Curling Selvedges

CURLING SELVEDGES (Cotton)

This is a fault that causes serious trouble to finishers and is due to the unequal distribution of the weft threads on the back and the face of the cloth. The remedy is to weave flat selvedges and this can be done by using suitable weaves for the fabric to be woven, and a weave that does not give a tight selvedge. Manufacturers can avoid curling selvedges and by a little experimenting at the beginning of the warp the right weave can be quickly obtained. Curling selvedges in wool, invariably present themselves in the making of heavily-felted cloths (e.g., the Army greatcoat), when the weave shows a preponderance of warp or weft on one side, such as prunelle crow or sateen. The defect is partly overcome by weaving the selvedges in warp cord, weft cord, or hopsack. For fulling, the piece should be doubled as a bag, with the face inside, and the lists stitched flat together; or two pieces may be put face to face and the lists stitched. This arrangement, by keeping the pieces flat, also prevents mill marks. Other causes are : The use for the selvedge of odd yam which mills quicker than the cloth itself, and curls as it becomes shorter. In such cases the listing yarn should be harder twisted, or warped a little longer. Narrow selvedges which cannot resist the one-sided pull of the weft in shrinking are drawn in and rolled. (French Army cloths are milled from 102-in. to 55-in. The lists in these are made with ten very thick twofold threads, two to three times as heavy as the single ground yam). Skying the listing threads too closely is a cause of the defect.