The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Carpets And Rugs

The thread on the knitting needle which is woven backward and forward is the weft. The space that is made by the heddle for the shuttle to pass through is called the "shed".

The warp and weft form the body structure of the carpet. Sometimes extra threads are laid lengthwise and crosswise of the carpet which do not add to the strength, but simply increase the bulk, weight and stiffness. Such threads are called "stuffers" or "fillers." The face of the carpet which is called the "pile" is attached to the warp and weft in various ways, depending upon the type of carpet. The exact method of attaching the pile and laying in the filling material is discussed in connection with the descriptions of the various types of carpets, each of which is treated in a separate chapter.

Finishing

The woven carpet is steamed and dried to straighten the pile and make it stand upright, after which it is passed through a machine which shears it to an even height. The blades of this machine cut on the same principle as the lawn mower. The carpet is then examined carefully and all imperfections removed by hand. Before going out, it is thoroughly cleaned so as to remove as much of the dead pile as possible. Some of the manufacturers of the finest cut-pile carpets use Hoover Suction Sweepers to remove this dead pile. If the dead pile is not removed it often leads the purchaser to think that this carpet is falling to pieces.

Brussels Carpet

The Brussels carpel involves the same principles of weaving as are used in the Wilton, the Tapestry and the Velvet, all of which were developed after the Brussels. In all of these carpets the pile is formed by looping worsted or woolen threads over wires that are stretched in the loom at right angles to the warp. The way these threads are manipulated is shown by a simple diagram in Figure 24, Plate I. There are three classes of threads stretched lengthwise of the Brussels loom. The warp proper, called the "chain", is lettered 0. These warp threads are made of cotton and are woven up and down over the weft threads, binding the fabric together. The second type of war]) thread is the filler, F, a cotton thread which goes straight through between the weft threads. It simply adds to the bulk and stiffness of the fabric and takes the strain produced by the chain in pulling the weft threads together. The third class of warp is a series of woolen threads, there being one for each color employed in the pattern. These threads are manipulated in such a way that the proper color is brought up at each point and looped over a wire which is later withdrawn, leaving the loop.