Figs. 13, 14 and 15, while not strictly belonging to the class of section draws, may, however, be considered under this heading. The idea is to draw a certain number of ends in one part of the harness and another group in another part, be it straight, point or skip, which will cause the effect on the cloth to be accordingly transposed or broken up.
In any woven fabric we distinguish two systems of threads, the _Warp or Chain_, running lengthways in the cloth, and the _Filling or Weft_, crossing the former at right angles.
This crossing or interlacing consists of every individual warp-thread being placed alternately under and over one or more threads of the filling system. The arrangement of this interlacing is technically called the _Weave_, and the variety in which the points of crossing can be distributed is practically endless.
It is principally the weave that lends to a fabric its character, influenced, of course, by the material used, the size and tension of the threads and the combination of the colors.
The weaves are divided into three main classes: _the Foundation weaves_. In the silk business they are known under the following names:
#The Taffeta Weave, The Serge Weave, The Satin Weave.#
In the foundation weaves each thread effects only one crossing in one repeat of the weave, and the points of interlacing occur in a given rotation. A repeat in the foundation weaves comprises the same number of warp-threads as of _picks_ or filling threads, and if this number is 8, for [Page 16] instance, the weave is called an 8-shaft or an 8-harness weave. In marking out a weave, the warp-threads are represented by vertical lines, the filling by horizontal ones, or in each case by the space between these lines. The places where a warp-thread lies over the filling are marked with paint or simply with a cross. In a similar manner we mark out the _chain draft_, which indicates the rotation in which the shafts are raised.
[Page 18] This is the simplest and oldest method of interlacing. The odd numbers of warp-threads cross the even numbers after every pick; hence of two warp-threads one will always go over the first pick and under the second, and the other end under the first and over the second pick. Taffeta cloth, therefore, has the same appearance on both sides, and in cotton and wool weaving this weave is technically--and properly indeed--called the _Plain Weave_. It has the smallest repeat, 2 warp-threads and 2 picks, and the exchanging of warp and filling is the most frequent possible. The cloth thus produced is firmer and stronger than that obtained with any other weave.