Chapter VIII: Chenille

CHENILLE Axminster carpeting possesses one or two features which differentiate it sharply from other kinds of carpet. It is the product of two distinct processes: the formation of the chenille fur, and the weaving of that fur, which is the weft, into a carpet. It is, in fact, about the only cut-pile carpet fabric in which the pattern is distinctively formed by the weft; for in almost all other makes the weft only performs the function of combining with the chain to form the woven fabric.

Taking first the manufacture of the fur, the dyed yarn, which is normally a single woollen, about 55 yards per ounce, is wound on cops which fit inside the shuttles for the weft looms. Before starting to weave, the weaver will have a supply of cops of all the colours required in the carpet. The paper design will show full size, the whole of the pattern, filling and border, that repeats, in the colours that are to be used. The design is cut up horizontally into strips two squares wide; and the weaver works by this paper strip, which is attached to the fabric in its length, inserting and changing the shuttles carrying yarn of various colours. The warp of the loom consists of sets of ends of fine cotton at intervals of about ½ in. Thus the woven fabric consists of a woollen weft of various colours held together at intervals by a fine cotton warp.

The pitch of the warp varies, of course, according to the character and quality of the fur to be made, the scales, indicating the number of sets of warp threads to the yard, being, normally, either 28, 38, 56, 76, or 112. On an ordinary weft loom, making a fabric 42 in. wide, on a 76 scale, there will be 88 strips, which will make two repeats of a certain portion, say 4½ in. long, of 44 carpets. The average length of the woven strip is about 48 yards.

The weaver has to insert by hand the shuttle carrying the required colour to match the square or squares on the painted strip of design paper, count the number of shots needed, stop the loom, change the shuttle and re-start the loom; so that it will be seen that quickness of eye and dexterity are required.

A mechanical device has been invented for changing the shuttles; but it is not automatic, and does not appear to present any distinct advantage over the method of changing by hand; and it can only be employed with a limited number of colours.

The fabric is beaten up from 12 to 20 shots per inch, according to the quality of the fur required; but the closer beats up are only suitable for worsted yarn.

The next process is the fur-cutting. The roll of cloth with its horizontal stripes is taken to the cutting machine, where it is cut into strips by a series of knives set upon a revolving cylinder, and spaced so that they sever the woollen weft-threads as the fabric passes over the cutting bed, and leave the independent strips of fur held together by the fine cotton warp.

Immediately after being cut free, these strips of fur pass over a jet of steam and a steam-heated cylinder, whose surface is formed with a series of V-shaped grooves. This has the result of folding upwards the cut ends of the woollen yarn, and giving a permanent V-shape in section to the fur. The object of this is that when the fur comes to be woven, its pile shall all be turned in one direction. The damping of the fur just before the grooved cylinder is sometimes effected by rollers revolving in a trough filled with water.

The newly formed fur is then reeled off into individual skeins. It is marked both with its pattern number and series number, and sorted into its proper sets.

For a carpet 9 ft. wide beaten up 4 shots per inch, it will be seen that each inch in the length of the carpet will require no less than 12 yards of fur weft, so that a strip of fur 48 yards long will only weave 4 inches; and if the repeat of a design be a yard long, 9 series of fur strips will be needed. The fur strips are, therefore, sorted into their sets and numbered from 1 to 9 for a 1 yard repeat, or as the case may be; and are stored in bundles of skeins until required.

We now come to the second part of Chenille manufacture, the weaving up of the fur into the carpet. This is done on a setting loom, which may be regarded for the present purpose as normally of a width of 9 ft. or upwards. This is not saying that Chenille is not woven in narrower widths, for Chenille is woven in pieces 27 in. and 36 in. wide, and a very large business is done in rugs of various widths between about the same limits.

When a carpet is ordered, the fur in bundles of skeins is handed out to the cop-winder, whose duty it is to wind the skeins on to cops for use in the setting loom, and to serve them to the weavers in their proper order. Cops are always the same size, but the length of carpet that a cop will weave depends, of course, on the width of the carpet.

The setting loom is prepared for work by the threading of ends of warp from various beams through eyelets carried on gear frames, in much the same way as in a Brussels or Wilton loom. Indeed, this principle is common to all woven fabrics, varying only in its application, that is to say, in the number and arrangement of the warp beams, the yarn employed, and the pitch.

A, Chenille fur
C, Fur wefts
D, Catcher warp
E, Float warp
F, Stuffer warp
G, Chain
H, Filling weft]

In a typical Chenille carpet, such as that which is beaten up 4 to the inch, as above mentioned, the pitch of the design will be 12 or 13 per inch (the beat-up of the weft), and of the sley 7, though, indeed, the latter is arbitrary, and need bear no relation to the fur. There will be three warp beams, the catcher beam, the chain beam, and the stuffer beam. A fourth is often added, called the float. The catcher warp consists of fine cotton, coloured in some neutral shade, so as to be as nearly invisible as possible, its function being merely to hold down the fur weft when it is inserted into the fabric. The chain, or ground warp, which is generally of jute yarn, is double, and is threaded on to two gears, which rise and fall alternately as in Brussels. The stuffer or dead warp, also of jute, runs straight into the fabric, and gives it substance.

For a 3½ or 4 per inch Chenille carpet, of average quality, two shuttles will be used, one carrying the jute binding weft, and the other the fur. There are four picks of jute weft to one of fur, and at the end of the fifth pick the loom stops automatically with the chain and stuffer horizontal, and the catcher warp forming a shed, under which the fur has just been carried. The weavers, two to each wide loom, will then set the fur, taking care that it matches correctly against the last fur shot, and that the pile points upwards. They will also lightly comb up the fur, so that it beds against the last shot, and the catcher threads settle down neatly through the pile. This done, the loom is re-started: the first beat of the sley pushes the fur shot home, and the next four jute shots are put in.

For closer weaves than 4 per inch, two jute weft shots may suffice, while heavy woollen-backed carpets are produced by the employment of a shuttle carrying a woollen weft.

In the case of heavy-backed carpets, the double shed is usually employed, the adjoining chain ends rising alternately, so that they show on the back in diagonal lines.

The object of a float warp, which rises a little above the level of the stuffer warp just when the fur shot is being woven, is to support the fur shot, and give a fuller and more level effect to the carpet.

There is another method of inserting the weft adopted in looms of a different make, whereby it is carried between the catcher and the other gears by a travelling arm, which leads the fur from a basket or can in which it is placed loose. This has the advantage of enabling a long length of fur to be woven, while it also avoids the crushing of the fur which results from its being wound on to a cop. With this method the catcher beam is placed high up in the middle of the loom, and the sley is made of stronger reeds, open at the top to allow the catcher warp ends to descend between them.

From the loom the complete carpet passes to the finishing room, where it is picked back and front, brushed, steamed, combed, and shorn; all these processes tending to fill out and level the surface. It is then passed or examined for any defects that may have escaped notice in the first mending. The ends of the carpet, which are woven without fur, are turned over and hemmed, preferably by machine. The carpet is then subjected to a final scrutiny before being swept, rolled, and dispatched to the packing room or warehouse.

As has been intimated, considerable variety of quality can be obtained in Chenille Axminster by altering the pitch and thickness of the fur in the weft loom, or the beat-up in the setting loom. In practice, however, competition has centred mainly round two standards of quality: one about 12 shots of yarn per inch in the fur, by 3½ or 4 per inch beat-up in the setting loom; and the other about 14 in the fur and 5 in the setting loom. Extra qualities, however, are also largely made, and heavy fabrics which give an excellent imitation of some Oriental carpets.

Chenille carpets have increased enormously in popularity during the past few years; and the cheaper quality may be considered to have challenged even Imperial Axminster in the consumer’s favour, and almost to have become the critical fabric of the industry. The reason for this is not far to seek. The taste of carpet users all over the world has tended in recent times more and more in the direction of seamless carpets; while the demand for piece goods, in body and border, has correspondingly declined. The evolution of the Chlidema square, woven in 27 in. breadths with a border matching all round, has been to some extent the cause of the loss of the piece goods trade; and it succeeded in retaining the business, though in smaller bulk, for the 3-4 yd. looms, both in Brussels and Wilton, and later, in a less degree, for tufted Axminster. But the breadth square has had to give way before the seamless square, and in particular before the seamless Chenille Axminster square. The cheap Chenille fabric possesses several marked advantages over Brussels and Wilton, Tapestry, and even over, tufted Axminster breadth squares. It is without seam; it gives a comparatively luxurious surface with the absolute minimum of wool; and it is practically unlimited in colour. Further, the looms are not expensive to erect and run, and in this respect the Chenille square has an initial advantage over the seamless Wilton or tufted Axminster carpets, which necessitate costly and complicated machinery. On the other hand, it has its disadvantages. It is not made in a fineness of pitch which admits of effects of design obtainable readily in Wilton or even in tufted Axminster, while, however skilful the setting may be, there is an inherent tendency to irregularity in the pattern, which is apt to offend the critical eye. Further, in the cheaper qualities, which form the great bulk of the sale, the wearing qualities do not compare favourably with those of, say, Imperial Axminster. These disadvantages, however, do not deter that numerous class of consumers which demands an attractive carpet at a moderate price.