TAPESTRY CARPETS

Evening Star, Issue 20987, 29 December 1931, Page 2

TAPESTRY CARPETS

INGENIOUS METHODS OF MANUFACTURE MULTI-COLOURED THREADS Most of us arc interested in carpets, whether wo own the home-made rugs, the knotting of which has helped to fill in tho long winter evenings, or tho splendid fabrics of the East,, with their intricate design and glowing colour, but it may not bo generally known that within ten miles of Edinburgh there has boon -made for close on a century a carpet known as a “ tapestry carpet/’ which is manufactured in quite a unique way. The process, which is applicable to either the loop pile or velvet surface of the familiar Axminstor and Wilton, was invented by a Mr Wbytock, of Edinburgh, in 1832, and the original firm is still one of the most important in the industry. The designing, upon which the whole principle of the process is based, may bo briefly explained as follows:—Tho designer sketches out his idea with charcoal on squared, paper, then when satisfied with the outline he paints it in and fills in tho colour scheme to his liking. Each small square must be of one colour. When the pattern has been completed tho longitudinal lines on the paper represent the warp of the carpet. The designing ,sheet is cut up into two or more sections, and those are pasted on wooden boards ready for the printer’s use. We can now follow the process from start to finish. PREPARING THE YARN.

After the yarn lias been procured it is thoroughly scoured to rid it of grease and any other latent impurity; it is then packed into an extractor which, by 'means of centrifugal motion, throws out most of the moisture. A machine dries tho yarn, which is now ready for winding on to bobbins. Tho object of this rigorous washing process is to prepare tho yarn for taking on tho delicate shades of colour which are later printed on it. In tho ordinary make of carpet, such as Brussels or Axminstcr, the colour effects are achieved by the immersion of threads of yarn in a dychath, and the design is procured by the Jacquard loom; while in the manufacture of tho ; tapestry carpfet tho colour effects arc produced hy impressing colour on tho yarn—not as in tho ordinary block printing on tho woven fabric, for each ■ individual thread in the warp of tho j tapestry carpet is parti-coloured accordI ing to the design and shade required. This is done in a most ingenious way. White worsted is wound from bobbins on to a ievolving cylinder or drum. When this has been done the drum is ■ stopped, and the yarn is now ready ' for tho application of colour. APPLICATION OP THE COLOURS. On tho edge of tho drum are metal notches all numbered. These numbers correspond to numbers on tho left of the designer’s board opposite each little square of colour, Tho printer looks at her hoard, decides which colour sho will use first—say, yellow—then places a box on a little trolly which runs below the drum. This box contains a vulcanite disc; or pulley and yellow colour. The pulley revolves, as one writer describes it, “ somewhat after the fashion of a lawn marker,” and loaves a yellow streak across the width of tho drum. Tho printer again consults her hoard, sees that No. 17 is also yellow, and accordingly adjusts tho drum until the pointer rests at notch 17. Yellow is then put through again, and so on until all tho yellow squares on tho board have been accounted for. A box of another colour is then substituted, and so tho process continues until all the colours have been filled in in their proper places. When tho drum has boon stripped a small numbered disc is attached to tho yarn to indicate tho position it will fill in tho finished fabric. Tho printed woollen is then placed on trays in a large compartment filled with steam which, as in dyeing, fixes tho colour. On cooling, tho yarn is thoroughly washed and dried. It cannot ho overemphasised that the yarn off one drum does not, as many might believe, make a complete rug. A drumful of yarn is only ono thread in tho width of tho fabric, and the printing process has to ho repeated for each successive thread, the necessary changes in the application of colour being indicated to the printer on her design board. TO BOBBINS AND LOOMS. When tho scries is completed each thread, having its appropriate number, is wound on to a bobbin bearing a similar number. Tho bobbins are placed on a stand or frame arranged in numerical order. They are then wound on to a weaver’s beam, receiving in the process any necessary adjustment to ensure accuracy in tho woven design. The beam is then placed in the loom and woven—the binding thread being the weft wlii"'i is thrown by a shuttle across tho fabric. Beams of juto supply tho necessary backing.

After removal from the loom the woven earpofc goes through a finishing process, being thoroughly dried and cropped to remove any fluff from the surface. The article is then ready for despatch. (treat accuracy is necessary throughout tho whole manufacture, as the human element plays a very largo part in this process, as opposed to tho mechanical exactitude of tho Jacquard loom.