The cords vary in width from about one twentieth to one quarter of an inch. To get extra weight without altering the appearance of the face, extra warp yarns, termed wadding ends, are inserted between the face weave and the filling, floating at the back of the rib. When these wadding ends are coarse, they give a pronounced rounded appearance to the cord. They run from 88 to 156 picks to an inch.
=Buckram.= Buckram is derived from Bokhara. It may be described as a coarse, glue-sized fabric, and is made of cotton, hemp, linen, or cotton and hair (coarse) yarns, usually from 10s to 25s. Made of a double cloth warp, 22s cotton, 34 picks to the inch, for the face or top fabric 1/12's[17]; weight from loom 2.22 ozs. per yard. Bottom fabric 1/12's cotton; filling 1/16's cotton; 12 picks to the inch.
Weight per yard, 1.8 ounces. These fabrics depend a great deal on the finishing. The men's wear requires less sizing on account of the hair it contains. The goods are piece dyed. Buckram is used principally for stiffening garments, and to give them shape or form. It is placed between the lining and the surface cloth of the garment in particular parts, such as the lapels, etc. It is used in the millinery trade, and is made into hats. Millinery buckram is sized two or three times.
=Calico= takes its name from Calicut, a city in India, where cloth was first printed. The majority of inexpensive cotton fabrics are constructed on the one up, one down system, or plain weave. Calico is no exception to this rule. The printed designs on calicoes may be somewhat elaborate or they may be simple geometrical figures. In order, however, to comply with the true principles of art, such fabrics as calicoes should have but simple geometrical figures for their ornamental features. New styles and combinations of colors are produced every month and faster and lighter color printed each season.
Most of the designs for calicoes and cotton cloth printing are made in Paris. At present the steam styles are most prominent; they are the fastest and lightest to be obtained. Calico is a printed cloth, the printing being done by a printing machine which has a rotating impression cylinder on which the design has been stamped or cut out.
The cloth in passing through the machine comes in contact with the impression cylinder. The cylinder revolving in a color trough takes up the color and leaves the impression of the design on the cloth.
Calicoes may be seen in almost any color. The printing machine is capable of printing several colors in one design. Calicoes, however, are usually in two colors, that is, one color for ground and the other for figure. The ground color in most cases is effected by dyeing the cloth in some solid color. After the cloth is dyed the design is printed on it. The cloth, after it comes from the loom, is singed and bleached, then sheared and brushed to take away all the lint, and then sent to the dye house. The first process there is to boil it, after which it is immersed in the dye tub. Calicoes are usually given what may be termed a "cheap cotton dye." By "cheap cotton dye" is meant that the colors are not fast, but will run or fade when subjected to water. After the fabric is dyed, it is given to the printer, who ornaments the face of the cloth with some geometrical design; then it is practically ready for the merchant. After printing, the cloth is dried and steamed to fix the color, afterwards soaped, washed, finished, and folded. The printing machine turns out about 400 to 800 fifty-yard pieces a day. Calico is used for inexpensive dresses, shirtwaists, wrappers, etc.
=Cambric.= Cambric is a heavy, glazed cotton fabric with a smooth finish. It was first made in Cambrai, France. It has a plain weave and a width of thirty-six inches. Cambrics are dyed in a jig machine.
After dyeing they are run through a mangle containing the sizing substance, then dried, dampened, and run through a calender machine.
The glossy effect is obtained in this last finishing process. Cambric is used for shirtwaists, dress goods, etc. The finer grades are made from hard twisted cotton of good quality.
=Canvas.= This is a term applied to heavy, plain weave cloths made with ply cotton yarn. They are used for mail bags, covering for boats, etc.
=Chambray.= Chambray is a staple fabric of many years standing, being next in rank among cotton goods after the better grade of gingham.
Chambray is a light-weight single cloth fabric that is always woven with a plain weave, and always has a white selvedge. In effect it is a cloth having but one color in the warp, and woven with a white filling, this combination producing a solid color effect, the white filling reducing any harshness of warp color in the cloth. It is composed of one warp and one filling, either all cotton, cotton and silk, or all silk. It is twenty-seven to thirty inches in width and single 30s cotton warp to single 60s silk, the count of yarn being governed by the weight per yard desired. The weight per finished yard is two to three and one-half ounces. Good colors for the warp are navy blue, dark brown, lavender, black, nile green, etc. When made of cotton warp and filling the fabric receives a regular gingham finish.
The loom width can be restored by tentering or running the goods over a machine fitted underneath with a series of coils of steam pipe. The top of this machine is fitted with an endless chain with a row of steel needles standing erect upon its face. Chains are adjusted to the width desired, and as the machine runs, both selvedges are caught by the needles and the cloth stretched to the required width.
=Cheese Cloth.= This is a thin cotton fabric of light weight and low counts of yarn, which ranks among the cheapest in cotton goods. It is used for innumerable purposes. The bleached fabric is used for wrapping cheese and butter after they are pressed. It is also much in demand for bunting for festival occasions, light curtains, masquerade dresses, etc. When used for bunting, draperies, and the like it is usually in colors, red, blue, cream, and yellow seeming to have the greatest demand. The weave is one and one or plain weave.
=Chine.= Sometimes applied to glace silk, or cotton two-toned effects.
The name is French, meaning woven so as to have a mottled effect.
=Chintz.= Printed cotton cloth, with large, many-colored designs, used for furniture covering. The Hindoo wears it as a body covering. Chintz is the Hindoo word meaning variegated.
=Cotton Flannel.= Napped cotton flannel. Made first for trade in Canton, China.
=Crash.= A plain fabric for outing suits, towels, etc.
=Crepe.= A fine, thin fabric of open texture made of cotton.
=Crepon.= Large designs in figured crepe. The name applies to the crispiness of the finish and is from the French word _creper_, to make crisp.
=Cretonne.= Heavy cotton cloth printed in large designs, for drapery and furniture use. Cretonne was a Frenchman who first made the cloth.
=Crinoline.= Crinoline is a fabric composed of cotton warp, horsehair filling, or all cotton yarns. It is sold in varying widths, and is used by tailors and dress-makers in stiffening clothing. It is a cheap cloth of low texture and simple construction, the distinguishing feature being the stiff finish with either a dull or highly glazed face on the cloth.
=Damask.= A cloth of silk and cotton, silk and linen, silk and wool, or all linen in flowered or geometrical designs for drapery or table covering. The weaves used are mostly twills and sateens. It takes its name from Damascus, where it was first made.
=Denim.= This is a strong fabric usually made with a two up and one down twill. It is used for overalls, furniture covering, and floor covering.
=Diaper.= A figured cotton or linen fabric, which gets its name from the Greek _diapron_, meaning figured. It is generally of good quality as it is subject to excessive washing.
=Dimity.= A light-weight cotton fabric, the distinguishing feature of which is the cords or ribs running warpwise through the cloth, and produced by doubling the warp threads in either heddle or reed in sufficient quantity to form the rib desired. The name is from a Greek word meaning two-threaded. Dimity is a ladies' summer dress fabric, and is made of regular cotton yarn, from 1/60's to the finest counts in both warp and filling. It is made in both white and colors, solid white being used in the most expensive grades. Colors are often printed upon the face of the fabric after it has been woven in the white.
=Domet.= This cloth is napped similar to a cotton flannel. It is used for shirts, pajamas, etc., and made with bright colored stripes and check patterns. The name is from domestic, home made.
=Duck.= Duck is a heavy single cloth fabric made of coarse two-ply yarn and of a plain weave. It derives its name from its resemblance to a duck's skin. It is of a lighter weight than canvas. In finishing duck is taken from the loom and washed and sized, then dried and pressed. If a fancy solid color is desired the goods are dyed in the piece after the first washing. Duck is used in the manufacture of sails, tents, car curtains, and for any purpose requiring a good water-tight fabric, which will withstand rough usage. Duck has a stiff hard feel, and excellent wearing qualities. The lighter weights are used for ladies' shirtwaist suits, men's white trousers, etc.
=Drill.= A cotton fabric of medium weight generally made with the two up and one down twill. It is extensively used for shoe linings.
=Eolienne= is the name applied to a fine dress fabric characterized by having the filling of a much coarser count than the warp, thus producing a corded effect across the breadth of the goods. This class of goods is made up of a raw silk warp and either cotton or worsted filling, with the warp ends per inch greatly in excess of picks per inch. The goods are made up in gray, then dyed in the piece in any color the trade desires. The darker shades find most favor for fall and winter use, while the lighter shades are preferred for summer wear. The width is from twenty-seven to fifty inches, and the price per yard varies from 85 cents to $1.25.
=Etamine.= An etamine is a thin, glossy fabric used principally for women's dress goods. Being a common and popular material for summer wear, it is usually made as a piece-dyed fabric. A good reason for making it piece-dyed is that this method is much cheaper than if the yarn is dyed previous to the weaving. Etamines were originally made with worsted yarns, which of course are more expensive; however, if a good quality of cotton is used, there is little difference in appearance between worsted and cotton etamine. The difference is chiefly in the wearing quality, worsted being more durable. The principal characteristic of an etamine is a crisp, glossy, and open structure.
=Flannelette= is a narrow, light-weight fabric composed of all cotton yarn, the filling being soft spun to permit of the raising of a very slight nap on the back of the goods. The cloth is woven with bleached yarn (warp and filling), the color effects being afterwards printed upon the face of the goods by the printing machine. Flannelette is made with simple one or two colored stripe patterns, either black and white or indigo blue and white, and in imitation of a Jacquard pattern. The finished fabrics are sold by the retailer at from eight cents to twelve and one-half cents per yard, are twenty-seven inches wide, and are used very extensively in the manufacture of ladies'
wrappers, kimonos, etc., for house wear.
=Fustian.= A corded fabric made on the order of corduroy and used in England for trouserings, etc. First made at Fustat, a town on the Nile, near Cairo. Velveteen and cordings in the lower, coarser grades were sometimes called Fustian.
=Galatea Cloth.= Galatea cloth has been somewhat in demand in recent years by women requiring serviceable and neat-appearing cotton fabrics at a medium price. It is usually finished twenty-seven inches wide and retails at fourteen cents to twenty cents per yard. It is shown in plain colors as well as in figures, and in dotted and striped designs on white and colored grounds. The patterns are obtained by printing.
Some manufacturers have found that they can take a standard type of fabric and extend its use by varying the process of finishing. The base of the cloth--that is, the fabric previous to dyeing or printing or bleaching--is nothing more than an ordinary 5-end warp sateen of fair quality.
=Gauze.= A veiling net, made in Gaza in Palestine.
=Gingham.= Gingham is a single cloth composed entirely of cotton, and always woven with a plain weave. It is yarn-dyed in stripes or checks and was originally of Indian make. It is the most widely known fabric on the market and is made in various grades, having from fifty to seventy-six ends per inch in the reed, and of 1/26's to 1/40's cotton yarns in both warp and filling. It is a wash fabric, made in both check and plaid patterns into which an almost unlimited variety of color combinations are introduced. Ginghams are made with from two colors, warp and filling, to eight colors in warp and six in filling.
Ginghams are used most commonly in the manufacture of ladies' and children's summer dresses and aprons.
=Italian Cloth= is a light, glossy fabric made from cotton and worsted, cotton and wool, cotton and mohair, and all cotton. It is used for linings for the heavier styles of ladies' dresses, also for underskirts, fancy pillow backs, etc. The cloth is woven in the gray undyed yarns. In the finer grades the warp is sized so as to facilitate the weaving process.
=Jaconet.= A thin cotton fabric, heavier than cambric. If properly made one side is glazed. Derived from the French word _jaconas_.
=Khaki.= Twilled cotton cloth of a brown dust color, first used for men's clothing in India. The word _khaki_ is Indian for earth, or dust-colored.
=Lawn.= Lawn is a light-weight single cloth wash fabric, weighing from one and one fourth to two and one fourth ounces per yard, and in widths from thirty-six to forty inches finished. It is composed of all cotton yarns (bleached) from 1/40's to 1/100's, and is always woven with a plain weave, one up, one down. The name is from Laon, a place near Rheims, France, where lawn was extensively made. Plain lawn is made of solid white or bleached yarn in both warp and filling. The fancier grades, or those having color effects, are produced by printing vines, floral stripes, small flowers, etc., in bright colors in scattered effects on the face of the goods. The patterns are always printed, never woven. Lawn, when finished, should have a soft, smooth feel. Therefore the finishing process includes brushing, very light starching or sizing, then calendering or pressing. Lawns have to be handled carefully in the bleaching process, starched with an ordinary starch mangle (the sizing containing a little blueing), finished on the Stenter machine, and dried with hot air. Lawns are often tinted light shades of blue, pink, cream, pearl, green, and other light tints, with the direct colors added to the starch. It is used principally in the manufacture of ladies' and children's summer dresses, sash curtains, etc.
=Lingerie.= This relates to all sorts of ladies' and children's undergarments, such as skirts, underskirts, infants' short dresses, chemises, night robes, drawers, corset covers, etc.
=Linon= is a fine, closely woven plain fabric, well known for its excellent wearing and washing qualities. It is made from combed cotton yarns of long-stapled stocks to resemble as closely as possible fine linen fabrics. The cloth structure is firmly made in the loom.
=Long Cloth= is a fine cotton fabric of superior quality, made with a fine grade of cotton yarn of medium twist. Originally the fabric was manufactured in England, and subsequently imitated in the United States. The fabric is used for infants' long dresses, from which it derives its name, and for lingerie. Long cloth to some extent resembles batiste, fine muslins, India linen, and cambric. It is distinguished from these fabrics by the closeness of its weave, and when finished the fabric possesses a whiter appearance, due to the closeness of the weave and the soft twist of the yarn. It is not used as a dress fabric, chiefly because of its finished appearance, which is similar in all respects to fabrics which we have been accustomed to see used solely for lingerie, nightgowns, etc.
=Madras= is a light-weight single cloth fabric, composed of all cotton or cotton and silk, and has excellent wearing qualities. It was at first a light-colored checked or striped plain-faced cotton-silk fabric, made in Madras, India, for sailors' head-dress. It is twenty-seven inches wide, and is made of varying grades, weighing from two to three ounces per yard, and is used at all seasons of the year.
It is used by ladies for summer skirts, shirtwaists, suits, etc., and by men in shirts. It is known by the white and colored narrow-stripe warp effects, and is made of cotton yarns ranging from 1/26 to 1/80 warp and filling, and from 50 to 100 or more ends per inch. The utility of madras for nearly all classes of people permits the greatest scope in creating both harmonious and contrasting color and weave combinations.
The colors most in demand in this fabric are rich and delicate shades of blue, rose, green, linen, tan, lavender, and bright red; for prominent hair-line effects black, navy blue, dark green, royal blue, and cherry red. Good fast color is necessary as it is a wash fabric.
If inferior colors are used, they will surely spread during the finishing processes, and will cause a clouded stripe where a distinct one was intended.
=Moreen.= Heavy mohair, cotton, or silk and cotton cloth, with worsted or moire face. The making of moreen is interesting. The undyed cloth is placed in a trough in as many layers as will take the finish. This finish is imparted to the cloth by placing between the layers sheets of manila paper; the contents of the trough are then saturated with water; a heavy weighted roller is then passed over the wetted paper and cloth, the movement of the roller giving the cloth a watered face.
It can then be dyed and refinished. The design or marking of moreen is different on every piece. Moreen was at first made for upholstery and drapery use. It was found to give a rustling sound similar to silk, so was taken up for underskirts. The name is from the French _moire_, meaning watering.
=Mull.= A soft cotton muslin of fine quality, made first in India, later in Switzerland. The name in Hindoo is _mal_, meaning soft, pliable.
=Mummy.= A plain weave of flax or linen yarn. Originally the winding cloth of the Egyptian mummified dead.