Then the stockings or socks are handed over to expert women operators, who seam up the legs on a machine especially adapted for the purpose.

After being sorted they are taken to be dyed, boarded, st.i.tched, dried, and finally subjected to heat and pressure to give them a finished appearance. It usually requires two weeks from the time the manufacturing operations begin, for a stocking to emerge from the factory in a finished form. Full-fashioned hose are made in all shades and grades of silk and cotton, in lisle thread, and in all kinds of cashmere, merino, and woolen goods. They are likewise knitted plain, ribbed, and with fancy stripes and embroidery effects. In the United States there are numerous important plants engaged in the production of full-fashioned goods, while large quant.i.ties are annually imported from Germany and France.

=Finishing Process.= When socks and stockings are taken off of the knitting machines they present an unfinished appearance, being loose, puckered, dirty, and generally shapeless. Scouring, dyeing, shaping, and pressing serve to improve their looks, and these finishing operations const.i.tute a distinct branch of the industry. While still in a moist state the hose are shaped. This is effected by the use of forming-boards made of wood and about one-half of an inch in thickness. The sock or stocking is carefully stretched over the "form"

while damp, and then placed in a heated chamber and allowed to dry.

The goods a.s.sume the shape of the wooden "form," and will always hold it if the work has been carefully and thoroughly done. After they have been taken from the drying chamber and the boards removed the hose are pressed between heavy metal plates or rollers, looked over for defects, and when boxed or bundled are ready for market.

CHAPTER XIII

LACE

=Lace.= Lace is the name applied to an ornamental open work of threads of flax, cotton, silk, gold, or silver, and occasionally of mohair or aloe fiber. The latter are used by the peasants of Italy and Spain.

Lace consists of two parts, the ground and the flower. The threads may be looped, plaited, or twisted in one of three ways. First, with a needle, when the work is known as "needlepoint lace." Second, when bobbins, pins, and a pillow or cushion are used; this is called "pillow lace." Third, by machinery, when imitations of both point and pillow lace patterns are produced.

Special patterns for these laces date from the beginning of the sixteenth century. The early productions of the art had some a.n.a.logy to weaving; the patterns were stiff and geometrical, sometimes cut out of linen or separately sewed and applied to the meshed surface, but more frequently they were darned in, the st.i.tches being counted in, as in tapestry. This kind was known as darned netting. With the development of the renaissance of art, free flowing patterns and figure subjects were introduced and worked in.

Whether of needlepoint or pillow make, both the ornament and the ground are produced by the lace maker. Needlepoint is made by first st.i.tching the net with thread along the outline of a pattern drawn on paper or parchment, thus producing a skeleton thread pattern. This threadwork serves as a foundation for the different figures which are formed in the lace.

Bobbin or pillow lace more nearly resembles weaving. The threads are fixed upon a circular or square pillow, placed variously to suit the methods of manufacture in vogue in different countries. The object of using the pillow is to prevent too much handling of the lace. One end of each thread is fastened to the cushion with a pin, the main supply of thread being twined around a small bobbin of wood, bone, or ivory.

The threads are twisted and plaited together by the lace maker, who throws the bobbins over and under each other. The operation is fairly simple, since children of eight or nine years of age can be trained to it successfully. It demands, however, considerable dexterity with the fingers.

The design for pillow lace must of course be adapted to the technical requirements of the process, and cannot therefore be the same as one for needlepoint, which has a better appearance and greater strength than pillow lace. For this reason it was in former times generally preferred for wear on occasions of state. On the other hand, pillow lace has the quality of charming suppleness, and for use in mantillas, veils, and fichus it is better than needlepoint, lending itself with delicate softness and graceful flexibility as a covering to the head and shoulders of women.

LACE TERMS DEFINED

_Alencon (Point d')._--Fine needlepoint lace with the ground of double-twist thread in a semi-net effect. Is usually worked with horsehair on the edges to give firmness to the cordonnet. Called after the city in France where it is made.

_Allover._--Name for all wide laces used for flouncing, yokes, and entire waists. Usually the lace is over eighteen inches in width.

_American Laces._--A general term formerly used to distinguish lace made in this country, the development of the industry having now rendered the term nearly obsolete.

_Angleterre (Point d')._--Fine Brussels pillow lace, distinguished by a rib of raised and plaited threads worked in the lace. Shown in floral, ornithological, and geometrical designs.

_Antique._--Hand-made pillow lace of heavy linen thread in a large, open, rectangular knotted mesh. Used for curtains, bed sets, draperies.

_Antwerp._--Bobbin lace, resembling early Alencon. Shows a "pot"--that is, a vase or basket effect--in the design.

_Applique._--Any lace in which the body and the design are made separately. The body is usually silk and the design cotton or linen.

_Applique Brussels._--Name sometimes given to Brussels applique laces.

_Arabe (Point d')._--Coa.r.s.e bobbin lace made in Belgium and France as well as Arabia. Shows a large, bold pattern, cable edged, and is almost invariably in a deep ecru tone. Used for curtains and draperies.

_Arabian._--Same as above.

_Argentine._--Similar to Alencon, the mesh being a trifle larger.

_Arras._--Very strong, inexpensive, white bobbin lace, of simple pattern, somewhat resembling Mechlin.

Distinguished by its light, single thread ground. Named after the city in France where it is made.

_Aurillac._--Somewhat resembles Angleterre. Bobbin lace made in Aurillac, France.

_Auvergne._--Any kind of bobbin lace made in Auvergne, France. Different makes and patterns.

_Ave Maria._--A narrow edging lace.

_Baby Lace._--Light and simple edging lace made in England.

_Battenberg._--Same as Renaissance. Designs confined to flower patterns.

_Bayeux._--Bobbin lace, usually an imitation of Spanish point. Also a black, rich lace made in large pieces for shawls, head scarfs, etc.

_Binche._--Fine pillow lace, without cordonnet. Ground resembles a spider-web with small dots. Made in Binche, Belgium.

_Bisette._--Coa.r.s.e, narrow French peasant lace in simple designs. Name often applied to cheap bordering laces.

_Blonde._--So called, being originally a bobbin lace made of unbleached silk, though now shown in black, white, and colors. Made with two different sizes of thread; fine thread for the ground, coa.r.s.e for the design. Usually takes some floral form. Very l.u.s.trous.

_Bobbin Lace._--Imitation of pillow lace. Made in England and France.

_Bobbinet._--The same.

_Bone Lace._--An obsolete term once given to Honiton bobbin lace.

_Bone Point Lace._--Applied to laces having no regular ground or mesh, such as Renaissance.

_Border Lace._--Practically synonymous with edging.

_Bourdon._--A machine lace made of both silk and cotton.

Show scroll-like patterns cable-edged on a regular mesh.

Usually dyed black, but sometimes bleached. The outline is of a heavy l.u.s.trous thread. Used chiefly for dress tr.i.m.m.i.n.g and millinery.

_Brettone._--Cheap narrow edging.

_Bride Lace._--Lace with the pattern connected with brides. Same as bone point lace.

_Brides._--Slender threads connecting different parts of a pattern.

_Brussels Net._--Plain net made originally in Brussels, but now produced in all lace manufacturing countries.

_Brussels Pillow._--Fine pillow lace with the patterns joined together by little loops on their edges.

_Brussels Point._--Shows an open pattern, made partly in open, partly in closed, st.i.tch, giving the appearance of shading.