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

Carpets And Rugs

A further indication of the quality of the carpet is given by the closeness of the weave. The number of loops per inch of width (the pitch) is determined by the number of dents or openings in the reed, R, Figure 24, Plate I, while the number of loops per inch of length is determined by the number of wires per inch. The standard width of carpet is 27 inches and the best grades seldom have more than 25G threads in the width, which gives a pitch of practically nine or ten loops per inch of width. Likewise, the maximum number of wires per inch of length is usually nine or ten, although some of the best go as high as thirteen.

A high-grade Brussels will have a pitch of nine or ten loops per inch of width and nine wires per inch of length. Anything below nine wires is a second-grade carpet and anything below eight wires is a third-grade. The second-grade Brussels contains between eight and nine loops per inch of width; while the third-grade contains between seven and eight loops per inch of width.

Wilton Carpet

The Wilton carpet is a logical development from the Brussels. Generally speaking, it is the same as the Brussels except that the loops are cut. The cutting of the loops is performed by using wires which are provided with a knife edge at the outer end, so that when the wires are withdrawn they cut open the loops as they pass through.

The Wilton carpet is woven in exactly the same way as a Brussels and is set up in the same way. Figure 30, Plate I, shows a five-frame two-shot Wilton with two tillers. Comparing this with Figure 26', Plate 1, it will be seen that the weav ing is exactly the same except that the loops are cut.

Most Wilton carpets use more than two shots of weft per row of tufts, because the cutting of the loops except in a very closely woven carpet requires a stronger binding to prevent the pile loops from being pulled out of the carpet. A three-shot Wilton is shown in Figure 31, Plate II. Two shots of weft are placed across the top between each row of loops. In this way the wool is held more firmly than is possible with only one shot. The two shots on top can easily be detected by opening the pile as shown in Figure 74.