Chapter XI: Weaving the Van Heusen Collar

_Heavy Loom Required—How Long-Sided Effect and Folding Line Are Obtained—Cloth Construction_

Until recently the soft collar was cut and carved into shape from plain piece goods. The patented Van Heusen collar has done away with much of this, for from the loom is produced a fabric properly shaped and formed for the purpose, and ready to be cut into suitable lengths. It is adapted to various styles. Clumsy joinings are done away with and a collar is produced which combines shape, comfort and appearance. Much labor in collar manufacturing is also eliminated by this method of production.

There have recently been quite a number of factories put on the production of these goods, and at least one newly organized factory is devoted exclusively to their manufacture. The main feature in the Van Heusen collar is that it is woven in such a manner that when it leaves the loom it is complete in respect of the cloth for the band and outer part, with provision made for folding, thus doing away with any joining together of the two parts as formerly.

The formation of a cloth having the novel quality of allowing for a greater woven length at the outer edge of the collar than at the band, properly graded throughout so as to meet all the requirements of a collar in comfort and fit, at the same time providing for the insertion of the scarf so that it will run easily, and also allowing for the production of a variety of styles, calls for features in manufacturing that are different in many respects from the making of a flat fabric.

HEAVY LOOM REQUIRED

The first essential is a loom of sufficient strength and firmness to withstand the heavy beat of the lay resulting from packing in the filling, where an aggregate weight of 1,000 pounds for each individual piece must be carried. The looms which are now being used have from 12 to 16 pieces, so that it will be seen that they must be very rigid indeed properly to care for the weight carried on the combined pieces, and maintain uniform picking. In order also to get the requisite shed opening, the strain on the cams and cam jacks is severe, so that provision for ample strength at these parts is essential.

CONE-SHAPED TAKE-UP ROLL

The long-sided formation of the cloth is produced by the use of a cone-shaped take-up roll, as shown in the illustration, which has a slope of 1 inch in 6 inches. Above this cone-shaped roll is hung a straight roll, which swings freely to different angles, so as to take care of the slack delivered to the take-up roll. It will be noticed that one leg of the swinging roll is longer than the other, thus allowing the straight roll to set in proper position over the cone.

At first thought it would seem advisable to provide a reverse cone-shaped take-up roll, as shown in the illustration, which has a slope of 1 [Transcriber’s Note: It’s possible that a line of text was missing here from the original printing, as the sentence doesn’t make complete sense] the impracticability of such an arrangement and the straight roll with a free movement as described is more desirable. It is also necessary, or at least advisable, to use a slightly tapered roll on the breast beam, over which the cloth passes.

WOVEN IN THREE WIDTHS

The fabric woven is made in three widths, 4¼ inches, 4¾ inches and 5¼ inches, with the folding line in different positions in each width, so as to provide for different styles. The great amount of stock employed over these widths, and the difference in the take-up between one side of the web and the other, makes it necessary to divide the warps into sections and carry considerable weight on each, so as to obtain a perfect clearance in the shed, and pack the filling in uniformly.

THE WEAVE

The weave employed is an ordinary double cloth plain, made with face, back, binder and gut. It is necessary to have 2 back, 2 binder, 4 face and 4 gut warps. The accompanying table will show the number of threads required in each warp, together with the weights carried on each one.

WARP DETAILS FOR VAN HEUSEN COLLAR

4¼ Inch 4¾ Inch 5¼ Inch

No. of Threads Weight No. of Threads No. of Threads
Warps (60/2) Carried Warps (60/2) Warps (60/2)
Face 2 99 8 lbs. each 2 109 2 119
Face 2 82 7 lbs. each 2 92 2 104
Back 1 198 13 lbs. each 1 218 2 238
Back 1 164 12 lbs. each 1 184 2 208
Binder 1 99 10 lbs. each 1 109 1 119
Binder 1 78 7 lbs. each 1 88 1 100
Gut 2 99 8 lbs. each 2 109 2 119
Gut 2 78 7 lbs. each 2 88 2 100

It is essential that these warps be properly separated at the back rolls; Use the first roll for two binder, second for 4 face, third for 2 back and fourth for 4 gut. A 24 dent back reed should be used, which will allow for 4 face, 4 gut, 2 back and 2 binders in each dent, which together with the back roll separation of the different warps makes it convenient to handle the various warp sections and keep the threads straight and confined to the limitations of space available.

METHOD OF REEDING

The front reed used is a 40 dent, with one cord or seven threads to each dent. In some mills, however, great advantage has been found in using a 26½ dent front reed, drawing 10 threads in one dent and 11 in the next, splitting between face and back, which makes the stock work much easier, and relatively increases the output. Any tendency to “rowing” caused by the dents in this coarser reed are completely hidden in the bleaching process.

The folding line between the neck band and the outer fold of the collar is made by leaving out the binder and gut threads in four cords at the desired point, only retaining the face and back threads. The position of the folding line may be varied in each of the three standard widths to meet the requirements of the manufacturer and according to the style of the collar desired.

There are 104 picks per inch, counting at the folded line, as there are more on the short side and less on the long side. High grade 60/2 C. P. yarn is used throughout. The goods are woven in the gray and bleached afterwards.

Knitted Narrow Fabrics

By WILLIAM DAVIS, M.A.

_Branch of the Knitting Industry That Presents Interesting Features—Yarn Testing—Manufacture of Cleaners and Meat Bags, Coverings for Wires and Cables, Fancy Stitch and Colored Effects for Trimmings—Use of Core Thread to Give Strength_

Knitting machine builders are remarkable for the new inventions and adaptations they are constantly bringing out on their machines. Several important concerns in this line have recently been active in producing types to deal with the large trade now being done in narrow fabrics for various purposes.

The ordinary circular knitting machine of small diameter has long been recognized as a suitable means of making trials of new yarns to judge how closely they match the original sample, because in knitting there is not the necessity of elaborate warp preparation and loom mounting. The machine generally employed for this purpose is an ordinary type of stocking knitter containing 96 or 112 needles. If the machine is only to be employed as a sampling machine it is by no means necessary to have a full stocking machine, because in this work it is never necessary to use the ribber or dial which is always supplied.

The work of sampling to shade is done in most weaving or spinning factories and a narrow width plain stitch knitting machine is satisfactory for the purpose. It is usually quite suitable to work the machine by hand, owing to the small lengths required and the frequent changes necessary when testing different colors and qualities.

The latch needle machine is much better for this purpose than the bearded needle frame owing to the simplicity of loop formation and also owing to the facility with which small or thick yarns can be made to give good work on the machine with suitable adjustment of the stitch tensions. It is also used as a means of producing samples of color, as the various colors can be introduced rapidly one after the other on this machine.

This type of frame with the needles stationary, and revolving cams and thread guide has from the first been recognized as the best adapted for knitting gas mantles from ramie. The yarn is working in long lengths on a narrow width circular knitting machine using the latch needle and this fabric is afterwards cut into lengths according to the mantles being produced. Mantles of different sizes can be obtained by using different diameters of machines as supplied by machine builders for this purpose.

In most hardware establishments and department stores one sees woven metal material knitted into fabric on such machines, and intended to be used for cleaning pots and pans in household work. The wire has a sharp edge so as to grip the matter to be removed. Knitting the metal material into looped form enables the product to do its work with the greatest efficiency.

Another side line of the knitting industry is the production of what are known as meat bags, with which the carcasses of frozen and ordinary mutton and beef are covered prior to transport. These bags are usually made on circular knitting machines of large diameter using the latch needle, and as the size of the yarn is fine compared to the set of the needles a gauze-like character is obtained which allows free circulation of air as well as affording a clean method of handling the meat and protecting it in the course of transport on ship, train and truck.

PLAIN KNITTED TUBE

Examples are given by the accompanying illustrations of a few products of the narrow fabric branch of the trade. It will be evident at once what an interesting field of application is afforded by this division of the knitting industry. Fig. 1 shows a plain knitted fabric worked in circular form on a knitting machine using the latch needle in which we have 40 needles in the circumference, so that in this tube, front and back, are 40 stitches shown here in flat form.

It is evident that this tubing can be used for the purpose of covering wires and cables which slide inside the fabric. It has more elasticity than woven fabric of similar form and is generally produced in a more simple and direct manner. It should be pointed out, however, that this fabric is susceptible to being torn and if it breaks at any point a little further strain will cause it to unravel in a rapid manner. Thus it is clear that it cannot be used by itself to any great extent in cases where great strain or pull will be applied to it. Made in suitable materials, there is nothing to hinder this tube from serving as lamp wicks.