MAKING HAIR NETS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 90, 13 October 1923, Page 14

MAKING HAIR NETS

A BIG CHINESE INDUSTRY.

One of the notable things about the production of hair nets is^that so far Z^ 1S ™chanical »*>. has been found impossible to make them by machinery Owing to the fine texture of human hair and the shortness of the strands, no machine has yet been invented, according to Nat L. Solomon, of the B Frankel Company, in a statement to the "New York Times," that is able to knit the delicate nets. All of * ™shlonin S must be done by hand and 95 per cent, of all the hair nets produced are knitted in the homes of Chinese natives.

In , discussing the various interesting steps involved in the making of the hai? net, Mr Solomon said that the human hair used is imported in the raw state from China, to be dyed in America and then shipped back to that country to be fashioned. "The hair," he said, "is derived from the combings of the women -who are content to accept a few pennies for the amount they have saved for many months. The combings are gathered together at three collection pointsHong Kmg, Canton, and Hankow. The hair is then straightened, assorted in various lengths and made ready for export to the United States and Europe. In the United States the longer hair strands, ranging from 22 to 36 inches are picked out and the American hair preparera' bleach and dye the strands with powerful chemical agents. The various colours are thus produced for hair net making, namely, light, medium and dark brown, blonde, black, auburn, and white. The hair is further processed through many chemical baths in order to render it perfectly sanitary. The finished hair ia returned to North China and there distributed or sold to the natives for manufacture.

The training required for the knitting of hair nets is long and tedious. The natives engaged in the occupation acquire their manual skill in their youth when their fingers are supple and their sight is keen. The net hair is tied end to end, strand by strand, so as to form a long string. This is then wound around a long shuttle, which is worked around a polished bamboo stick or bodkin. This bodkin regulates the size of the mesh of the net. Each net is tied in much the same way as in the manufacture of fish nets or hammocks; but, of course, the tying of a single strand is a much more delicate and difficult task. The production of a dozen hair nets in ten or twelve hours is regarded as a good day's work. The finished products are then shipped back and distributed through various channels.