CHAPTER VIII.

SIMPLE COLOURINGS.

131. Simple and Compound Colourings--132. Regular Simple Colourings--133. One-and-One and Two-and-Two Systems--134. Figured Styles in Common Weaves and One-and-One Colouring--135. Utility of the One-and-One Principle in Figured Textiles--136: One-and-One and Two-and-Two Colourings in Fancy Weaves--137. Three-and-Three Colouring--138. Four-and-Four Arrangement--139. Four-and-Four Method applied to Fancy Weaves--140. Six-and-Six and Eight-and-Eight Schemes--141. Six-and-Six Colouring in Various Crossings--142. Three-Odd-Thread Arrangement--143. Various Three-Shade Patterns--144. Simple Colourings composed of Four Shades--145. Irregular Simple Colourings--146. Irregular Simple Patterns in Two Shades--147. “Irregulars” composed of Three Shades--148. “Irregulars” composed of Four Shades--149. Cross-weftings.

131. _Simple and Compound Colourings._--As in Weave Design there are two important types of pattern--such as effects resulting from the use of one crossing, and effects due to combining several crossings--so the styles obtained by blending fancy shades are also of two kinds, and may be designated Simples and Compounds. Both classes are divisible into Regular and Irregular orders of colourings. In the Regular order of Simple colourings, the colour elements are of equal quantities and systematically alternate; but in Compounds, the shades may occur in various quantities and be irregularly distributed. If, for example, a pattern were arranged--

2 threads of black, 2 threads of blue, 2 „ brown, 2 „ slate,

it would be a Simple colouring, because it is composed of similar numbers of each sort of yarns, and the respective shades regularly succeed each other. The same shades could be made to form an Irregular Simple pattern in two ways: first, by diversifying the plan of the colours in such a manner as to allow any one or more shades to intervene the other shades, as follows:--

2 threads of black, 2 threads of blue, 2 „ brown, 2 „ brown, 2 „ black, 2 „ slate;

and second, by retaining the original order of succession of shades, but by varying the quantities in which they occur, as illustrated below:--

8 threads of black, 4 threads of blue, 6 „ brown, 2 „ slate.

Here are two types of Irregular and Simple colourings, viz., those in which the shades are grouped in similar quantities but are irregularly combined, and those in which the shades obtain in different proportions, though following in regular order.

To convert the same group of shades into a Compound colouring, it is only necessary to combine two or more systems of blending the yarns, as follows:--

For 16 threads. ⎧ 4 threads of black. ⎩ 4 „ brown.

For 16 threads. ⎧ 2 threads of blue. ⎩12 „ slate.

From this example it will be observed, that in making a Regular Compound at least two systems of elementary colouring are combined: in this instance, the four-and-four and the two-and-two methods have been selected. Compounds necessarily give more diversified styles of pattern than Simples; but unless the effects of the latter have been studied, the arrangement and composition of Compounds cannot be fully understood. Simple colourings are the elements of all Compounds. In order to obtain well-balanced effects in designs consisting of various weaves, the construction and woven result of each weave have to be considered, and only such makes united as will yield symmetrical patterns and regularly-built fabrics; and similar laws determine the association of shades as determine the combination of weaves.

132. _Regular Simple Colourings._--The principal forms of Elementary Simple Colourings are comprised in the three classes given in the table appended:--

TABLE IX.

REGULAR SIMPLE COLOURINGS.

CLASS A.--COMPOSED OF TWO SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 1 thread of black. 1 „ white.

_II. Scheme._ 2 threads of black. 2 „ white.

_III. Scheme._ 3 threads of black. 3 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 4 „ white.

CLASS B.--COMPOSED OF THREE SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 1 thread of black. 1 „ grey. 1 „ white.

_II. Scheme._ 2 threads of black. 2 „ grey. 2 „ white.

_III. Scheme._ 3 threads of black. 3 „ grey. 3 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 4 „ grey. 4 „ white.

CLASS C.--COMPOSED OF FOUR SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 1 thread of black. 1 „ medium grey. 1 „ light grey. 1 „ white.

_II. Scheme._ 2 threads of black. 2 „ medium grey. 2 „ light grey. 2 „ white.

_III. Scheme._ 3 threads of black. 3 „ medium grey. 3 „ light grey. 3 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 4 „ medium grey. 4 „ light grey, 4 „ white.

It is not needful to increase the number of these examples, for it will be observed that in each scheme of the several classes given, the order of colouring is identical, but that the quantities of the shades are systematically enlarged. In fine fabrics, the number of threads of each colour might be increased; but in these examples, the bases of all styles of Elementary and Compound Colourings are enumerated. On this account they will be considered separately, and the effects of the various systems in the woven fabric will be fully analyzed and described.

[Illustration: FIG. 60.]

[Illustration: FIG. 60A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 61.]

[Illustration: FIG. 61A.]

133. _One-and-One and Two-and-Two Colourings._--These are the most elementary arrangements of shades. They give different effects, according to the weave in which they are developed. The one-and-one system is applied chiefly to plain and twilled weaves, in which it constitutes two styles of patterns very extensively produced in ordinary fancies. First, in the plain make, it forms the hairline stripe sketched in Fig. 5C; and in the cassimere twill, the step-diagonal effect sketched in Fig. 5F. Both are useful textural styles. In cottons, silks, and fancy woollens and worsteds, this order of threads can be made to produce patterns of some intricacy of composition by simply employing in one instance the two plain makes given in Figs. 60 and 60A, and in the other instance the two twills given in Figs. 61 and 61A. Should the plain weaves be combined, say, in such a manner as to make a stripe, and this design woven in the one-and-one system of colouring, the woven result would consist of a band of lines of the respective colours running longitudinally in the fabric, and of a band of transverse lines of the same shades. This is a principle which is capable of being utilized in the construction of elaborately figured designs.

When the weaves supplied in Figs. 61 and 61A are combined, and the resultant design woven in this order of shades, in such sections of the fabric as Fig. 61A occurs, the pattern produced consists of small step effects twilling to the right, but in the sections composed of Fig. 61, of similar effects twilling to the left; hence, by combining these in the form of stripes, checks, or figures, woven patterns are obtainable diversified in aspect and arrangement.

Next, as to the two-and-two system (Class A, Scheme II., of Simple Colourings) of combining shades. This is another plan of grouping colours for certain elementary crossings. Its effects in the [2/2] twill and the mat or celtic are typical of the general style of pattern obtainable.

The results produced in the twill are those in Figs. 62, 62A, and 62B. The different effects are due to the employment of distinct wefts. Thus, in Fig. 62 the weft is grey, in Fig. 62A white, and in Fig. 62B the same as the warp, or two picks of grey and two picks of white. When the grey weft is used, a stripe of grey adjoining an intermittent stripe of white is obtained; when white forms the weft, a small line of white adjoins a broken line of grey and white; but when a corresponding method of wefting is adopted as warping, a small broken check effect is acquired.

[Illustration: FIG. 62.]

[Illustration: FIG. 62A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 62B.]

Changing the weave to hopsack or mat alters the patterns resultant. If the weft be black in this two-and-two colouring, and the weave four-end celtic, a style is constructed similar to that given in Fig. 63, or a pattern with a black ground on which squares of solid white are regularly distributed at uniform distances apart. Substituting white for the black weft, a texture with a white foundation and a black square spot, just the reverse of Fig. 63, is produced; whereas if the weft is the same as the warp, a style composed of solid lines of black and white, or a pattern of a hairline description, results.

These examples clearly set forth the principles of weaving in relation to methods of colouring. Here the same order of threads--though extremely simple--in two different crossings of an elementary structure, forms quite distinct effects. In the cassimere twill more intermingled, and hence less severe patterns, are formed than in the mat or hopsack. They consist of small indefinite stripes and of a minute and irregular check. But in the mat, the same warp colouring gives a well-defined check composition, even when the wefts are all one colour, and instead of a broken check in the fabric when the weft is similar to the warp, as in the twill, a stripe of a decided arrangement is got.

[Illustration: FIG. 63]

134. _Figured Styles in Common Weaves in One-and-One Colouring._--The principles of woven effect, just elucidated, whereby a combination of plain or twilled weaves may, in the simplest arrangement of colours, be made to produce in the texture two dissimilar patterns, may be utilized in the development of figured designs. Usually these figured fabrics necessitate the adoption of various schemes of weaving and colouring in their manufacture; whereas in this type of design there is no elaboration either of weave or colour. These are particulars of construction peculiar to patterns acquired on this system.

A feature of designs of this class consists in the uniform appearance and sound wearing qualities they impart to the woven fabric. Some kinds of figured textiles are more or less loose on the surface and in structure, owing to the diversity of weave floats requisite to develop the objects or figures composing the designs. No arrangement of this sort, involving intricacy of cloth structure, is needed in gaining patterns by this scheme of weaving. The fabrics, though in some instances elaborately figured, are plain or twill throughout, according to the makes employed--hence the textures are even, firm, and neat in both appearance and construction. Effects of this order are more subdued in tone and possess a mellower aspect than figured styles due to combining various principles of weaving and colouring.

[Illustration: FIG. 64.]

Reference to Figs. 64 and 65 will indicate, first, how the designs are constructed; and, second, how the textural results are acquired. Fig. 64 is a small spotted design composed of two plain makes. In constructing these designs, the form of the figuring is primarily sketched out on point paper, and the weaves subsequently added. When the two makes are in contact, there must not be more than a float of three. Having worked out the design on point paper, the next matter to be arranged is the development of the ground sections in vertical, and the figured parts in transverse lines of colour, as in Fig. 65, which is a sketch of the textural effect produced by this design. In all designs constructed on this base, it is a rule that the fancy shades in the warp and weft shall, in conjunction, be arranged to form the striped effects described. When the design given in Fig. 64 is warped and woven 1 thread black and 1 thread white, these two shades form stripes lengthways of the piece in the ground portion of the fabric, for the black picks cover the black threads _only_, and the white picks the white threads _only_, while the small figures are developed in short transverse stripes; because, in such sections, the weave in the design causes the black picks to float over the white threads and the white picks to float over the black threads.

[Illustration: FIG. 65.]

Now consider the effect of the same order of shades in the design composed of cassimere twills given on Plate XXI. This style illustrates the process by which the sketch furnished in Fig. 66 is transferred on to point paper and prepared for the loom. Designs for these fabrics are worked out on the same system as the preceding example. A comparison of Fig. 65 with Fig. 66 brings out several points of dissimilarity. These do not arise from any variation of the plan of colouring, but of the plan of interlacing the threads in constructing the fabric. The vertical and transverse lines of Fig. 65 are substituted by neat diagonal effects, and a pattern of more diversified outline and arrangement obtained. It has been pointed out that the thread-and-thread scheme of shades yields, in the cassimere twill, the two effects seen in Fig. 66. When the weave runs to the right, the black and white diagonal effect runs to the left, and _vice versâ_; so that in preparing the designs for the loom it has, in the first place, to be decided whether the ground or the figured sections shall be developed in the minute diagonals of shades moving to the right. Generally, it will be found that this effect is most suitable for the ground.

[Illustration: Plate XXI

FIGURING IN SIMPLE TWILLS]

135. _Utility of the One-and-One Principle in Figured Textiles._--The scheme of textile colouring and designing analyzed in the previous paragraph is applicable to a large diversity of goods, including cotton, silk, worsted, and woollen fabrics. Styles for dress stuffs and mantlings may be produced in this manner. Cotton yarns in these designs produce very effective patterns. The compact structure of these threads develops both series of effects with a clearness and prominence that are absent from cloths composed of woollen materials. Whether the designs are employed in one set of yarns or the other, schemes of colouring such as the following may be employed:--

I. 1 thread of dark brown (Shade 1, Plate IV.). 1 thread of medium brown (Shade 3, Plate IV.).

II. 1 thread of dark grey. 1 „ light „

III. 1 thread of medium grey. 1 „ white.

IV. 1 thread of lilac (Tint 17, Plate VI.). 1 thread of white.

[Illustration: FIG. 66.]

Colours slightly contrasting in hue, or merely in shade, may be used in worsted yarns; but in woollens, where the effect is not so clear or pronounced, owing to the structure of the yarn, more contrast of colouring is requisite to emphasize the figuring. Woollen fabrics coloured on this principle may be either “clear” finished or covered with fibre. It depends entirely on the type of fabric produced. If a dress texture, the best results may be obtained by developing the effect of the colours as much as possible in the finishing processes; but if a mantling, a soft, fibrous surface enhances the mellowness and attractiveness of the patterns formed.

[Illustration: FIG. 67.]

Of course the methods of figuring obtained by this thread-and-thread colouring are combined with other schemes of colours in making more elaborate patterns. For example, a band of figuring, such as is given in Fig. 66, may be arranged to adjoin a bold stripe of entirely distinct colouring, and thus a pattern produced containing much diversity of composition.

[Illustration: FIG. 67A.]

Pattern is acquired in these and similar designs economically in the loom. No complication, either of weave or of colour, arises in their origination. By the employment of two shades and one weave--used in such a manner as to yield two varieties of style--any form of figuring is on this system producible.

[Illustration: FIG. 68.]

[Illustration: FIG. 68A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 69A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 69.]

136. _One-and-One and Two-and-Two Colourings in Fancy Weaves._--Some applications of this scheme of colouring to other weaves than the plain and twill are shown in Figs. 67, 68, 69, the plans being Figs. 67A, 68A, and 69A. The only alteration in the colouring is the use, as seen, of fancy thick yarns for striping or checking. The contrast in the weaves should be noticed, and also in the woven patterns. The weaves comprise (Fig. 67A) a fancy twill composed of [3/1] and [1/3] twills; Fig. 68A, twill and mat; and Fig. 69A, check in broken [3/1] and [1/3] twills. The line characteristic is noticeable in Figs. 67 and 69, being more pronounced in the latter. Fig. 68 is the most regular in style, due to the weave being composed of twill and mat.

[Illustration: FIG. 70.]

[Illustration: FIG. 70A.]

Figured styles in two-and-two colouring are producible in the designs made on the principles given in Paragraphs 134 and 135, and also in other simple weaves similarly combined. One example (Fig. 70) may be taken, woven in the [2/2] mat, the sectional design being given in Fig. 70A. The order of colouring in both warp and weft is:--

Black 2⎫ For 36. White 2⎭

White 2⎫ For 36. Black 2⎭

By the change in the positions of the colouring, the key pattern is inverted and made more diversified in character.

137. _Three-and-Three Colouring._--This method of grouping shades of warp and weft (Class A, Scheme III.) is employed in the six-end twill and its derivatives, also in twelve-shaft and other weaves.

An example of the effects in the [3/3] twill in the fabric, due to three-and-three warping and various weftings practised, is sketched in Figs. 71, 71A, and 71B. The first of these illustrations has a grey weft; Fig. 71A is woven with white, and Fig. 71B with three picks of grey and three picks of white.

[Illustration: FIG. 71.]

[Illustration: FIG. 71A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 71B.]

[Illustration: FIG. 72.]

[Illustration: FIG. 72A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 72B.]

138. _Four-and-Four Arrangement._--Twill, hopsack, and other common weaves are used in producing styles in this order of colours, which is supplied in Scheme IV. of Class A of the Regular Simple Colourings. Black and white shepherd plaids are made on this base, a useful form and size of check resulting from its employment. Some of the effects got in the cassimere twill by warping four threads of grey and four threads of white, and wefting with white and grey, and with the same order of shades as in the warp, are sketched in Figs. 72, 72A, 72B. The check style here is particularly neat. It is produced in a variety of colours for almost all kinds of fabrics. When the four-end mat weave is used, a species of star check is formed, as seen in Fig. 73. A considerable range of patterns ensues from adopting this order of colours and combining the cassimere and mat weaves in the construction of stripe, check, and diagonal designs. Thus, supposing the last type of weave-combination were employed, then in such parts of the diagonal where the twill occurred, the shepherd plaid effect would result, but the hopsack sections would yield the star check style, so that diagonal bands of these respective patterns, regularly alternating, would extend across the fabric.

[Illustration: FIG. 73.]

[Illustration: FIG. 74.]

[Illustration: FIG. 74A.]

139. _Four-and-Four Method applied to Fancy Weaves._--There are various patterns obtained in this order of threads by using other weaves than the twill or mat. As an illustration in these effects, Fig. 74, which has been produced in the weave given in Fig. 74A, may be examined. It is a small spotted design; the minute crosses of white, surrounded by rectangles of black, are determined in shape and dimensions by the arrangement of warp and weft flushes composing the crossing. The weft yarn of this pattern is all black. Comparing this style with that sketched in Fig. 72, which is composed of the same order of threads, it will be observed that any modification of weave alters the pattern resultant. In the weave furnished in Fig. 74A, the white threads only show on the face of the texture where the blank spaces occur; whereas, in the cassimere twill employed in the construction of the sample shown in Fig. 72B, the white warp threads float on the face of the fabric on the same system as the black picks. The pattern given in Fig. 74 indicates how, by resorting to novel schemes of weaving, the simplest methods of colouring may be made to produce distinct patterns.

Employment of other weaves than the twill and mat give equally satisfactory results. Such makes are, of course, multiplied in proportion to the ingenuity of the designer. The example considered is but a type of the numerous styles obtainable in this four-and-four colouring by having recourse to designs of this type.

140. _Six-and-Six and Eight-and-Eight Schemes._--These are not given in the plan of Regular Simple orders of shades, being but extensions of Schemes III. and IV.; but they are important in practice, and must be considered as distinct principles of grouping colours. They are mainly employed when well-pronounced patterns are required in fine yarns, in which instances they yield far more effective styles than the schemes of shades from which they are derived. In both worsted and cotton dress textures and tweed mantlings, they are largely used.

Both systems are illustrated. The six-and-six plan, and the styles it gives in the six-end twill, are furnished in Figs. 75, 75A, and 75B. The same methods of weft colouring have been practised as in other sketches, showing the changes resulting from varying the weft from light to dark, and from having it exactly like the warp. Fig. 76 has been produced in the eight-shaft twill, and is composed of 8 threads of black and 8 threads of white in both warp and weft. Should such shades as the following be used in the six-end twill, more toned patterns result than those supplied in the illustrations:--

I. 6 threads of slate. 6 „ slate and white twist.

II. 6 threads of light fawn. 6 „ light fawn and white twist.

III. 6 threads of blue. 6 „ brown.

IV. 6 threads of No. 2 mixture, Plate XIII. 6 threads of No. 8 mixture, Plate XIII.

The I. and II. Schemes are for light textures. They illustrate an important method of combining shades, inasmuch as the same shade occurs in both the first and second group of six threads in each example. Thus, in Scheme I. the second group of ends consists of slate and white twist--the slate being exactly of the same hue as that used in the first six threads. This arrangement gives neatly-toned patterns, and is suited for Simple Colourings in which the respective shades are combined in these qualities. The third group of shades is for a dark pattern. Here the contrast should not be strong; the mellower the better. It only requires to be sufficiently pronounced to develop the outlines of the checkings and the effects due to the plan of interlacing the threads. A mixture-yarn example is also given in the fourth scheme of shades. Yarns of this class are useful in the manufacture of both worsteds and tweeds. The black and white shades which have been used in these illustrations--75, 75A, 75B, and 76--bring out the character of the pattern due to the structure of the weave.

[Illustration: FIG. 75.]

[Illustration: FIG. 75A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 75B.]

[Illustration: FIG. 76.]

141. _Six-and-Six Colourings in Various Crossings._--Two examples may be examined in which weave has been advantageously employed in these schemes of colouring. The first, Fig. 77, is a species of check, the patches of the two shades being differently shaped from what they are in Fig. 75B, which is a composition of the same order of shades. This arises from the structure of the weave employed. It is given in Fig. 77A, and is a combination of warp and weft cords. The _warp_ cord causes the spaces of black and white to practically run into each other in the direction of the warp, and the _weft_ cord makes them continuous in the line of the weft.

[Illustration: FIG. 77.]

[Illustration: FIG. 77A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 78.]

[Illustration: FIG. 78A.]

The next illustration, Fig. 78, is commonly termed the star check. It somewhat resembles Fig. 73, but the effects are more prominent and better developed. The weave used in this case is the six-end twill angled, Fig. 78A. In making the pattern, the first six picks should be black, otherwise they would not meet the interlacings in the weave on the system requisite to give this effect.

[Illustration: FIG. 79.]

142. _Three-Odd-Thread Arrangement._--For the plain weave, prunelle, and six-end twills, this is one of the useful schemes of colouring. In the plain it forms, when woven with the same order of weft as warp threads, the neat style sketched in Fig. 79. When the shades are black, grey, and white, as in Scheme I.,--Class B, of the Regular Simple Colourings,--small vertical and transverse lines of these shades are formed, meeting each other at right angles. Thus, in Fig. 79, the vertical lines of black oppose the transverse lines of black, and the same arrangement obtains in regard to the grey and white lines.

Check patterns are producible in this scheme of shades by colouring as follows:--

⎧ 1 thread of russet (No. 7, Plate III.). For 18 threads. ⎨ 1 „ citron (No. 8, Plate III.). ⎩ 1 „ olive (No. 9, Plate III.).

⎧ 1 thread of russet. For 18 threads. ⎨ 1 „ citron. ⎩ 1 „ blue.

In the first eighteen threads, the effects formed are of russet, citron, and olive; but in the last eighteen, blue takes the place of the olive, so that when the style is woven with the same series of weft as warp colourings, it makes a mellow check design.

Another method of adding to the utility of this form of pattern consists in introducing into its composition an over-check of fancy shades, which may be obtained thus:--

⎧ 1 thread of black. For 19 threads. ⎨ 1 „ brown. ⎩ 1 „ black and white twist. 1 thread of black and blue twist. 1 „ black and scarlet twist.

There results from this method of grouping shades, a pattern consisting of a rectangular space of nineteen ends and picks of small effects, similar to those seen in Fig. 79, but consisting of black, brown, and black-and-white twist, instead of black, grey, and white. In the prunelle twill, this colouring produces hairline patterns in three shades. Other stripe and check designs result from combining the warp and weft weaves, and developing in the same colouring.

[Illustration: FIG. 80.]

[Illustration: FIG. 80A.]

The effects obtained from using this colouring in the six-end twill are more diversified in character than those producible in the plain make. They are of three distinct styles. The style of pattern now acquired depends on the method in which the respective shades meet each other in the weave. The several effects obtained, when the [3/3] twill is used, are shown in Fig. 80. This has been developed in the weave given in Fig. 80A, which is a small check design composed of six-end twill, running in two directions. Let the sections of the woven pattern acquired in Fig. 80 be analyzed separately. It must be understood that the order of shades is the same throughout, namely, that in Scheme I. of Class B of the Regular Simple Colourings. Hence the diversification of style here noticed is a resultant of weave and not of colour combinations. The different effects acquired in Sections _A_, _B_, and _D_, show that makes of various constructions have been employed. A distinct style obtains, for instance, in Part _A_ from Part _B_. In the former, lines of black are set at right angles to other lines of this shade, while the grey and white yarns form diagonals; but in _B_ all the three shades run diagonally. Section _C_ is practically the same as _B_, while _D_ is also similar, only twilling to the left. The parts lettered _A_, _B_, _C_, and _D_ in the design, Fig. 80A, correspond to those just described. One other effect may be got in the six-end twill besides those considered in this order of threads, namely, that in which two diagonals, grey and white, twill to the left, or the opposite to what they do in _A_, and small transverse lines of black be set across similar vertical lines. If the positions of the shades were altered, the grey or the white yarns might be made to form the disconnected spots.

[Illustration: FIG. 81.]

[Illustration: FIG. 82.]

A further principle of colouring suggested by this illustration is, that the same plan of shades and method of weaving are capable of yielding different woven results according to the system on which they are combined. Thus, as has just been indicated, without modifying the scheme of colours, the check design in the six-shaft twill gives the effects sketched in Fig. 80. Parts _A_ and _D_ are formed by one weave running to the right, yet how different they are in character! To what is the difference due? The design shows that the black threads and picks do not meet each other in the same way, for while in Part _A_ of Fig. 80A the first pick is two threads down, three up, three down, three up, and one down; in Part _D_ it is three up and three down, so that in reality the first pick in _A_ corresponds to the fifth pick in _D_. Still, though the order of the threads is the same in both sections, the methods on which the colours are crossed in the respective parts of the texture are dissimilar, hence corresponding results cannot possibly ensue. This difference of effect, arising from commencing colouring on certain threads and picks of the weave, increases the variety of styles obtainable in the same order of threads and principle of intertexture.

143. _Various Three-shade Patterns._--Amongst other Simple orders of colouring composed of three shades are those given in Schemes II., III., and IV. of Class B. Each system may be developed in the six-end twill--the last system, which may be termed the three-4’s, also produces standards in four-shaft weaves. Only two of these principles are illustrated, namely, the three-2’s and the three-3’s. It will be evident from the sketches, Figs. 81 and 82, that these patterns belong to a useful class of effects. Fig. 81 is a neat form of intermingled check. Such compounds of shades as the following may be applied:--

I. 3 threads of citron (No. 9, Plate III.). 3 „ olive (No. 1, Plate III.). 3 „ russet (No. 7, Plate III.).

II. 3 threads of dark blue (No. 7, Plate IV.). 3 „ dark olive (No. 13, Plate IV.). 3 „ dark brown (No. 1, Plate IV.).

III. 3 threads of light olive (No. 9, Plate VI.). 3 „ lilac (No. 17, Plate VI.). 3 „ fawn (No. 10, Plate VI.).

The I. and III. of these colourings are suitable for dress fabrics, but the II. is adapted for tweed suitings. This form of pattern should also be developed in mixture and twist yarns in woollen, worsted, and cotton materials.

As a result of employing this scheme of shades, three sets of checks, each formed within the other, are obtained in the fabric. By examining Fig. 81, it will be observed there is first the check of black; second, the check of grey; and third, the check of white. The character of the style due to the weave is apparent in this illustration. There is also perfect balance of shades. This feature, which mainly results from the twill employed in the construction of the pattern, contributes to the general character of the style. Still, it will be noticed that the manner in which the black threads interlace produces a different check from that resulting from the grey or white yarns.

Fig. 82 gives a more irregular style than Fig. 81, on account of the weave being repeated three times, and the order of the shades twice, before one complete pattern is acquired. This arises from there being nine threads in the plan of shades--3 of black, 3 of grey, and 3 of white--and six threads in the weave. The pattern sketched in Fig. 82 in one particular resembles the preceding style, for the shades combined form three broken checks, but in other characteristics it is quite different. The element of black is exactly proportionate to that of grey or white, and each shade constitutes a well-defined series of minute effects, which, by repetition, bring out the check character of the style. It is a base that is improved by diversity of colouring. In combination with Fig. 81, wefted either three-2’s or three-3’s, it yields stripe and check designs of a broad character.

[Illustration: FIG. 83.]

144. _Simple Colourings composed of Four Shades._--Each of the four arrangements in Class C of Simple Colourings is illustrated. Scheme I. is given in Fig. 83. It forms a hairline stripe of four colours if produced in the swansdown weave, when the order of the wefting is 1 pick black, 1 pick dark grey, 1 pick white, and 1 pick medium grey. This style is applied to fancy woollens, and also to worsteds. It is a standard colour-base for trouserings and fabrics in which a fine line pattern is required. The same arrangement of shades in the plain weave makes a mixture effect, and in the common twill the colourings form a minute broken check.

Fig. 84 results from the II. Scheme of Colouring given in Class C. The weave is cassimere twill, but the celtic or mat, and other weaves of a regular construction on four and eight shafts, are also used. Here are four more or less disconnected checkings of colours forming an intermingled pattern, choice in outline and soft in tone.

A more pronounced style is got when the quantities of the several shades are increased, and a weave selected of an open structure. These points are brought out in Fig. 85, in which the same arrangement of shades obtains as in Fig. 84, only the quantity of each colour is increased one-third, and the six-shaft twill substituted for the four-shaft twill. Broader effects are therefore the result. Were this sketch repeated, to show the outline of the pattern more clearly, it would be observable that the black, dark grey, medium grey, and white shades all form checkings, which, in the fabric, are quite distinct from each other. As the order of shades here contains twelve threads, the six-shaft twill is one of the best weaves that can be employed for regularly and equally distributing the shades.

[Illustration: FIG. 84.]

[Illustration: FIG. 85.]

Eight-shaft makes being repeated three times before they meet the plan of colours, give more irregular and mingled effects.

The last example in Simple Colourings obtained by combining four shades is given in Fig. 86. It has been produced in the Mayo weave, in Fig. 86A. In common twills of more uniform interlacings, it gives a pattern of more decided markings. The Mayo weave has broken up the groups of fours into which the colours are divided. As a consequence, the resultant style is characterized by softness and intermingled colouring. The weave effect is an important feature. Either sets of hues of different colours of the same depth, or sets of shades in one colour, may be employed in this scheme.

All the examples described in Regular Simple Colourings are of a typical character, and in practice are diversified in colouring and in weave.

[Illustration: FIG. 86.]

[Illustration: FIG. 86A.]

145. _Irregular Simple Colourings._--These are patterns in which the quantities of the different shades used, or the plans of colouring as to succession of colours, are not uniform. They are not so numerous as the “Regular Colourings” already considered, but they are important in pattern designing. The principal of these combinations are furnished in the Table below:--

TABLE X.

IRREGULAR SIMPLE COLOURINGS.

CLASS A.--COMPOSED OF TWO SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 2 threads of black. 1 thread of white.

_II. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 1 thread of white.

_III. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 2 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 2 „ white. 2 „ black. 2 „ white.

CLASS B.--COMPOSED OF THREE SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 2 threads of black. 2 „ grey. 1 thread of white.

_II. Scheme._ 3 threads of black. 2 „ grey. 1 thread of white.

_III. Scheme._ 6 threads of black. 4 „ medium grey. 2 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 6 threads of white. 2 „ grey. 2 „ black. 2 „ grey.

CLASS C.--COMPOSED OF FOUR SHADES.

_I. Scheme._ 3 threads of black. 2 „ dark grey. 2 „ medium grey. 1 thread of white.

_II. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 3 „ dark grey. 3 „ medium grey. 2 „ white.

_III. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 2 „ medium grey. 4 „ light grey. 2 „ white.

_IV. Scheme._ 4 threads of black. 2 „ medium grey. 2 „ light grey. 4 „ white. 2 „ light grey. 2 „ medium grey.

146. _Irregular Simple Patterns of Two Shades._--In this class of colouring are found some useful bases for fancy textures composed of simple twills and other elementary crossings. They may be considered in the order named in the Table. The first scheme is most generally used in the prunelle twill, in which weave it gives lines lengthways or across the texture, according to whether the make is warp or weft flushed. These two twills combined in figured designs, and this order of colouring adopted, produce a style of pattern resembling that got by blending two plain makes, only one line of colour is twice the thickness of the other.

The II. Scheme finds application to five-shaft weaves. Thus, in twill, Fig. 87A, it makes the neat check style seen in Fig. 87. The same scheme is applied to cottons and fancy woollens. Some effective patterns ensue from colouring--

For 25 threads. ⎧4 threads of black. ⎩1 thread of white.

For 25 threads. ⎧4 threads of white. ⎩1 thread of black.

The form of the pattern resultant from this arrangement comprises a series of effects similar to Fig. 87, and then a series of effects with a white ground and black spotting.

[Illustration: FIG. 87.]

[Illustration: FIG. 87A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 87B.]

The extent to which one thread and a slight change in the weave may alter the nature of a woven pattern is illustrated by Fig. 87B, obtained in the four-end celtic and the III. Scheme of shades in Class A. The weave and the colours are combined on such a principle, that the shade used in the smallest quantity forms short vertical and transverse lines on the surface of the texture. This, like the preceding example, is an order of colouring that is frequently varied by transposing the shades thus:--

For 24 threads. ⎧4 threads of black. ⎩2 „ white.

For 24 threads. ⎧4 threads of white. ⎩2 „ black.

Providing the weft is the same as the warp, a square is first formed in which the lines or spots are white, and arranged on a black ground, and then a check of black lines on a white ground. When the shades do not form strong contrasts, this base is capable of being utilized in the production of a large variety of fancy fabrics.

A more irregular effect, Fig. 88, results from employing Scheme IV., than either Schemes II. or III. The weave, Fig. 87A, produces the mingled cast of the pattern. Shades may be employed here that give well-emphasized contrasts.

There are several other forms of these colourings, such as the following:--

(_a_) 5 threads of black. 2 „ white.

(_b_) 6 threads of black. 2 „ white.

(_c_) 8 threads of black. 3 „ white. 2 „ black. 3 „ white.

[Illustration: FIG. 88.]

[Illustration: FIG. 89A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 89.]

The first of these is applicable to seven- and fourteen-shaft weaves, in which it may be made to produce some characteristic effects. The second of these additional irregular two-shade colourings is mostly employed in eight-end makes of special construction. Two patterns in which it has been used are sketched in Figs. 89 and 90. It is the structure of the respective weaves that is the cause of one pattern--Fig. 89--being a minute check of a clear outline, and of the other pattern--Fig. 90--being a bird’s-eye spot. In Fig. 89, the weave is a fancy mat, Fig. 89A. The white threads in both warp and weft fall on the 7th and 8th threads and picks in the weave. To these threads and picks, the check character of the pattern is due. They cause the black yarns to be grouped together in the form of a minute irregular rectangle, and the white yarns to give the skeleton check effect. In Fig. 90A, the same threads and picks again determine the specific effect of the pattern. They so control the grouping of the yarns that the white threads produce the small spot or star. These illustrations demonstrate the principle of originating plans of weaving, which will change the pattern produced by a given set of colours in such manner as to compose distinct styles.

[Illustration: FIG. 90.]

[Illustration: FIG. 90A.]

The effect of the third arrangement given above is to form the pattern seen in Fig. 91. It is a base that frequently finds an important place in tweeds, flannels, dresses, and worsted suitings. It is a neatly-marked check. The weave employed in its construction is Fig. 91A. This scheme is developed in light, medium, and dark shades, and in self, compound, and mixture yarns. Considering that only two shades are used in its construction, it is a pattern having diversity of outline.

[Illustration: FIG. 91.]

[Illustration: FIG. 91A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 92.]

147. _Irregular Simples, composed of Three Shades._--Brief descriptions need only be given of these. A small check is obtainable by the first of these schemes. It is best adapted for weaves occupying five threads. The weave employed in making this pattern--Fig. 92--is Fig. 87A.

[Illustration: FIG. 93.]

[Illustration: FIG. 94.]

The II. Scheme is workable in the six-end twill, in which it yields an ordinary suiting style (Fig. 93). The shades used in the largest proportions in this pattern should be the most subdued in tone, while the colour for the single thread should be the brightest. This arrangement has been adhered to in the illustration.

[Illustration: FIG. 95.]

[Illustration: FIG. 96.]

Schemes III. and IV. may be analyzed together. The former, Fig. 94, has been developed in the six-end twill, and the latter, Fig. 95, in the mat or celtic. They are two typical patterns. The latter pattern appears to combine both check and figured effects, the small detached lines of black producing the figured appearance, and the grey shade, in combination with the black and white, yielding the toned check characteristic. It is applicable to all classes of simple fancies. It does not possess that distinct check cast which is so apparent in Fig. 94. This style is really constructed on a similar principle to Fig. 93, for the respective shades gradually decrease in quantity from the beginning to the end of the pattern. All such arrangements admit of two methods of colouring. In the first place, the darkest shade may be made the principal factor, and in the second place, the lightest shade. The intermediate colour--in this instance grey--is invariably placed in the centre in this style of colouring.

[Illustration: FIG. 97.]

[Illustration: FIG. 98.]

148. _“Irregulars” composed of Four Shades._--The first of these schemes gives an effect somewhat similar to that which results from Fig. 93, only here the cassimere twill may be employed, and probably a neater pattern acquired. In certain weaves, such as Fig. 96, the Second Scheme, Class C, produces an excellent type of suiting. It is illustrated in Fig. 97. If clearer effects are needed, common twills should be used, such as the six-end weave, which forms the pattern in Fig. 98. The III. Scheme yields in the Mayo a very effective pattern, as is seen in Fig. 99. Here the black yarns produce a broken line, while the other colours constitute intermingled checkings. This is a base, capable of being employed in the manufacture of various classes of fancy textures. Scheme IV., Fig. 100, is a neat method of grouping shades for fancy checks. The pattern sketched has been produced in the sixteen-shaft diagonal (Fig. 100A), but it might also be worked in common twill and mat weaves. Such a diagonal adds, however, to the attractiveness of the intermixture of shades. The characteristics of this example are due to the system on which the threads of warp and weft interlace. The pattern is a species of shaded check. From the tinted white to the black there is a graduated shade of greys, and in the following sets of colourings the same mellow toning would be observed.

[Illustration: FIG. 99.]

[Illustration: FIG. 100.]

[Illustration: FIG. 100A.]

I. 4 threads of black. 2 „ dark brown. 2 „ olive „ 4 „ light „ 2 „ olive „ 2 „ dark „

II. 4 threads of black. 2 „ dark grey. 2 „ light „ 4 „ white. 2 „ light grey. 2 „ dark „

III. 4 threads of dark blue and dark grey twist. 2 „ „ medium grey twist. 2 „ „ light grey twist. 4 „ „ white twist. 2 „ „ light grey twist. 2 „ „ medium grey twist.

This colour-base may be applied to cotton textures and light fabrics, when the colourings should be considerably brighter than those enumerated. For variety of effect, it is one of the most important colourings included in the ordinary series of irregular elementary styles.

[Illustration: FIG. 101.]

149. _Cross-Weftings._--This term is applied to weft colouring which does not correspond with the warp colouring as to order of shades. All the Simple, and many of the Compound special Schemes of Colouring may be cross-wefted. As a result, another form of coloured pattern is obtained from that due to applying the same order of wefting as warping.

The following scheme (Fig. 101) is typical:--

_Warp._ 3 black. 3 white.

_Wefts._ (_a_) 1 black. ⎫ 1 white. ⎪ (_b_) 2 black. ⎬ Woven in the [2/2] twill. 2 white. ⎪ (_c_) 4 black. ⎪ 4 white. ⎭

(_d_) 1 black. ⎫ In the [3/3] twill. 1 white. ⎭

(_e_) 2 black. ⎫ In the [2/2]mat. 2 white. ⎭

[Illustration: Plate XXII

STYLES DUE TO SIMPLE ORDERS OF COLOURING]

On Plate XXII., some further examples of the effects of cross-wefting are illustrated. The orders of warping and wefting are as follows:--

_Warping._ _Wefting._

_Series A to A3._ _Series I._ 2 dark. Same as warp for Series _A_ to _A3_. 2 light.

_Series B to B3._ _Series II._ 3 dark. Same as warp for Series _B_ to _B3_. 3 light.

_Series C to C3._ _Series III._ 6 dark. Same as warp for Series _C_ to _C3_. 6 light.

_Series D to D3._ _Series IV._ 4 dark. Same as warp for Series _D_ to _D3_. 4 light. 2 dark. 2 light.

Patterns _A_, _B1_, _C2_, and _D3_ are woven as warped, but other specimens are cross-wefted. Of the latter, the following are regular styles and correct pattern bases:--_A1_, _A2_, _B_, _C_, _C1_, _C3_, _D_, _D1_, and _D2_. Examples _A2_, _D2_, and _D3_ are striped or lined across, showing that in extreme differences between the warping and wefting, irregular forms of pattern or effect result: _e.g._ _A2_ warped 2-and-2, and wefted 6-and-6; and _D2_ and _D3_ warped 3-and-3, and woven 6-and-6, and 4, 4, 2, 2 respectively.