Textiles and Clothing | Page 9

is thrown into A, carried by the spiked aprons B and C, evened by E, removed from the apron by F (some of the dirt falls through the screen into box G) is beaten by the revolving "knife," N P, more dirt being removed through screen N, then goes through the flue C to the next machine.]
[Sidenote: Combing]
The combing is omitted for short fiber cotton, but is used in worsted spinning and with long staple cotton to remove the short fibers. Cotton to be used for making yarn suitable for hosiery, underwear, sewing thread, lace, and for very fine cotton fabrics is carded.
In drawing, from six to sixteen "slivers" are run together and the fibers drawn out in several stages until the soft rope is about an eighth of an inch in diameter, called "roving." This tends to get rid of any unevenness and makes the fibers all parallel. From this machine the roving is wound on a bobbin ready for the spinning frame.
[Illustration: COTTON CARD
The roll of webbing A is beaten and transferred to the cylinder H H, carded by the spiked belt E, removed by the "doffer" and formed into a "sliver" which runs into the can M.]
[Sidenote: Spinning]
The spinning frame may have a hundred spindles or more, each one of which is drawing out its supply of "roving" to the required size of yarn and giving it the twist necessary to bind the fibers together. The yarn to be used for the warp is given a harder twist so that it may be strong enough to stand the strain in weaving. The yarn for filling is usually left soft.
[Illustration: COTTON COMB, USED FOR LONG STAPLE]
[Illustration: RECEIVING THE "SLIVER" AT THE BACK OF THE DRAWING FRAME.]
[Illustration: DRAWING FRAME Drawing the Roving Finer.]
[Illustration: A FLY SPINNING FRAME The Spools of Roving Above Are Being Drawn Out, Given the Twist by the Fliers, and Wound on Bobbins Below.]
[Illustration: MULE DRAWING AND SPINNING FRAME Always used for wool. Part of the machine moves away from the frame, thus drawing out the thread, which is then twisted.]
[Illustration: MODERN RING SPINNING FRAME FOR COTTON. SIXTY-EIGHT SPINDLES Gives the Largest Production.]
[Illustration: A PLAIN POWER LOOM WEAVING LINEN]
The yarn for warp is now usually given a coating or "sizing" of starch and gums so that the thread may not become unwound and break during weaving.
The process of spinning is much the same for flax and for wool, although somewhat differently constructed machines must be used. Flax is usually spun wet.
WEAVING
[Sidenote: Modern Loom]
The modern power driven loom is a wonderful piece of machinery. The principle of its operation is essentially the same as the hand loom, but it is almost perfectly automatic in its action, a man or woman being able to tend from ten to fifteen looms weaving plain cotton goods.
[Sidenote: Warping]
The yarn coming from the spinning frame is sometimes dyed before weaving. The warp is formed by winding as many threads as the width of the fabric is to contain on a slowly revolving drum, called a "beam," in the same relative position in which they are to appear in the finished cloth. From its position on the beam at the back of the loom, each thread is brought through its particular loop or eye with the heddle, then passes through its own slot in the reed, and down to the roller or "cloth beam" that is to take up the woven cloth. This is called "drawing in the warp." If there is a piece of cloth coming from the loom, the work is very simple, for the ends of the new warp are tied to the ends remaining from the warp that has been woven out.
The shuttle with its bobbin, containing the yarn of the filling, is much the same as is used in the hand looms, except for form and size, which varies according to the requirements and size of the warp being used. At first only one shuttle was used, but in 1760 Robert Kay invented a mechanism by which several shuttles containing different grades or colors of yarn might be used. Each throw of the shuttle across the width of the goods is called a "pick."
[Sidenote: The Harness]
In making a cloth with plain weave, that is, with every thread interlacing with every other, as in darning, only two harnesses are required, but the modern loom may have up to about twenty-four harnesses so that an infinite variety of weaves may be obtained. Various cams and levers move the harness frame and so raise or lower the threads required for the design.
[Sidenote: Jacquard Loom]
The Jacquard loom is arranged on a different principle. In this loom, all kinds of fancy weaves may be obtained as in table linen, tapestries and carpets. Each warp thread is supplied with a separate hook and by