Silk Noils

SILK NOILS

Silk noils may be divided into two major divisions, i.e., Schappe noils, produced on the Continent, and English noils. The broad difference is that whereas the former are not free from the natural gum of the silkworm, the latter have the gum fully discharged. Owing to the difference of the processes of which they are the outcome, the English noil is whiter and longer than the schappe noil. The English noil in its turn is of two kinds "long" and "exhaust." The long noil is the simple by-product of the flat-dressing frame, and the exhaust (or short) noil has been recombed and is more " neppy " than the material from which it came. All silk noils, long or short, schappe or English, may be divided into " white " and " tussah " according as they are the produce of one kind of silk or the other. The white has many sub-divisions (" China " and " Italian," " Steam," etc.) and the tussah may be light or dark brown according as its origin is Chinese or Indian waste silk. These noils, after spinning, appear as noil yarns, which are useful among other purposes as striping yarn for cheap tweeds. They are also useful substitutes for " spun " silk at three to four times the price. Noils are used in the production of fancy effects by Continental spinners of the so-called " imitation " yarns. And in Yorkshire silk noils are periodically required by costume and dress tweed makers for procuring " knop " or snowflake effects in cheap woollens. For this purpose the " short " or " exhaust " noil is preferable to the " long " and in some circumstances the short or re-combed noil fetches a higher price than the intrinsically better noil containing the long fibre.