A manual of home-making

Diurnal, — A material with a serge we-ave» The diajjonal effect is tnada very prominent. It i^ usihI for sviita^ dresses and separate skirls. UnfiniHft4^ti worakH, — A fabric woven with yarn of little twist. The twill effc'ci of the weave is covered with loose fibers* This material m very deniw. It is used for suits and coats. FinMrii iwr#t/<vi, — Woven in nuirti tlie same way aa unfinished worsted hut with a much tiKhtcr twisted yarn. The weave may t>e distinctly seen. It in not so dense aa the unfinished worsted. It is used for suits and coats. Zihelitie. — The Iwiter gnidcft are woven with a wi>rsted warp and eameTs luur iilling. These long hairs from the filling spread over the surface. It is used for suits. ^ SILK Silk is commonly known as the fiber of luxury. It is the most expensive to cultivate, the most !x*atitifult and the strongest fiber. Since it is the most expensive to l>iiy, and the deoian*! for it Ls so larfte, the temptations tt> tidnlterate are also naturally veiy ^reat. The long, strong, lustrous silk fiber vvhicli bleaches and dyes beautifully, and is fine as a spider's web is not to be dti* phcated (Fig. 60). The I test grade, or ** reeled silk/' is taken from the cocoon in one continuous thread which oiay be several hundred yards long. In manufacturing reelwJ silk, many de- fective cocoons are founfi in which the fibers are not perfect or are broken. The silk from these (*ocoons may be treated like a sliort filjer and spun into threads varying in strength according to the length of the fibers. This so-called Fio, 60.— Silk fiber, showing the two minute ft1ami?[it« from the epinnereta of the 31 Ik wrfrm and the giirn which at first holds these two htkmcxita to- gether, j 322 .4 MANUAL OF UOME-MAKJNCf "spun" .silk has nor, the high luster nor strength of *'rcekHl" silk, but is often used as warp willi reeled silk filling, or in iniitatiori jxjnget^ and bat^k uf satins, velvets^ and in niaiiy ntlier ways.* In the raw state, uXk is soUI hy the i>ound. Thref* thoiisanil silkworms are rcMTiuirtKi to spin one pound of silk, and one to two pounds are reciuireti for a dres8. When these figures are considered, it will l)e seen why good silk must neeessarily U> expensive. There is, however, a demand for a product at a nuKlerate pnce, and in order to satisfy it, the manufacturer rci^iorts to methods of adult era tion.f Adidieration.X In olden times the price of silk was much greater than now, but the material was much more duralile. Silks which have Jjcea laid away for a hundred ^^eai-s are still in fairly good condition. At present silks are much cheaper, but the result is that when they are put away, even for only a few months they may fall into l)its, and their wearing quality cannot l»e compared with old silks. The reason for this change is not hard to find* The cost of raw silk is about tliirt^^ times that of raw cotttjn and the waste at least five times thai of cotton. Ttie manufacturer must make up in s«mie way if he is to sell silk at the pricas de- manded by the public.