If the weft is spun in the same direction as the warp, or “twist way,” as it is termed, when woven the lines or strands appear in opposite directions, and each thread has a tendency to be kept apart from the others, and appears separately. This, if anything, makes the cloth feel slightly thicker, and is preferred by many for certain purposes, including some classes of printing cloths. The finer appearance is obtained by the yarns spun in opposite directions.
In twill and satin cloths, and similar fabrics, the direction of the twist has a very important bearing upon the appearance of the fabric.
The finest and closest effect is obtained by using warp and weft yarns spun in opposite directions, so that when woven the lines appear in the same direction, and the direction of the twill should be opposite to both. This is why one side of a twill cloth has a finer appearance than the other, as the twill runs against the lines on one side, and with the lines on the other side of the cloth, the former having the finer appearance. Fig. 406 shows the yarns spun oppositely, and the twill running in a direction opposite to the lines.
In sateen cloths there is a kind of twill in one direction, as shown in Fig. 407, and the above principle applies to this as well as regular twills.
It often occurs that for printing and dyeing purposes the weft is preferred spun “twist way,” and as the weft greatly predominates over the warp, the direction of the twill should be contrary to the lines of the weft. Not much difference is noticeable in the better makes of cloth, but when there are few picks, a frayed appearance is often produced if the direction of the twill is not reversed.
To keep the twill in a given direction, the twist may be spun “weft way” to give the desired effect.
In very small twills, such as Jeannettes, a more decided twill is obtained by using weft spun in the same way as the twist or warp yarns, but in larger twills the best effect is obtained in the opposite manner.
The numbers of cotton yarns are based upon the hank of 840 yards, the number of hanks in 1 lb. being the “counts.”
It follows that if 840--the yards in one hank--be multiplied by the counts, the result will be the yards in 1 lb. of that count.
