Chapter X: Ingrain

THE kind of carpet that is variously called Kidderminster, Scotch, or Ingrain, differs considerably from any of the carpets hitherto described. Perhaps essentially, and in regard to texture, it is most akin to hand-woven Tapestry, having a flat ribbed surface, without tufts like Axminster or loops like Brussels.

A & B, Warp threads of different colours
X & Y, Wefts of corresponding colours]

The original type of this carpet was the Ingrain or “Two-ply Super.” It was made with a worsted warp traversed by a woollen weft, and was woven in pieces 1 yd. wide. The worsted warp was coloured generally to match the weft, for which two, three, or four shuttles were employed. The design and colour effect depended upon the working of the weft, though the incidental appearance on the surface of the warp threads, which were harmonious or neutral in shade, did not disturb the pattern. There were 1,088 warp ends for a full super warp to the 36 in. width of fabric, two to each reed, equal to 544, or a pitch of about 15 per inch; while the beat-up contained 14 pairs of weft to the inch, that is, 14 above and 14 below. This fineness of pitch and beat-up admitted of delicate and ambitious designing, and of clever and artistic effects in spite of the limitation of colours. The writer has seen an American Ingrain carpet, date about 1893, representing the landing of Columbus, which was admirably drawn and shaded, and at a little distance might easily have been mistaken for a hand-made Tapestry.

The Ingrain carpet was made in large quantities at one time in the 36 in. width in Scotland, the North of England, and in the United States, but is more or less obsolete at the present time, having given way before other types.

Developments have been in various directions, different manufacturers having pursued different improvements in looms or in textures; but the tendency of the development has been mainly in the direction of rather heavier fabrics and wider looms. There are at least as many as twenty different qualities in this branch of the carpet trade at the present time, varying from each other in more or less important particulars. It must suffice, however, to describe one or two of the fabrics, illustrating variations of the Ingrain principle, the original type of which has been indicated above.

Of recent years there has been a considerable demand for plain colours, and these can be made either in the twill or the plain weave. In these fabrics both warp and weft are dyed, with the object of obtaining a solid effect. For a twill, four gears are required; but the plain or “Oatmeal” surface can be obtained from two.

For two-colour effects, there are double warps, one of each colour, each warp working with the weft of the same shade. A two-ply carpet is thus formed in such a way that the design shows on each surface but with the colours reversed.

Alternatively, a two-colour effect can be produced from wefts of two shades only, working with a black or neutral chain, the pattern being obtained entirely from the appearance on the surface, above the chain, of the dyed weft.

Warps: A, Black; B, Red; C, White; D, Olive
Wefts: A, Black; B, Red; C, White; D, Olive]

Where a more ambitious colour effect is desired, four warps, each of a different colour, can be employed instead of two pairs. These, combined in different ways with four wefts of various colours, obviously give scope for a great variety of shade and design.

The so-called Art Squares—not a very satisfactory name—are generally made with two coloured warps, one cotton chain, and one jute stuffer beam. The design is operated, as, of course, in many other kinds of loom, by a Jacquard mechanism. The blanks or perforations in the pattern cards cause some of the chain threads to be lifted up while others are left down, the space between them forming the shed, through which the shuttle passes, carrying the weft. Where the chain ends only are lifted, the weft will show; where the stuffer is raised, it will cover the weft. There may be three or four shuttles, each carrying a different coloured weft, and one or other of the wefts will appear on the surface of the carpet all along the shot, while the remainder will remain hidden. Sometimes one shuttle carries a cotton weft.

In some weaves the black stuffer is occasionally brought to the surface so as to obtain an additional effect, or, alternatively, a two-colour chain warp is employed, without a stuffer.

A more complicated variety of weave can be made with three sets of warp threads, each of two colours, alternately, and six wefts correspondingly coloured. This produces a fabric of three textures, which are fastened to each other at the point of interchange. If, therefore, the design should involve a large area of one colour or effect, this area is apt to be loose and baggy, covering a pocket, which is not attached to the rest of the fabric. This defect, however, can be overcome by utilising one of the warps or wefts to act as a binding thread.

As has been intimated above, modern developments of Ingrain carpets have tended in the direction of wide seamless carpets, in which respect the fabric is on the same lines as other classes of carpeting. The bulk of the trade now lies in the wide carpets, and comparatively few breadth goods are woven. The modern Art Square loom is a fine piece of mechanism, inspiring admiration with its comparatively small Jacquard, its mass of cordage, and its ingenious co-ordinated motions.

Modern developments of fabrics have also been in the direction of heavier goods and coarser pitches. Most qualities now being made contain 1,088 warp ends to the yard, in stuffer and chain combined. The yarn now used is heavier, as it has been realised that a carpet needs weight, both for the sake of wearing qualities, and in order that it may lie well on the floor.

The preliminary and final processes in the manufacture of Ingrain carpets are substantially the same, as regards winding, beaming, finishing, etc., as for other fabrics; and these have been already described. Mention may be made, however, of a warping mill for preparing the warp beams for wide carpets. The yarns are wound from bobbins fixed in a frame, in some convenient multiple of the number of ends required, on to a large reel frame or warping mill, which revolves on either a vertical or horizontal axis. This frame has a diameter of about 12 ft., so as to enable a long length of warp to be wound upon it. When the required number of ends of the desired lengths have been wound, they are unwound from the reel on to a beam, which can be fitted into the beaming machine, and detached again, so as to go into the loom. The beaming machine is adjustable to take different widths of beam.

Compared with some carpet fabrics, Ingrain must take a modest place. The effects of design and colour of which it is capable are limited; and though, in theory, the combination of three or four wefts, with as many warps of similar or different colours, gives an almost indefinite potential number of colour combinations, yet in practice these have their limits. It will be generally conceded that Ingrain carpets are most effective in simple and severe designs, using few colours. Nor can it claim to be a luxurious carpet to tread upon. Even the heaviest Ingrain lacks the resiliency, which the looped pile gives to even a cheap Brussels or Tapestry. On the other hand, it can be very artistic within its limitations; and it has the merit of being made in wide seamless carpets, and of these carpets being clean in wear and easily handled.