LINEN INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 106, 7 May 1931, Page 9

LINEN INDUSTRY

THE ROYAL TASTES 1 —

COLOUR AND DESIGN

(From "Tho Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 4th March.

An interesting exhibition arranged ly the Linen Industry Research Association has been in progress for some time at the Science Museum, South Kensington. Extra prominence was given to it; last week by tho visit of the. King and Queen. Their Majesties •were received by Viscount Craigavon, Premier of Northern Ireland, who has naturally taken a great interest in the exhibition. As they examined the various exhibits, Their Majesties stated clearly what were their personal tastes. "I prefer Irish linen, and every 'shirt I have comes from Belfast," said the King. "I am very particular about that." When the King and Queen were shown a tablecloth of the latest design with reproductions of well-known London views, the King said, "I prefer large, simple, and bold designs, such as the poster designers use." When examining some hand-painted tablecloths, the Queen said: "Personally, I much prefer white tablecloths." The King agreed. • The Linen Industry Research Association, whoso laboratories the late Mr. Massey visited on his last trip to Horthorn Ireland, has been doing some ■'remarkable work for a number of years. The aim of the research is to mechanise the fibre production processes as a whole without. sacrificing, and, indeed, if possible, enhancing the quality of the flax fibre produced. Careful selection is also being made with seed so that the farmers may grow a greater amount of.fibre on a given area. V LINEN 7000 YEARS OLD. How little advance had been, made in the growing of flax and the manufacture of linen from earliest times up to a. few years ago is illustrated at the present exhibition. A series of photographs illustrate primitive methods of working flax in ancient Egypt compared with similar methods used in Northern Ireland within living memory. They wore much the same. The wooden scutcher and the mallet of' recent year* and those of, ancient Egypt are practically identical in shape. • Flax cultivation and linen manufacture has been carried on for at least 7000 years,'but it is only within tho last hundred years that any appreeiabla departures from the old hand methods have been introduced. Nowadays the tendency is to mechanise the industry in every way possible. Three illustrations are particularly interesting. These are greatly magnified photographs of three samples of linen. The first is a piece taken from an Egyptian tomb and ia 7000 years old. A second piece from Egypt is 3000 years old, and a third piece is from Northern Ireland, and is a year old. Thero is certainly not much to choose between, them. Perhaps the Egyptian fabric is a little rougher in texture. The breaking and the scutching and the retting in ancient Egypt was much on the lines of methods in Northern Ireland up to quite recent times. • One photograph illustrates a branch of manufacture which has gone out of fashion. This is, an Egyptian carpet made of pure linen. The picture shows a fine example of an early Egyptian <:arpet from the tomb of Sa-aa of the XVIII. Dynasty. It is made entirely from flax. ■ BLEACHING THE TABKIC. Every process of the manufacture of linen is dealt with at the exhibition. What an elaborate process the bleaching is is probably not generally known. The old-fashioned way of bleaching linen was to wash the fabric repeatedly, and expose it to.sun and air. Under modern conditions a more rapid process is necessary. When the fabric is woven it is first singed to remove the superfluous fluff. Then it is put into slacked lime;; the black sour process follows which i entails soaking. a solution of hydrochloric acid. It is then" boiled in soda, after which: it. is spread on the grass. When this exposure .to the air is completo the material is chemicked—that is r | it is immersed in a dilute bleaching powder solution. After the chemicking operation the cloth is washed and soured. 'Jhis completes the first "turn." It is then again washed and boiled in dilute soda, solution. "Boils in alkaline solution subsequent to chemicking. are known, as scalds. After the scald the cloth is washed, chemicked for the second time, washed again, soured, and then washed. This completes the second turn.. Damasks usually require three turns for the production of a full white colour. Heavy sheetings may require as many as six turns.

Phial processes are blueing and starching, and beetling (which has the effect of crushing out the yarns and closing up the spaces in the 'cloth). Certain classes of linen goods, for instance, glass cloths, are not given such heavy finishing processes as,, say, damask napkins, and instead of being Tjeetled are mangled in a hydraulic mangle. Mercerisation is still another alternative final process, which consists of treating cotton or linen fabrics under tension with a solution of caustic alkali, whereby swelling of the fibre is obtained and the fabric mado more lustrous.

Naturally, an important part of the exhibition consists of the finished material. A fine display of Irish linen sheets, table cloths, handkerchiefs, and other articles has been much admired.