but not the wool. The next process is
the "gigging" which raises the nap. The cloth is run close to rapidly
revolving "teazels" and also may be run through a napping machine. It
may be sheared again and then steamed and pressed. This is but a brief
outline; there are generally more processes.

Woolen cloth coming from the loom may be so treated in the finishing
room as to produce fabrics entirely different in appearance. One of the
chief objects of the finishing is to give to the cloth as fine an
appearance as possible to attract the buyer. Much of the fine finish
disappears through wear, especially with inferior goods made from poor
materials. The wearing quality of the goods is primarily dependent upon
the strength and quality of the fibers of which it is made, so that the
yarn of the filling and the warp should be examined when selecting
materials. In general hard twisted yarn will give the better wearing
cloth.

FABRICS

The present day shops offer such a great variety of fabrics that only a
few of the most important can be mentioned here.

COTTON GOODS

Cotton is cool and heavy, is a non-conductor of heat, crushes easily,
but like all vegetable fibers it may be laundered without injury to the
fibers. Cotton does not take the darker dyes as well as animal fibers
and for this reason it does not combine satisfactorily with wool. As an
adulterant it wears shabby and loses its brightness. It is only when
cotton does not pretend to be anything else that it is our most useful
and durable textile. The readiness with which cotton takes the lighter
dyes and improved methods of ginning, spinning, and weaving have made
cotton goods superior to any other for summer use.

[Sidenote: Muslin]

Muslin, calico, and gingham must always head the list of cotton goods.
Muslin is coarse and fine, bleached, unbleached, and half bleached,
twilled or plain weave. Under the head of muslin brought to a high
degree of perfection in weave and finish will be found dimity, mull,
Indian lawn, organdie, Swiss, and Madras, and a host of others equally
beautiful. Madras muslin has a thin transparent ground with a heavily
raised pattern woven of a soft, thick thread unlike the ground work.
Waste is used for the pattern. Organdie muslin is soft, opaque, white,
or colored, with raised dots of pattern and plain weave. Dimity has a
fine cord running with the selvage.

Gingham is a smooth, close cotton usually woven in checks or stripe