CLOTH OF HUMAN HAIR.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLIII, Issue 2285, 19 February 1912, Page 7

CLOTH OF HUMAN HAIR.

NEW FABRIC FOR INTERLINING S OF MEN'S CLOTHES. The market in human hair is a subject that has recently been engaging the attention of various textile journals. The supply of this article is undoubtedly much larger than is generally supposed ; indeed, one textile manufacturer in bradford stated that he could purchase forty tons of it whenever he wished. Wigmakers and ladies' hairdressers are apparently the principal users, especially at the present time. Tho bulk of the human hair used for this purpose probably comes from the Continent, Bohemia being an especially productive district, but large quantities are also received from China. The Chinese hair is usually intensely black, and as its colour detracts from the value, it is bleached with hydrogen peroxide. The hair is then sorted according . to its length and grade, and dyed and finished in whatever shade desired. A textile journal recently stated that as human hair was not of bo rank and stout a growth as to lend itself for use like horsehair in haircloth weaving, it is possible that makers of interlining fabrics and of oil press cloths, or perhaps, of carpets, might find employment for the substance, but that there are no fabrics professedly made of it solely, its use being confined to a hlend with other materials. It is therefore of interest to note a manufacturer in Yorkshire—possibly the only one as yet in England—is now weaving a cloth made entirely (warp and weft) of human hair. The hair, which is usually of a staple or length of from 10 to 12 inches, after being thoroughly disinfected, is spun into a yarn of the required thickness and is then woven into a fabric either 20 or 30 inches in width and in lengths up to 90 yards. No dyeing is performed, the fabric being of the natural colour of the blended hair. The fabric is intended for interlinings for men's wear, and possesses the advantages of being absolutely unbreakable, unshrinkable, and uncreasable. I