Contents:
1 – Elements of Woven Design Pages 1-19
2 – Construction of Elementary Weaves Pages 20-35
3 – Development of Weaves from Elementary Bases Pages 36-61
4 – Fancy Twill, Diamond and Diaper Designs Pages 62-75
5 – Miscellaneous Elementary Structures Pages 76-98
6 – Special Rib and Cord Structures Pages 99-111
7 – Stripe and Check Weave Combinations Pages 112-129
8 – Elements of Colour Pages 130-149
9 – Simple Colour and Weave Effects Pages 150-159
10 – Compound Colour and Weave Effects Pages 160-177
11 – Elements of Jacquard Shedding Pages 178-207
12 – Construction and Development of Jacquard Designs Pages 208-248
13 – Arrangement of Figures Pages 249-293
14 – Construction of Designs from Incomplete Repeats Pages 294-298
Appendix I Pages 299-342
Appendix II – Man-made Textile Materials Pages 343-367
Appendix III – Basic Yarn and Cloth Relationships in Simple Woven Fabrics Pages 368-377
Index Pages 379-387
Preface
This book first appeared on the textile scene in 1912 when it was published by Longmans, Green & Co. Since then it has been revised several times, firstly by the original author, W. Watson, and later by E, G. Taylor and J. Buchan, all of whom occupied teaching posts in the Royal College of Science and Technology, Glasgow—a University College which a decade ago became the University of Strathclyde. Thus, following an apparently established law of succession, I have been asked and have undertaken with considerable satisfaction, a further modification of the original work.
This time however more than a simple revision was required. The book has been responsible for bringing up (most properly) several generations of Woven Cloth Designers in the past but modern thinking in this area demanded a good degree of modernisation of the subject matter. And so considerable portions have been entirely rewritten, the contents completely reorganised to achieve more logical progression, and several new approaches well proven in actual teaching practice have been introduced to permit clearer understanding of the nature of woven structures. Severe pruning of excessive verbosity and superfluous illustrations has resulted in a reduction of the original by about one hundred pages without, one hopes, compromising in the slightest the nature of this book as a comprehensive treatise on simple woven cloth construction and design.
All the structures dealt with in the body of this book are still being produced, some in traditional materials and settings, some in completely new guises, and it is felt that as long as woven fabric is manufactured this constructional variety and richness will remain. It is also felt that in this era of shrinking resources and proliferation of waste a technique which results in the creation of the longest lasting article, which at the same time is structurally soundest and aesthetically most satisfying can only improve its position in preference to the most wasteful ones. It is, therefore, mainly with this idea of serving to retain and to spread the knowledge of the ‘mysteries’ of weaving technology that the reborn version of the book is offered.
The glossary of textile terms in Appendix I has been changed only slightly and for the sake of completeness a number of items of historical rather than actual interest has been retained. In Appendix II a simple survey of properties and uses of man-made fibres is provided and an equally simple introduction to the subject of yarn and cloth relationships in a woven fabric is given in Appendix III. For those wishing to enquire further into matters surveyed in the appendices references are given to more exhaustive works on each subject. It is fully realised that the treatment of the subject matter in the appendices is somewhat simplistic but it is hoped that by providing such guide lines the new book might still serve as a designer’s vade mecum today as it undoubtedly did in the past.
Encouragement in the work was received from many sources and sincere thanks are due to all my colleagues and particularly to E. G. Taylor, N. Peacock and H. Hodgkinson for their advice and help, and not least to my wife for putting up with my ‘humours’ during the preparation of this volume for printing.