Chapter C: Fig. 1

To distinguish linen from cotton, examine the threads carefully; cotton is made up of short fibers which project from the surface of the thread, and become fuzzy when the thread is rubbed between the fingers; when broken, cotton has a tufted end, while the linen fibers break more unevenly and leave a more pointed end. The linen thread should be stronger than the cotton; it has more luster and is usually more uneven. Some kinds of linen have flat threads, but cotton is frequently finished in imitation of flat thread linen.

The old test of moistening the finger and putting it under the cloth is not always a sure one, as the moisture will not come through a heavy linen, or one with much starch in it, and it will come through a sheer, tightly twisted cotton. A better test is to put a drop of olive oil on the cloth and press between blotting papers. The linen becomes more transparent than the cotton.

There is a peculiar leathery feel about good table linen, which cotton will not give, and the luster is different although the difference is hard to describe.

The typical weaves used for linens are as follows. The damask, satin or sateen weave used for table linens and towels is especially good for the former because of the very smooth lustrous surface it affords, but not so good for towels as it does not absorb moisture very readily, although it is very attractive. Huck, an uneven weave, giving a good surface for the absorption of water, makes splendid towels, and decorated with designs in damask weave may be very handsome. Many linens in plain weaves are available for clothing, embroidery, etc., while the coarse Russian crashes are becoming quite popular for decorative purposes.

The texture of linen is such that the heavier kinds hang well in folds, lie flat on a table, and are very artistic for many purposes.

WOOL

Wool, the second fiber in amount used for clothing, is an animal fiber and differs greatly from the vegetable fibers discussed. Wool from the sheep’s back differs from hair of goats or other animals in several ways. Wool is very curly, and possesses a scaly structure in a much more marked degree than hair, in which the external scales lie flat. The surface of wool has sometimes been compared to a pine cone, or the scales of a fish, although these two are quite different. The scales on the wool fiber when moist and warm stand up, more as the pine cone, and when cold and dry or cold and moist, lie flat. This peculiar structure of the surface of the wool fibers gives them the property of felting, or matting very closely together. Wool is also quite elastic, although it has not great strength.

Since the demand for woolen cloth far exceeds the supply of new wool there are many devices for making the supply go a long way, and consequently many methods for deceiving the buyer. In adulterating a material the manufacturer seeks a material cheaper than the fiber he wishes to adulterate, one which can be concealed readily. Wool when combined with the cheaper cotton fiber makes a material which wears well, but does not keep its shape as well as all-wool cloth, is less warm, and should of course receive a lower price than all-wool.

Because of the felting property of wool it is quite possible to conceal a good deal of cotton under the surface of the woolen cloth, and when the fibers are mixed before the threads are spun the task of detecting them becomes doubly difficult.

WOOLENS AND WORSTEDS

Two classes of cloth are manufactured from wool. Woolens are made usually of short wool carded and spun into yarn in which the threads lie in all directions. This is woven into cloth which usually has the surface heavily felted, so that all of the intersections of threads in weaving are covered. Here then is splendid opportunity for adulteration, since cotton or poor wool may be covered up by the surface felting.

WORSTED

The other class is made from longer staple wool, combed, and drawn until the fibers are parallel, then hard twisted. When woven the ends of the threads do not project on the surface, and the finish is not intended to cover the weave, hence it is more difficult to adulterate unless entire cotton threads were woven with the worsted, and these are more easily detected than a mixture of cotton and wool, or shoddy in woolen cloth. Common examples of woolens are flannels, broadcloth and venetian cloth; of worsteds, serge, challie, men’s suitings and voile. Mohair is a worsted cloth woven of the wool of the Angora goat, with a warp usually of cotton or silk.

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