Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

The surfaces of both woven and non-woven
cloths may be embellished with embroidery
and applied cloths. Embroidery, executed with
needle and thread, may partially or totally
cover the ground cloth. An example of partial
covering is crewel work, in which a woven
ground, often of satin weave linen, is embroidered
with designs worked in lines and solid
areas of coloured wools. Canvas work is
worked on a plain, open and even weave canvas.
Generally speaking, canvas work, usually
executed in wool with silk highlights, completely
covers the canvas ground. Sometimes a
second woven cloth is cut to shape and
attached to the surface of the ground weave by
stitching or gluing, as in two types of work
known as hands and faces and stumpwork.
Another form of surface decoration or finishing
is created by applying pressure and/or
heat to the textile cloth surface by means of
heavy smooth-finished metal or wooden
rollers. If the rollers are etched with a design,
the raised area of the design flattens the
threads in those areas. As a result, the light is
reflected differently off the pressed and
unpressed areas. Textile cloth, with a pile or
non-pile surface, may be embellished this way.
The effect is not unlike a damask weave in
appearance. If the rollers are not etched, a different
finish is achieved. Calendaring is formed
in this way. The process renders a smooth,
sometimes polished, surface – particularly if
gum water is added to the surface. If the fabric,
particularly warp-faced wool, is folded in
half and then pressed together the imprint of
one textile surface against the other produces
a wavy effect often known as moire, moreen
or watered (Montgomery, 1984).
Finishes Natural or synthetic materials may be
applied to textiles for practical or aesthetic reasons.
For example, starch may be added to give
body to either a thread or a fabric and bleaches
are used to remove undesirable colour. Textile
finishes include bleaching, weighting (with
metal salts), stiffening (with starch or other
adhesive), dressing/filling, flame retardants,
water repellents, antistatic treatments, anti-biopredation,
anti-shrink. Other examples of materials
used for finishing and details of the
processes involved are given in Grier (1988),
Montgomery (1984) and Tímár-Balázsy and
Eastop (1998).
Upholstery materials and structures 111
Identification of textiles and fibres
Textile fibres from upholstery or embroidered
panels, and fibres from leather-covered furniture,
paper decorations, papier mâché and
cardboard furniture can be examined under
low power magnification for their structure
and pattern, or microscopically for composition
and origin. A 10 lens with a scale, for
example, is useful in examining and counting
the warp and weft threads, and for examining
their condition (Adrosko, 1990; Emery, 1980).
Upholstery conservators use a hand-lens, or
binocular microscope in examining the nail
pattern, and textile fragments of upholstery on
the furniture, in order to discriminate original
from later interventions (Francis, 1990;
Howlett, 1990).
Fibres can be examined longitudinally and in
cross-section to determine their composition
and possibly their origin. For example, longitudinal
sections of wool in good condition
show characteristic scales covering the central
cortex. On degraded wool fibres the scales
may be worn away. Cotton fibres are twisted
with frequent changes in direction. In transverse
section, a cotton fibre is a collapsed hollow
tube. Flax shows bundles of polygonal
cells. Procedures are described by the
American Association of Textile Chemists and
Colourists (Weaver, 1984; Farnfield et al. (1985)
and by Tímár-Balázsy and Eastop (1998).
Excellent descriptions are also given by
Appleyard (1978), Howlett (1990), King (1985)
and Catling and Grayson (1982). Fibres can
also be examined for additives and finishes.
Techniques for sample preparation are mentioned
by Annis et al. (1992a, 1992b), Farnfield
et al. (1985), Florian et al. (1990), King (1985),
Weaver (1984) and Tímár-Balázsy and Eastop
(1998). The type of microscope required for
fibre identification is similar to that needed for
wood identification (McCrone, 1987; Weaver,
1984). A polarized light microscope with bright
field and dark field illumination is recommended.
A hot-stage for observing melting
points of synthetic fibres is useful (Farnfield et
al., 1985). Cross-sections can be cut by hand
or on a microtome; good results have been
obtained by Annis et al. (1992b) with a plate
style microtome. Excellent results have also
been achieved by embedding the fibre sample
in a resin block before cutting the cross section
(Rogerson, 1997).