The manufacture of carpets has been in existence since the days of the ancient Egyptians, who made rugs and carpets of various kinds and ornamented them with animals and various devices. The manufacture passed on to the East, and we find India, Turkey and Persia celebrated for the richness of their carpets in early times. The Moors of Spain introduced the Oriental floor coverings into Western Europe, and the Belgians and French took up the manufacture and produced excellent imitations of them. Even in the Middle Ages carpets were only used as a luxury by the rich. Queen Elizabeth had a carpet spread upon rushes, while Queen Mary had rushes only. These rushes were the Acorus Calamus (sweet reed of Norfolk), which were the usual floor coverings down to about this time.

Tapestry weaving was started in this country in the beginning of the seventeenth century, but the first we hear of carpet manufacturing in England was at Kidderminster about 1735, the carpets then made being, no doubt, the Kidderminster or Scotch carpet. The making of Brussels carpet was introduced about 1750; they were first made in this country at Wilton, near Salisbury.

The Axminster carpets take their name from being first made in the town of Axminster about 1755. They rivalled the work of the Eastern looms for beauty, durability, and colour; but owing to the cost of their manufacture, and the introduction of the cheaper Brussels and patent tapestry carpets, the demand became very small, and the work was removed to Wilton in 1835. The patent Axminster or chenille carpet was brought out by Messrs. Templeton, of Glasgow, in 1839.

In the early ages carpets or rugs were used for spreading on the floor or grass to lounge upon. It is recorded that in Babylon the guests of despotic sovereigns lounged on rich carpets, and walked over priceless works of textile art; also how figured carpets made of the finest wool were strewed under golden couches, and rugs richly embroidered with figures were spread over daÏs, stool, and table.

The Egyptian carpets may have been tapestries and embroidered fabrics. They also had a method of making tufted carpets by drawing a portion of the weft threads out of a piece of coarse linen and sewing tufts of coloured worsted to the warp threads, enough of the weft being left in to bind the warp threads together.

Persian and Indian carpets were made of wool; the latter were occasionally made of silk, and sometimes an inferior description of carpet was made of cotton. These, as well as Turkey carpets, are made on a very simple loom consisting of two posts fitted at a suitable distance apart to form a vertical frame. There is a roller at the top and another at the bottom between which the warp threads are stretched, much in the same manner as in tapestry weaving. The weaver sits in front of the loom with a design before him, and is provided with a quantity of bobbins of the colours required for the pattern; he looks to the design for the colour, and, taking a bobbin of the colour required, forms a loop round two of the warp threads with the weft, cutting it off as shown in Fig. 175. After having completed a row along the cloth forming one weft line of the design, he opens a shed and inserts a ground shot all across the web, each ground shot going into a shed the reverse of the preceding one, forming a plain texture ground with a row of tufts between the ground shots. The ground shots are beaten down with a comb. Instead of going across in even rows of tufts, where there is a patch of colour several rows of tufts may be put in at this place with a ground thread between the rows, leaving the ends of these threads projecting so that they can be carried across when the remaining portions of the rows are completed. The ends of the tufts are cut off roughly at first, and afterwards shorn level with a pair of shears. Persian carpets are sometimes very costly, a small-sized carpet, when made of fine cashmere wool, costing 500l. or 600l.

Axminster carpets are made on the same principle, and other art carpets are being made similarly. There are about sixteen or twenty warp threads per inch of strong cotton or linen thread; the weft is of fine wool, three or four ply being put into each tuft; the ground weft is soft hemp or flax, eight ply of yarn going to each shot. This makes a full soft cloth. These carpets are about three-quarters of an inch thick, and, like tapestries, there is no end to the variety of pattern or colour that can be introduced.

Kidderminster or Scotch Carpet.—This carpet, also called ingrain carpet, is the oldest machine-made carpet in this country; it was originally made at Kidderminster, but the chief centre now is Scotland. Originally it was a two-ply cloth, the pattern being formed by passing the two cloths, which were of different colours, through each other. Mr. Morton, of Kilmarnock, improved on this by making it a three-ply cloth, which enabled it to be made a thicker cloth with a richer pattern. It is now made both two-and three-ply, and when made of all-wool is a rich and durable article, taking a position between the jute and felt carpets and the tapestry and Brussels; it is, however, sometimes made with cotton warps and woollen wefts, and is in this case an inferior article.

Both two-and three-ply carpets may be woven with only one colour of weft, in which case the pattern is formed by the warp threads, which must be much thicker so as to close in over the weft and hide it as much as possible; on the other hand, there may be two warps and four colours of weft, two of which are the same colours as the warp, and in this case the weft is much thicker than the warp. The best of these carpets are made with as many colours of weft as warp, as, in order to get a pure effect, it is necessary to have wefts traversing warps of their own colour; but a variety of effects can be produced by using additional colours in both warp and weft.

One advantage in this style of carpet is that it is reversible; for when one cloth rises to the face the other passes to the back, making the pattern on both back and face alike, but of different colours. This is the case when the carpet is two-ply cloth woven in the ordinary way, but sometimes the back has to a certain extent to be sacrificed to give more ornamentation to the face, at least in the ordinary method of weaving. Whether woven two- or three-ply, the principle of working is the same. Take a two-ply carpet. The fabric is a double or two-ply plain cloth, figured in the usual way by passing the two cloths through each other, there being no binding between the cloths except what is formed by the one passing through.

The warps are of different colours—as, say, scarlet and black, green and black, &c.—and each warp should have a weft of its own colour if pure effects in the cloth are required. Usually four sets of warp threads are employed instead of two—that is, two colours, end-and-end, for each warp—and each colour of warp has its own colour of weft. Say we take red and black for the face or figuring warp, and white and olive for the back or ground warp. Various effects can be produced from this arrangement—viz. the effect of the figuring cloth, formed by weaving the red and black warps and wefts together, which in plain texture with one weft will produce a rich brown effect; the ground cloth produced by the white and olive warps and the weft will be of a light olive colour; then lined, or what are known as ‘shot-about’ effects can be produced by throwing in a light and a dark shot alternately—as white and black, olive and red—and binding them on the face by warps of the same colour. All the weft on the face of the cloth should be bound by warp of its own colour in order to give pure effects. When a thread of one cloth is raised, the corresponding thread of the other cloth goes to the back (white and red and olive and black correspond in this case), but the red weft will be bound with black warp on the under side of the cloth, and the black weft will be bound with red warp, and the same with the others, as in the system of working the harness with journals to form the texture, all the black warp is controlled by one of the journals and must all rise with it. Therefore when the black shot is being thrown in, the black warp must be raised to make the pattern correct on the face of the cloth, and this will also cause it to be raised for that portion of the cloth that goes to the back, and when the black is up the red is down; therefore the black weft must be bound by red warp on the under side of the cloth, and the same with the other colours. It is easy to understand that if an end-and-end warp—black and red—be wrought plain on two shafts or leaves of heddles, and shot pick and pick of the same colours, when the black weft is bound with the black warp on one side it must be bound with red (which is the other half of the warp) on the other side, and if the red is bound with red on one side it must also be bound with black on the reverse side. To apply this to the double cloth or carpet weave it is only necessary to consider this piece of cloth as passing up and down through another one of a different colour. Had we the power of raising any portion of the black or red warps required, we could bind a portion of the black weft with black on one side, and any other portion of it with black on the other side; to do this we require a full or thread harness.

A section through the weft of a piece of two-ply carpeting is given in Fig. 176, showing the position of the threads when arranged to give the different effects of face cloth up as at A, back cloth up as at B, shot-about effect of red and olive on the face as at C, and shot-about effect of white and black on face as at D. The warp threads are marked W, O, R, B, the initial letters of the colours; and the numbers 1 to 32 give the order of picking. The shot-about effect is here produced with the opposite threads—that is, the first thread of one warp and the second thread of the other warp—as white and black; but it might be preferred to produce the effect the corresponding or mate threads (white and red, or olive and black) would give. In working with journals, two picks face and two picks back would be required to obtain this, and the needles of the jacquards would require to be acted upon by the cards for each shot, thus requiring double the number of cards. With a full harness any effect desired can be produced. Extra colours of weft may also be used (as drab) in addition to the white and olive—to work, say, white, olive, drab, olive, &c.; and dark green or blue in addition to the red and black, which would come in as red, green, black, green, &c., a shot of the light and one of the dark colours following each other in succession. Stripes of a bright colour may be introduced into the warp or weft and kept in the back cloth, only being brought to the face in small portions, at intervals, to sparkle up the centres of flowers, &c.

Ingrain carpets are made 36 in. wide, and with, say, 832 or 1088 threads of warp, according to quality. The former can be woven on a 200 jacquard (say 208=416), as the machine is double; and as there are two repeats of the pattern in the width of the cloth, 416 × 2 = 832 threads of warp. For the latter 272 needles are required = 544 × 2 = 1088 hooks.

When woven with journals, the jacquards used for figuring these carpets are similar to those explained under ‘Quilt Weaving’—that is, double machines with trapboards and knot cords; and when the card is pressed against the needles it is held in for two shots, one trapboard raising the harness for the first shot, and the other reversing the shed for the second shot. The journals are four sections of the cumber board, as shown in Fig. 177; each section contains two rows of the harness and one colour of warp. No. 1 journal controls the white warp, No. 2 the olive, No. 3 the red, and No. 4 the black; the draft is shown by the numbers 1 to 8 alongside the harness cords. These eight cords only represent half a row from each machine, as there are eight rows of hooks to the machine. One row of the two machines fills two rows across the journals, or 16 holes. A represents the trapboard of the machine for the ground or dark warp, and B that of the machine for the figuring or light warp.

The harness twines are furnished with large knots above the cumber board or journals, so that when one of the journals is raised the harness will be lifted with it. The journals may be raised by strong cords or wires from the machine, or by a tappet or shedding motion working either above or below them. If the machine is divided into two parts, four hooks in succession going to each colour of warp for each cloth, the cords from these four hooks making two rows of the journal, there will be no crossing of the harness in a straight or Norwich tie.

The order of working for the section Fig. 176 would be as follows:—For the first pick, which is white, raise the trapboard B and the first journal; for the second pick, which is red, raise the trapboard A and the third journal; for the third pick, raise the trapboard B and the second journal; for the fourth pick, raise the trapboard A and the fourth journal. This is the general order of lifting for a pattern; but a simple lined effect across the cloth as the section could be wrought with the journals without the machine, using them as heddle shafts. It could also be wrought by the machine without the journals. The use of the journals in conjunction with the machine is to pass the cloths through each other and make a pattern. For figure work, when a card is pressed in against the needles, all the warp for the figure on the design paper is raised by the trapboard B, which clears this portion of the red and black warps out of the way of the ground shed; and as the first pick of the ground is white, the white journal is raised to bind the white pick, leaving the olive warp down to bind it at the back. For the next shot the same card acts, and the trapboard A is raised, which lifts all the white and olive warp corresponding with the portion of the red and black that was left down at the last shot, so as to clear this portion out of the way of the face shed. As a red pick follows white, the red journal (No. 3) is raised to bind the red on the face, leaving the black warp down to bind it on the back. The other picks follow similarly. This shows the defective binding common to journal weaving, the white being bound with olive and the red with black at the under side of the cloth. To have pure binding, instead of all the white or red being raised by a journal as above, only as much of either should be raised as is required to bind its own colour of weft on the face of the cloth. The olive or black in respective cases should be raised for the remainder of the shed, leaving the white and red down to bind their own wefts where these colours come out on the back or under side of the cloth, thus giving pure colours on both sides of the cloth, and letting the mixed or impure binding be in the centre between the two cloths. This, however, is beyond the range of journals, and requires a harness.

Fig. 178 gives a neat pattern on a small scale for a two-ply cloth with, say, a red and a pale olive warp for ground and figure cloths respectively, the shaded squares being red and the ground or white squares olive; the weft for each cloth to be the same colour as the warp, or sometimes a tint one or two shades lighter and brighter, or deeper and duller, according to the colours or shades of colours used, gives a good effect. A further effect in this can be produced by having the 6th to 10th and 18th to 22nd threads black, brown, or dark green, end-and-end with pale olive, for the back warp, and picking similarly on the 5th to the 9th picks for the ground cloth. This would, of course, make a striped effect on the under side of the cloth, as where the additional colours do not show above they must appear below. A still better effect can be produced by having an additional weft lying between the two cloths which can be flushed on the face in spots as at picks 12, 13, and 14, and of course a three-ply cloth will be a step farther in advance; lined effects can then be produced anywhere desirable, in portions to suit the nature of the design, to vary and enrich it, at the same time the breadth of effect is maintained by working the greater portion of the pattern in masses of pure colour, whether they be large or small. For full-harness work the harness is divided into two sections, four rows for the back cloth and four rows for the face cloth, on an 8-row machine; no journals are used, the machine doing all the work. The harness is tied up in the usual way, the cord from the first hook passing through the first hole of the cumber board, and the cord from the second hook passing through the second hole, and so on.

The harness is nominally divided into two sections, the front four rows being for the face cloth and the back four for the back cloth; when drawing the warp into the harness the mails are taken in the following order: 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 7, 4, 8, the back or ground warp coming on 1, 2, 3, 4 mails, and the face or figure warp on 5, 6, 7, 8.

Suppose the pattern to be a dice, as Fig. 179, the warps to be white and olive, and red and black, with the same colours of weft. Each upright line of the design represents two threads of warp, one of which will be drawn on the front half of the harness and the other on the back half; and each horizontal line of the design represents two weft shots, for which there must be two cards cut. Let the order of drawing the warp into the harness be as Fig. 180. The white is on the odd and the olive on the even numbers of the four back rows of the harness, and the red is on the odd and the black on the even numbers of the four front rows.

Now to cut the cards:—Take the first line of the design Fig. 179, cut the odd numbers of holes (that is, the first and third) on the first half, or first four holes, of the card, and cut the white and olive on the second half of the card. For the second card, from the same line of the design cut red and black on the first half of the card, and the odd numbers of holes on the second half of the card. For the third card, take the second line of the design and cut even numbers of holes on the first half of the card, and white and olive on the second half of the card. For the fourth card, from the second line of the design cut red and black on the first half of the card, and the even numbers of holes on the second half of the card. Of course when there is none of a colour raised, as in the first line there is no black, no notice is taken of it. For the pattern in Fig. 178 the cutting would be the same, except that there are only two colours of warp to be dealt with instead of four. No. 1 card: cut odd numbers of holes on the first half of the card, and olive on the second half of the card. No. 2: cut red on the first half of the card, and odd numbers of holes on the second half of the card, &c.

The cutting of four cards is given is Fig. 181. The crosses indicate the cutting of the odd and even holes in the cards, and the dots are the figure. It will be seen that the crosses in No. 3 card would reverse the shed formed by those in No. 1 card, thus working plain texture on the back cloth, and the same would take place with Nos. 2 and 4 cards for the face cloth. This is simply the action of the journals included in the harness, which it will be seen requires double the number of needles in the machine, and double the quantity of cards; but an ordinary machine and mounting will answer, instead of having to get a double machine and journals.

The above cutting acts the same as journals, and is all right in both cases when one warp with its own weft is used for each cloth; but it has been pointed out that when each warp is end-and-end of different colours with wefts to match, the under side of the cloth is defective when wrought with journals, and so it would be with the full harness if the cards were cut as above. To get each colour of weft bound with its own colour of warp on both sides of the cloth, the following change must be made:—Take the small piece of pattern given in Fig. 182, and let the warps be as before—white and olive, red and black. The card cutting for this pattern will be as follows, the warp being drawn through the harness as before:

For the first card, cut odd numbers of red and even numbers of white on the first half, or first four holes, of the card, and white solid on the second half. This will form a shed for the red shot.

Second card: Cut from same line of the design red solid on the first half of the card, and even numbers of white and odd numbers of red on the second half of the card. This is for the white shot.

Third card, for black shot: Cut from the second line of the design even numbers of black and odd numbers of olive on the first half of the card, and olive solid on the second half of the card.

Fourth card, for olive shot: From the same line cut black solid on the first half, and odd numbers of olive and even numbers of black on the second half of the card.

These four cards are shown in Fig. 182, from which the cutting may be traced. It must not be supposed, however, that cutting odd numbers of red and even numbers of white as on the first card, means that these colours of threads are to be raised; the colour has no reference to the threads—only to the coloured checks on the design paper.

For the first card the white checks on the design paper are cut solid on the second half of the card; this raises the white and olive warp corresponding to the white portion of the design. Then, to form the plain shed in the other warp, the even numbers of the white checks and the odd numbers of the red checks are cut on the first half of the card, which acts on the other warp. As the black warp is drawn on the even numbers of harness twines it will be raised for that portion of the design that is white, and the red will remain down to bind the red weft; but passing along the design till the red weft is above, it will be seen that the red warp should here be up to bind it, and the black should therefore be down, so, as the red warp is on the odd numbers of the harness and on the second half of the card, the odd numbers must be cut on the card for the red portion of the design. This gives a pure binding on both sides: and the same applies to the other colours. It will be seen that the first halves of the 1st and 3rd cards together work a broken plain texture, and the second halves of the 2nd and 4th cards do the same.

In case the card-cutter cannot follow this method of cutting, and if the design is so varied in order of weaving that a gamut or index for cutting cannot be arranged, then it will be necessary to paint the full texture of the pattern on the design paper in the same manner as is done for double cloth. The first row of designs of the pattern given in Fig. 178 is painted out in full in Fig. 183. The shaded lines underneath represent the back warp, and the white lines the face warp. The black squares are the figure, and the large crosses the ground, or the white squares in Fig. 178. The dots are the rising marks for the texture of the back cloth, as would be formed by the back warp journals, and the small crosses are the same for the face warp.

This method of weaving is not confined to carpets, but is equally applicable to quilts, curtains, &c., and a plain texture need not be adhered to; a twill or any simple fancy texture may be used. With 80 to a 100 threads per inch, one warp peacock green in satin texture for the figure, and the other warp gold for the ground in a crÊpe or mottled texture, all shot peacock, a handsome curtain can be made.

Brussels Carpets.—Brussels carpets, with their less expensive allies, the tapestries, are the commonest of the better class of carpets. They are a loop-pile fabric, the pile being formed by the figuring warp, which is wool, the ground warp and weft being hemp or flax. As the pattern is formed by raising the figuring warp threads of the required colours, and as any thread of any colour may require to be raised, it follows that all the threads must be on separate spools or small warp rolls, so that any one thread can be drawn forward without slackening any of the others. Large frames are therefore made to hold the number of spools of each colour, and these are placed one above the other in a slanting position, at the back of the loom, and when filled with spools the whole set of threads are brought forward to the harness as if from a warping creel or bank. According to the number of these frames used the carpet is styled a 3, 4, or 5-frame carpet, the greater the number of frames the richer the carpet both in colour (generally speaking) and in body of warp. Sometimes 6 frames are used; but 4 or 5 are more frequent, 3 and 4 frame being the lower qualities.

The texture of a Brussels carpet is shown in Fig. 184, which is a section through the weft. A and B are two of the ground warp threads, a pair of these coming between the rows of pile loops, a portion of one row being shown in the section. The weft threads are shown in section coming under the loops of the ground warp at the top, and above them below. Both this warp and weft are of coarse hemp, about 3’s: the weft is steeped in glue size before being thrown into the cloth, which makes it stiff and firm when dry. The pile warp threads are numbered, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; they are of soft-spun worsted, about 2/24’s, 2 and sometimes 3 threads being drawn in together as one through the mails and reed. These five warp threads go to form one line of loops, being raised over the wires as is required for the pattern, and lying straight between the weft threads when not raised. By considering this it will easily be understood that each thread must be on a separate bobbin so as to admit of being drawn forward independently of any of the others. In low qualities of these carpets one or two threads of hemp warp are used to each splitful or row of pile threads; the hemp thread lies in a straight line below the worsted threads in the same way that No. 5 thread is shown in the section. These stuffing threads add to the weight and thickness when the worsted is reduced in quantity, but make a harsher and stiffer carpet. This warp, when used, is put on a beam or warp roll, as is also the ground warp of the carpet.

Fig. 185 is the plan of drawing-in and weaving a carpet similar to that shown in section in Fig. 184. The draft is given at A, and the treading and cording for a hand loom at B. A 10-row jacquard should be used for a 5-frame carpet, as twice over the 5 threads makes one row of the cumber board. Five threads are drawn into the harness, one from each frame, then two ground warp threads are brought through and drawn on two leaves of heddles. In weaving, one ground thread is raised and a shot thrown in; then all the pile warp and the same ground thread are raised for the next shot; the third tread raises the harness and a wire is inserted to draw up the pile; the fourth tread crosses the ground warp threads; the fifth tread raises this thread again, as well as all the pile warp, and the sixth tread raises the harness for the insertion of the second wire; this completes, the order of treading. For the second and fifth treads it will be observed that all the warp in the harness must be raised; this was usually done by having shafts through the harness or by raising the cumber board to act as a journal in the manner explained for Scotch carpet weaving; but now jacquards are made with bottom boards or gratings that can be raised or lowered to form these sheds.

The pile wires are now commonly inserted at the time the adjoining pick is being thrown in, a double shed being formed, and both the wire and shuttle passed across at the same time, the former being uppermost; in power looms the wires are both inserted and withdrawn by machinery; about twenty-five are inserted before any are drawn out, to prevent the loops from slipping. Jacquard machines are made specially for the purpose of forming this double shed, the grating raising the hooks from the bottom to the centre position, thus raising the worsted or figuring warp above the shuttle, while the griffe carries the figuring hooks on to the top, making a second or upper shed for the wire. The old method was to form the lower shed by raising the cumber board, and the upper one by the griffe. Jacquards with cords instead of hooks are frequently used.

Brussels carpets are made 27 in. wide, with nominally 260 loops or rows of pile in the width; but 256 rows are commonly used instead of 260 for the better classes of goods, and a further reduction of 30 or 40 loops is made for lower classes, the reduction going to cheapen the goods or to the credit of the manufacturer. Although only 256 loops are on the surface of the cloth, it must be remembered that for a 5-frame carpet there are 5 times this number of threads, and that 1,280 cords will be required for the harness, and an equal number of needles in the jacquard when the pattern is single, or not repeated on the cloth; but the design only covers 256 spaces on the point paper, each space or check across it representing 5 threads. In Scotland a reed with 350 splits on 37 in. is used, one row of pile warp with its ground warp going into each split. A carpet known as Axminster Brussels is made in Scotland. It is similar in structure to the common Brussels, but has in addition a woollen weft, which is thrown in pick-and-pick with the usual hemp weft. The addition of the wool weft adds to the softness and thickness of the carpet, giving more elasticity or spring to it, and making it wear better.

Designs for Brussels carpets are sketched out and coloured in the usual way; the method of repeating the patterns is much the same as is adopted for wall papers. Usually there is one repeat in the width of the cloth (27 in.), and the length of the repeat may be shorter or longer to suit the pattern, expense, &c.; 256 checks, = 3/4ths of a yard, is a common length, and 1-1/2 yard for bolder effects. The number of colours must be regulated to suit the frames to be employed in the weaving, unless the frames can be made to suit the pattern. Say five frames are to be used, this would suggest five colours; but it does not follow that only five colours can be used. A clever designer may work out most patterns so that six or more colours may be used on five frames, by arranging the design so that two colours may be put to one or more of the frames, which process is called ‘planting.’ But it may be that an extra number of colours will not improve the design, in which case they should not be used. The process of ‘planting’ or striping the warp—which is on the same principle as ‘chintzing’ by striping the weft in other makes of goods—will be best understood by referring to Fig. 186, which is a Brussels carpet pattern on a small scale for working with five frames. The colours are indicated by different markings on the squares of the design-paper, as shown by the index or gamut below the design. On the first line of the gamut there are two varieties of markings, and as this line indicates reds, there are two colours of red used on this frame. Following up the design above these markings, it will be seen that one colour of red is used in one of the sets or rows of octagonal figures, and the other colour on the intermediate rows, and that the two colours of red are not required in the same portions of the design, the gamut showing where each is required. It is only necessary to arrange the spools on the frame in the loom and draw the threads through the harness, as shown by the gamut, to make this fall in correctly.

What the designer must guard against is giving the pattern a striped appearance, which would be the case if the planted colours were brought to the surface too frequently; but if they are judiciously brought up at intervals, the effect of a 5-frame can be made almost as good as that of a 6-frame pattern, and this can be carried still further if desired; every frame may contain two colours, or one frame may contain several colours.

Carpet patterns are sometimes painted on small-sized design paper—that is, the ordinary paper with, say, two designs per inch; but before working it is more satisfactory to have them put on large-sized paper, so as to show the exact effect they will have on the cloth, the design-paper giving the pattern full-cloth size.

When painting patterns that are as large or larger on the cloth than they are on the design-paper, much more care and skill are necessary than when the pattern is one that is much larger on the design-paper than it will be on the cloth, as is usually the case; and in consequence of the large size of the checks required for carpet design-paper, it is evident that representations of any small objects—unless those of a very simple nature—cannot be put on it without being greatly enlarged. After the sketch is made the forms should be carefully adapted to suit the paper, so as to give a satisfactory effect on it, rather than be a rigid adherence to the sketch. Natural floral forms should not be attempted unless to satisfy the demands of trade, and when they must be used they should be made on so large a scale as to be fairly represented in a semi-conventional manner. Large wild-floral patterns are frequently to be seen on carpets, but they are rarely, if ever, satisfactory. Persian, Indian, and other geometric or conventional forms that lend themselves readily to a harmonious admixture of colours so that the carpet will, when on the floor, present a rich glow of colour instead of obtrusive masses of floral misrepresentations, are much to be preferred. Dull colouring is not essential to good taste—rather the reverse; but it is less obtrusive and more easily managed, particularly in the hands of an inferior artist. No matter how brilliant the colours are, if properly blended and broken up into masses in proportion to their intensities in the spectrum scale they need not be in the least offensive; but it requires skilful hands to do this.

The pattern given in our last figure (186) is a simple repeating pattern, so that two pieces of the carpet laid side by side will join correctly together. Another method of arranging patterns so that they will repeat is shown in Fig. 187. In this figure it will be seen that the two sides will not join as an ordinary repeat, but if two pieces are taken the right-hand side of one will, if turned round, join against the left-hand side of the other, and two pieces thus joined will form a repeat. This is objectionable in the case of cut pile, which usually has a slope in one direction; and when two pieces are joined, one running one way and the other the reverse, the effect will be that of shaded stripes, somewhat similar to that of a grass field when rolled. Another method of forming repeating patterns is by making what is known as a ‘drop repeat,’ which is shown in Fig. 188; though the two sides will not join in against each other, as in an ordinary repeat, if two pieces of the carpet be laid side by side, and one of them drawn a little down, the point A in the figure of one piece will fall in against B and B¹ of the other piece, and repeat.

These show the usual principles on which repeats are based, and of course it is for the ingenuity of the designer to form the best arrangements of pattern he can to suit them, or any other method he may think of.

When cutting cards for carpet patterns the usual method of picking out the various colours for each cutting must be adopted by the card-cutter. Refer to Fig. 186 for the pattern, and to Fig. 185 for the draft. The order of drawing is green, blue, black, yellow, reds, which gives five rows of holes on the card, and this twice over makes the ten rows; therefore, green would be cut on the first and sixth rows; blue on the second and seventh; black on the third and eighth; yellow on the fourth and ninth; and reds on the fifth and tenth rows. These may be all cut when passing the card once along the cutting machine, giving more than one tramp, if necessary, to each shift of the card index; or the cutter, if not accustomed to this, may pass the card along once for each colour, working two of the punches at each passage of the card, and of course remembering to select the punches which correspond to the colour being read.

It must be remembered that two checks on the design-paper correspond with a row of ten holes on the cards, as each check may have any of five colours on it in the case of a 5-frame carpet pattern, and there must be a space for a hole in the card for any of these colours; therefore the designs or large squares on the design-paper would consist of two checks each. Suppose one of these checks—the first one—to be green, the first hole in the card would be cut for it; if the second check is also green, the sixth hole on the card would be cut; but if it is black, the eighth hole in the card would be cut, not the third hole, as it, being the second check, comes on the second half of the card. The first check stands against the first five rows of holes in the card, and the second check against the second five rows, each check on the design-paper representing five threads, five mails and five needles, or five spaces on the card; but only one hole is cut on the card for it, and that must suit the colour the check is painted.

Wilton Carpets.—These carpets are made much in the same manner as Brussels, but the pile is cut, and they are of a better quality of wool with a longer pile, and altogether a superior article. As the pile is cut, the method of binding it into the ground is somewhat different from that adopted for Brussels, in order to secure a firmer binding. A section of the cloth through the weft is given in Fig. 189, showing two pile loops cut and one uncut, and also the method of binding the pile warp threads Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with the ground warp A and B, and the weft is shown in section, or end view.

The warp or pile threads are cut similarly to velvet by drawing the wires out of the loops and having each wire furnished at its end with a cutting edge. Fig. 190 shows the draft and treading of a Wilton carpet arranged for a hand loom. The back is the harness, and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 the shafts. No 2 shaft is only required when an extra or silent warp is used for the purpose of giving weight and thickening the fabric. This warp, if used, lies straight between the weft, and must be on a separate beam from the ground warp.

Tapestry Carpets.—These carpets, though they do not require a jacquard to weave them, are so closely allied to Brussels, and patterns so similar can be produced on them, that it is thought desirable to give a short description of them. Though figured weaving, they are not so in the strict sense of the term, as the pattern is printed on the warp instead of being formed by various coloured warps; they are simply an imitation of figured weaving in colours. Any pattern that can be put on a Brussels carpet can also be put on a tapestry, and with further variation if desired. The effect is not so sharp and rich on the tapestry, as the colours, being printed on the warp, run into each other more or less, and produce a slight blurring round the edges of the pattern; whereas the pattern on the Brussels is so sharp and clear round the edges as to make it harsh if two very contrasting colours come together, so that in some cases the tapestry patterns are softer and more pleasing.

Fig. 191 shows the texture of a tapestry carpet. A and B are the ground warp threads which bind the weft, the same as in Brussels; these threads go on one warp roll. 1, 2, and 3 are the lying or filling warp threads of linen, hemp, or jute, used for giving weight and thickness to the cloth; these threads go on a second roll. P is the pile, which, it will be observed, is of various colours and looped all along the cloth, or passes over every wire that is inserted, and the pattern is formed entirely by the colours that these threads are printed. The pile goes on a third warp roll. All the pile can go on the one roll, as every thread is looped alike by each wire inserted. A pair of shafts for the ground warp—one for the lying warp and one for the pile—is all that is required for weaving the cloth. The pile consists of two or three ends of two-fold worsted yarn, according to the quality of the carpet. As the fabric is made up to a great extent with the three lying ends of stiffened hemp or flax to each row of pile loops, the carpet is of a harder and less pliable nature, with less spring in it than a Brussels (which has the five pile worsted threads in it), and it is also less durable. The number of pile loops in the width of the cloth is the same as for a low-class Brussels carpet, say 216 to 225, and the width of the cloth is the same—about 27 in. Five threads go to each split of the reed—viz. one pile, two ground warp, and the three lying or filling ends.

In these carpets, as well as in Brussels, it will be seen from the sections that one weft thread is above a lower one, with a straight tightly-stretched warp between them. A method of weaving has been adopted on the Continent in which both sheds are formed and both wefts picked at the same time. One shed is raised above the centre warp, and one is sunk below it, and both shuttles are driven through simultaneously; then a pile shed is raised and a wire inserted; and this repeated, reversing the ground sheds, makes the order of weaving for tapestry carpets. Another method is to have double mails, one mail above the other on the same harness cord or heald; the wool warp goes to the upper mail, and the lying warp to the lower one. When the mails are raised a double shed is formed, and a pile wire and a pick can be inserted at the same time. The ground or binding warp is in two additional leaves of healds. To apply the former method to Wilton carpets, two picks are put in below to balance with the two above, instead of one pick below, as shown in Fig. 189.

For tapestry carpets the pattern is prepared in the same way as for Brussels. The repeat of the pattern may be of any length, but 27, 36, or 54 in. are usual lengths. The pattern, though prepared as if for the jacquard, is only a guide for the printer when printing the colours on the warp.

The pattern is printed on the warp in an elongated form, the amount of elongation coinciding exactly with the reduction the pile loops make in the length of the warp when it is woven.

The pattern was originally printed on the woven cloth by means of blocks; next it was printed on the warp in an elongated form in the same manner; now it is printed by means of small rollers. The yarn for each thread of the warp, or of a number of warps, is wound separately on a large reel or drum, of such a size as will hold a suitable quantity of yarn (about 18-3/4 feet in circumference). Six or eight threads are wound on together, so as to lie closely together side by side and not overlap each other, till the drum is full, or the required length is wound on it. This has now to be printed with the pattern in an elongated form.

The right-hand edge of the drum is divided into as many divisions as a length of yarn equal to the circumference of the drum will make loops on the cloth. This is called the index, and 648 is a common number of divisions for it to have, or 864 for a larger size. Of course the number of loops any length of yarn will make depends upon the size of them, and the reduction in length from the yarn to the cloth depends upon the height of the pile and the number of loops in a given space. The number of loops per inch varies with the quality of the cloth; 7 or 8 is usual for loop pile, and 9 or 10 for cut or velvet pile. The design must contain such a number of checks in length as will divide evenly into the index number, such as 108, 162, 216, 324. When painted the design is cut into strips in the direction of its length, one line or row of checks in each strip. When the yarn is wound on the drum, and the printer is ready to begin work, he takes one of these strips and pins it up before him to guide him in the colours he is to print. The printing is done by means of a trough of colour with a roller in it, set on a carriage beneath the drum, so that when passed across the roller will press firmly on the yarn. The printer finds the first colour on the design, and setting the drum to the first tooth of the rack or index, he passes a trough of the proper colour across the drum and back again; if the second check on the design is the same colour, he turns the drum round a tooth of the index and passes the same colour across; if the third check is a different colour, this requires a second colour trough, and passing another tooth on the index this colour is passed, and so on with the remainder; or, all one colour is printed first, then the drum revolved again with the second colour, and so on. When this is all printed the yarn is taken off the drum and marked No. 1 thread, and the beginning and end of the thread should be marked in some way as a guide for the setters. A fresh lot of yarn is wound on for the second thread, which is printed according to the second strip of the design. This must be continued for all the threads in the warp. After being printed, the colours are fixed by a steaming process, and afterwards wound on bobbins and marked to their numbers. The design may be cut into strips of two checks each, instead of one check, which will be less liable to get torn. One side of the strip can then be printed first, and the other after.

The warp is made up by ‘setters,’ who arrange the threads together in proper order in a frame for the purpose, and set them so that the colours of each thread come together at the proper place to form on the warp a correct elongated copy of the pattern; when correct it is wound on the beam for the loom.

In printing and steaming, the colours are liable to run into each other; some colours are worse in this respect than others, but it is reduced to a minimum by the use of an absorbent in steaming; and sometimes the designer makes a little allowance on the design-paper for such colours as he knows will be liable to run and injure the pattern. The pile of tapestry carpets is usually left uncut; but sometimes it is cut, forming a velvet pile. In this case the carpet is made of a better quality, and the pile is longer.

The present method of preparing tapestry warps was invented by Richard Whytock, of Edinburgh, in 1832, and perfected by Messrs. Crossley, of Halifax.

Axminster Carpets.—Real Axminster carpets, as already said, are made by hand much in the same manner as Turkish or Persian carpets, and attempts have also been made to produce them by machinery, several patents having been taken out for the protection of the inventions. These carpets, with other art carpets now being made, may be classed with tapestry as works of art.

The Axminster carpets of commerce are the Royal Axminster or Moquette carpets, and the patent Axminster or chenille carpets.

Royal Axminster carpets are made by a peculiar process of weaving and tufting on a loom made specially for the purpose. A number of little funnels carrying from spools threads of the different colours of yarn required for the pattern are fixed on the loom above the reed, and these threads, by suitable mechanism, are brought down and bound into the backing cloth by the weft. These threads, which form the pile, are cut off, and afterwards the surface of the carpet is shorn level.

The texture of Moquette carpets is shown in section in Fig. 192, two varieties of texture being given, one at A, the other at B. In both these textures the pattern shows through on the back of the cloth.

Another variety is given in Fig. 193. A is the section through the weft, B the texture, C D E F shows the interlacing of each of the four warp threads in the pattern with the weft, and G shows the pile. Similar numbers in these figures represent the same threads in the cloth.

Patent Axminster Carpets.—These were invented by Mr. Jas. Templeton, of Glasgow, about 1839, and are a description of chenille weaving. They do not require to be wrought by a jacquard any more than the other Axminster carpets, but as the figures formed on them are so similar to those produced by the jacquard, and as the method of designing the patterns is the same for both them and other classes of chenille as it is for jacquard work, it may not be considered out of place to give a full description of chenille here.

Chenille is made by a double process of weaving. First the weft or chenille thread is woven, if for a figured pattern in various colours, which corresponds to the printing of the warp in tapestry carpet weaving, which gives a warp figure, whereas chenille gives a weft figure. When the weft is woven in a piece it is cut up into strips and twisted, if for curtains or any fabric on which the chenille weft is to show on both sides; but for carpets, where all the pile is raised to one side, the weft is doubled up, bringing all the pile in one direction. Twisting machines are now in use for making the weft for plain chenille fabrics, but for figured ones it is still woven. If twisted for figured work it would afterwards have to be printed somewhat similar to tapestry carpet warps, but without elongating the pattern, and the uneven surface is a difficulty in the way.

The method of weaving chenille weft is as follows:—A loom fixed for working gauze is supplied with a thinly laid warp, which, according to the class of chenille required, is drawn through the heddles either as plain gauze, two threads working plain with one crossing them, or this doubled, as is shown in Fig. 194. The two, three, or six threads of the draft are drawn into one split of the reed, which is finer or coarser to suit the fabric required. For shawls or curtains there would be six to eight full splits of the reed per inch; say in a reed of thirty to forty splits per inch, four splits empty to one full. For carpets there would be two or three full splits per inch; say in a reed of ten to fifteen splits per inch, four empty and one full, coarser or finer to suit the length of pile required.

For plain work this is tied up and woven as gauze, the warp being cotton of a dark colour, and the weft woollen, noil silk, or other fibre if desired; but it should consist of several ends and be of such a nature as will divide easily to form a rich pile. If for figured work, the pattern must be woven in stripes across the piece, which will be explained after the designing.

When the piece is woven it will be as shown at A, B, or C (Fig. 194) and must next be cut into strips midway between the ribs. Sometimes this is done in the loom as the cloth is being woven, by having cutting knives arranged to divide it as it passes over the breast beam; but it is usually taken off in the piece and cut afterwards in a machine for the purpose. The piece is fed through rollers in the cutting machine over a grooved roller, shown at B (Fig. 195), the grooves being at such a distance apart that the ribs of the piece will fall into them. Above this roller is a set of cutting blades fixed in a spiral form round a roller; one of these blades is shown at A (Fig. 195), with a section of the roller. The blades are set at such a distance apart that when revolving they fall into the cuts in the roller B, and running at a high speed they sever the piece into strips as it passes through the machine.

So far the process is alike for all classes of chenille work. The weft is now in strips similar to that shown at A (Fig. 196) if for carpets, and much smaller if for curtains or shawls. For ordinary chenille the weft is next twisted so as to make the projecting fibres stand out round the rib or core, and when finished it has the appearance shown at B (Fig. 196). If for carpets, the fibres are turned up so that all will project in one direction, as shown at C and in the cross-section at d. This is done by running the strips over a grooved roller, as C (Fig. 195), which is heated with steam, and as the projecting ends are doubled up by the grooves in the roller the heat sets them in this position. The weft is now prepared, and is wound on bobbins and woven in large shuttles.

The texture for chenille is the same as for plain cloth. A fine black warp of cotton is used, with twenty to twenty-five threads per inch (more or less, to suit the fabric required), and twelve to sixteen shots per inch of the chenille weft are used, which must also be varied to suit circumstances and the thickness of the weft used. The fibres or points of the thread of weft project through the warp, and a pile fabric is produced which should entirely conceal the warp on both sides of the cloth. For carpets the pile is, as a rule, only allowed to project on one side, though some rugs are made with a twisted chenille weft, and the colours on it are shown partly through the backing as the fibres of the thread get mixed up with the ground or backing in weaving, but usually all the pile projects through to the face.

The texture for patent Axminster carpets is shown at A (Fig. 197), and sections of the cloth through the weft are shown at B and C in the same figure, B is a section of the texture A with two picks between the pile or chenille picks, and C is for a coarser description of work with four ground picks between the pile picks. In A only the ground texture is given complete; the pile weft P lies over the picks f f, and is bound down by a fine black stitching thread C, which passes over it and under the picks g g. The different thicknesses of the threads are represented in the drawing: C are cotton, and the others hemp, flax, or jute. There are about ten thick and ten fine warp threads per inch, and five binding threads, and about seven chenille picks per inch, with two ground picks between these. When there are four ground picks between the pile picks the pile is coarse, and only about four picks per inch are used. The chenille weft is wound on large wooden needles like huge netting needles, about 4 ft. long, so that it may come off without any twist in it, and the weaver pushes these through the shed, laying the weft nicely in and combing it forward so as to get it straight and even and have all the pile standing upright; he then knocks in two ground picks and puts in another pile thread, as before.

This is all hand-loom work, but power looms are sometimes used for the purpose. The ground of the fabric can be woven with heddles, as before, but the binding warp threads are through needles, somewhat like gauze dents inverted, and not through the heddles; and the beam or spools containing them is above the loom in front. The chenille weft is wound on a reel, and is through a guide or carrier. When the chenille weft is to be laid in, the needles carrying the binders are raised and the guide passed along, laying in the weft. The loom stands stationary for a short time to give the weaver time to comb up the pile, and then moves on and throws in the ground picks. Everything is done automatically but the combing up of the pile.

The foregoing is a description of chenille weaving provided no pattern has to be attended to; we must now consider the pattern.

The design paper used is the same as for ordinary work, with a greater number of warp than weft threads, but it is ruled on a large scale so that the pattern will be exactly cloth size. Fig. 198 is a sample of this design-paper for seven picks per inch. The small checks, or what in ordinary weaving would represent the warp threads, have here no reference to them, nor do the warp threads require any consideration when preparing the pattern. The narrow way of the checks is a guide to the weaving of the weft threads. This paper might have been square, seven by seven, and would thus suit for such a pattern as is shown in Fig. 199—supposing seven shots of chenille weft per inch to be correct; but there is an advantage in many cases to have it as it is, or even more off the square, say seven by twenty, which is one of the papers used. This will be most readily understood by following the working out of the pattern.

The pattern given (Fig. 199) is necessarily very simple for want of space. The different markings on the squares are to indicate different colours. Here nine are used, but there may be any number—say from eight to twenty—the only restriction on the number of colours employed is that so many shades of yarn are required to match them, and that the weaver has a greater number of shuttles to pass over when weaving the weft. When the pattern is painted it is cut cross-ways into strips, as A, B, two rows of checks in each strip; one row of checks may be in each strip if desired; but this is unnecessary, and besides, they are more easily torn. These strips are a guide to the weaving of the weft, just in the same way as the pattern in tapestry carpet work is a guide to the printer.

The weaver takes a strip of the pattern and puts it through a widened split in the reed and pins one end of it to the cloth; to the other end he attaches a cord and light weight, which he hangs over the back rail of the loom so that the strip of design will be held steady and move forward as the cloth is drawn up. The strip must be pinned to the cloth so that the first check of the design projects over the fell of the cloth. Suppose the strip to be A, Fig. 199: C is the first check; the weaver sees that this is black, and proceeds to weave the gauze with black weft for the length of this check (one-seventh of an inch). The next check, moving along the strip in the loom, or from left to right on the design, is a different colour, say scarlet; the weaver changes his shuttle and weaves as many checks as there are of this colour, which in this case is only one. Another change of shuttle is made, and so on till the end of the strip is reached; it is then turned, the other end of it being brought to the fell of the cloth, and the checks on the second line of the design are woven in order as before, only they must run from right to left on the design instead of from left to right, as the first line did, which will be caused by the turning of the strip of paper; for it must be borne in mind that if the first shot of chenille weft is put into the carpet from left to right, the next one will be put in from the reverse side or from right to left, so that all the odd numbers of lines on the design-paper should be begun by the weft weaver at the left-hand side, and all the even numbers at the right-hand side, provided the weaver works in this way; in any case one must be the reverse of the other. When all the strips of the pattern are woven, each rib of the piece of weft will be long enough to weave as many shots as are in one repeat of the pattern, and if there be 40 ribs in the piece, it would, when cut up, furnish weft for 40 repeats of the pattern. For weaving this weft large needles are used, somewhat similar to netting needles, which are about 4 ft. long for wide looms; the chenille is wound on these, free from twist, and must be put on so that it will come off correctly to suit the pattern. The strips of chenille are marked to show which end is to be put on the needle first. These needles are pushed through the shed by the weaver when weaving the carpet—put in at one side and drawn out at the other. He lays in the weft as correctly as possible, combing it up to the fell of the cloth, and makes the colours fall in nicely together, drawing it tighter or leaving it slacker as is necessary. Now the advantage of using the special design-paper will be more readily understood. It is plain that if 14 by 7 design-paper be used, instead of 7 by 7, any of the colours may be changed in 1/14 in. on the design; and also in the chenille weaving, when it is desirable to do so, instead of in each 1/7 in. when 7 by 7 paper is used. And if 20 by 7 paper were used, the changes might be still more frequent; besides, in flowing patterns the advantage also comes in to assist in getting the forms more correct, in the same way as paper over square in either warp or weft assists in getting the form of the figure in damask designing over that where only the coarser way of the paper square is used; though the effect is not by any means so satisfactory as if the paper were finer both ways, and square. Yet when one way is fixed by circumstances it is in many cases preferable to alter it in the other way than to leave both alike coarse; but not always so, as, for example, the pattern given in Fig. 199. When these carpets are woven they are passed through a shearing machine, which makes the surface of the pile quite level. They are rich handsome carpets, as well as very durable.

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