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By Herbert Snower (As Delivered at Steiner Sales Clinic) Cotton is the world's most satisfactory fiber for the manufacture of washable service apparel used in the linen supply industry. No other fiber, natural or synthetic, can approach it for its outstanding qualities. Cotton is nature's most versatile fiber. It m a y be spun into soft downy products or into those sufficiently tough to wear down metal surfaces. Cotton cloth is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It may be shaped or draped with ease, and has great resistance to surface abrasion. It launders excellently because of its resistance to alkali. It may be boiled, sterilized and starched and is not susceptible to stains. It has excellent affinity for dyes and the ability to retain them. It does not deteriorate in storage or "yellow" in service. It is the most plentiful textile fiber in' the world and consequently is the most economical. Much is heard these days of rayon, nylon and other synthetics but it is not conceivable that cotton will ever lose its place of dominance in our industry—at least not in the lifetime of anyone in this room. Raw cotton is classified commercially according to (1) Staple and (2) Grade. Staple means the average length in inches or fractions of an inch of the individual fibers. Difference in the s t a p. 1 e length. affects the strength of the yarn and the fineness to which it can be spun. Grade refers to the color and brightness of the cotton as well as the amount of dirt and foreign matter it contains. Low grade cotton results in cloth of dark color and excess of dirt and specks, as you will see from' the samples to be submitted. I am going to pass among you these sample of raw cotton. One is described as 15/16 in. middling which is the grade and staple traded on the New York Cotton Exchange. The other is cotton of short staple and very low grade. There is also displayed two samples of cloth in their original grey state, one made of low grade cotton and the other one our Opelika duck which is made of middling cotton.! The difference is immediately discernible. One is dark in color and full of specks. The other is a light manila color with a brightness or bloom to it and few specks. The conclusion is evident—the first test of the quality of a piece of cotton cloth is the grade and staple of the raw cotton which went into it. Anyone can pretty well determine this by the appearance of the grey, unfinished cloth without being a mill expert or making extensive tests. As you have probably noticed, the cloth as it comes off the looms in its natural state is not white — but a manila color and this is known in the trade as unbleached or "grey"' cloth. There are many instances of usage of this unbleached cloth in the linen supply industry for butcher aprons and in wide toweling, but for the most part the grey cloth is bleached white or dyed into colors before it4 is used. This process is known as "converting" and the cloth is called "finished" cloth. The important thing to remember as we discuss cloth construction is that all specifications pertain to cloth in its unbleached state. The process of finishing changes the original specifications to a varying degree depending on the finish as well as the usage to which the cloth is to be put. Therefore, for the sake of uniformity and to be sure that buyer and seller are talking about the same thing, all cotton goods are purchased on the basis of their grey construction. Cotton cloth is composed of cotton yarns of a predetermined weight some running the! length of the cloth known as warp" and the other running across the width of the cloth and known as "filling." The weave of the cloth is the method of interlacing of these warp and filling yarns. This method of interlacing is of prime importance since it not only determines the structure of the cloth but it greatly affects its ultimate appearance. The difference between sheeting. duck, drill or twill is merely the difference in the manner in which the warp and filling yarns are interlaced. The two foundations weaves which are used in the manufacture of cloth for the linen supply industry are the "plain" weave and the "drill" or "twill" weave. These are shown clearly on the charts which I am about to pass around. The plain weave is an alternate interlacing of each warp and filling thread and is described as "one up and one down," meaning one warp yarn above the filling and the following warp yarn below the filling. This is the weave in sheeting such as used for the manufacture of ladies' dresses, and in slight variation in duck which is used principally for men's garments and butcher aprons. The plain weave is perfectly square and is sometimes called a "basket" weave. The drill weave is accomplished by an interlacing of 'two up and down' as shown on the chart, related weave, the twill weave, is accomplished by "three up and one down." These latter result in a diagonal pattern running across the cloth —the twill pattern being more pronounced than the drill. Weave Use Varies The question of why certain weaves are used for certain purposes is not an easy one. Custom in various parts of the country enters into it. For in- .' stance, the east uses nothing but duck for butcher aprons and men's garments whereas the west leans to drill. The question of which is better has never been finally determined and is becoming classical. In ladies' garments where a light weight cloth is needed, the most economical fabric which gives both good service and appearance at a reasonable price is the "plain weave" sheeting. This is used almost exclusively by the -linen supply industry. For men's garments. drills may be said to be superior in appearance, drape more easily, and take starch better than duck. On the other hand, duck may be said to wash more easily as it does not have the drill crevices in the diagonal weave for the dirt to lodge in, and to wear longer because of its plain weave. There are four factors which are essential in specifying cotton cloth in the grey. These are: (1) width; (2) thread count; (3) weight per yard; (4) weave. The width is self-explanatory merely being the distance from salvage edge to selvage edge. The weave has already been discussed. This leaves the two remaining factors — thread count and weight. Thread count means the number of warp and filling yarns per spare inch. These can be determined merely by counting a prescribed inch under a magnifying glass. The higher the thread count, the closer woven the fabric will be, and all other things being equal, the stronger it will be. The thread count of fabrics varies considerably. Some fabrics have an almost balanced or square construction, such as in sheeting where the number of warp and filling threads is sometimes exactly the same and where the yarns are similar. Other fabrics such as ducks and drills, however, have more threads in the warp than in the filling in order to give the warp greater strength. The thread count is described by the warp count times the filling count in the following manner—48 by 52 means 48 wrap threads and 52 filling threads per square inch. The weight of the cloth is described by the number of lineal yards it takes to weigh a pound. Thus the figures 2.85 mean that it takes two and eight five hundredths yards to weigh a pound. It may be readily seen that the more yards it takes to weigh a pound the lighter the cloth, and conversely the fewer yards, the heavier the cloth. Thus a 2.85 fabric is lighter than a 1.95 fabric of the same width. Now that we know the factors entering into the description of cotton, cloth, I would like to give you the constructions of the three most commonly used fabrics in the linen supply industry:
Effect of Finishing All of these pertains to cloth in its unbleached state. Converting or finishing the cloth changes these figures substantially. The process of bleaching results in the cloth being pulled thus reducing the width of the grey cloth anywhere from 2 in. to 4 in. as well as taking considerable out of the weight. Further, necessary treatment with chemicals in order to bleach the cloth white reduces the strength considerably. As a matter of fact, of the four factors entering into the description of cotton cloth only the "weave remains the same. The width, thread count, and weight have all changed. The thread count has increased in the warp and decreased in the filling due to the pulling of the cloth. The goods are narrower, and anywhere from 10 per cent to 15 per cent lighter in weight. A piece of 8 oz. duck seldom weighs as much as 7 ounces when finished. Finishing materials, such as sizing or starch are usually put into finished fabrics to make up for the loss in weight and to make the cloth feel heavier, but these disappear after the first washing. Finishing not only increases the cost of the cloth by the cost of the finishing, but it also radically reduces its strength and length of service. Linen supply men who use unbleached cloth wherever they can, are saving both in cost and wearing quality. Its use in certain garments, butcher aprons and most of all in wipe toweling is entirely practical. Unbleached cloth is cheaper and will give longer wear. We have seen that finishing radically changes the grey cloth construction and for this reason cotton mills cannot be required to meet specifications on finished fabrics. 'The linen supply man is presented with the problem of how he can determine for himself which fabrics are superior to others. Some send samples to laboratories for tensile breaking and other tests and attempt to draw conclusions therefrom, but the results of these have been confusing and inconclusive Variation in the finishing as the cloth itself brings so many different answers as to make the results unreliable. Further it has not been conclusively determined whether it is tensile breaking strength or instance. to abrasion which is most important. We hear of tensile breaking strength tests on all sides, yet we personally lean to the idea that surface abrasion is the determining factor in the life of a fabric. Another popular test is the washing test. This is done by taking two fabrics you are comparing — sewing them together a n d sending them through the wash with linen again and again, until one soiled shows of wear. This is a true test of the launderability of the fabric, but does not take into consideration the wear which the fabric gets while in use. The net result of all of our attempts to arrive at an absolutely reliable means of fabric testing has 'led to the conclusion that there just simply any. The value of the result of any one test can be argued pro and con interminably. It is the net result of many tests, together with actual experience, and your customer satisfaction that should ultimately result in your deciding what is the best fabric for you to use in your particular case. Importance of Textile Knowledge This brings us to the question which may rightly be asked by a 'linen supply salesman since this is a sales meeting—of what value is! all of this to me in selling linen 'service? I think it is of very great value in at least two respects: First, it is important for you to know the magical qualities of cotton which makes it far and away the best fiber for weaving into cloth, so that you will be in a better position to discuss the whole subject of nylon or rayon as opposed to cotton should your customer bring it up. You should know, for instance, that nylon is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, that it sews poorly, puckering at the seams, and that while they say it is not necessary to iron it the finish product does not compare with freshly ironed cotton cloth. You should know that rayon washes poorly and will not stand heat. If you approach your customer with the confidence in cotton that it deserves, you not only will be able to defend yourself, but you will go a long way toward influencing your customer. Secondly, if you know how inconclusive and confusing cloth tests, can be, and how important is the practical side of actual usage in the laundry, you will realize that the fabrics which the linen supply industry as a whole has set for certain uses, are the best not only from the linen supply man's angle. but from the customer's as well. The customer does not realize the hard usage and laundering his garment must' be able to take. He may talk about poplins, broadcloths, ginghams, and other light weight fancy fabrics 'for his dresses, but he will not be so happy with the way these look after they 'have taken the beating that is required of them. One of the most remarkable things about the linen supply industry as a whole is the almost universal acceptance by it of certain fabrics for certain uses. It is not conceivable that each linen supply man in his own way has arrived at the same answer without it being the, right one. The industry as a whole has made changes but only in a sloxy, sure way. For instance, sheeting used for dresses has gradually been getting heavier. Formerly, we used a 2.85 fabric, then a 2.72, now a 2.65 is almost universal. Dick on the other hand has been getting lighter. Years ago we used a 1014 OZ. (luck; before the recent war we were using a 9 oz. (luck, since then we have used 8 oz. duck almost entirely. Thus we see that the linen supply industry does examine its needs and changes wherever it would appear advantageous, but only after complete investigation and thorough practical tests through use. The linen supply salesman should know and feel that his industry is the only one with enough means and experience at its command to decide what are the best fabrics to use in each particular instance not only for the benefit of the company, but also from the standpoint of the customer himself. |