Gingham (common) is a single cloth composed entirely of cotton and always woven with a plain weave; it is the most universally known fabric on the market and is made in various grades, having from 50 to 76 ends per inch in the reed and at l-26s to l-40s cotton yarns in both-warp and filling. The name is Indonesian in origin, assimilated into Dutch( Vichy in French). When originally imported (in the 17th century), it was a striped fabric, but from the mid 18th century, when it was being produced in the mills of Manchester, England, it had become woven into checked or plaid patterns (often blue and white). It is a wash fabric, made in both check and plaid patterns,. into whicu an almost unlimited variety of color combinations are introduced. It is most commonly used In the manufacture of ladies' and children's apron* and summer outing dresses. It can be woven in any power loom having a box motion attached ; roller loom, using four harness or heddle shafts, and having as a selvage eight double ends on each side. Gingham warps are made in two lengths, 720 yards and 1,080 yards, ancT these lengths being subdivided into shorter lengths or cuts, usually 14 and' 21, respectively. When a gingham warp is woven out the set of harnesses or noddies, it is taken out of the loom, and is placed in a twisting frame and twisted, an operation which means the fastening together, by means of the fingers, of those ends remaining in the set of harness, and those of the new warp.
