BEDFORD CORDS

BEDFORD CORDS:

The bed ford cords are a class of weaves that produce longitudinal warp lines in the cloth with fine sunken lines in between. They are constructed on a pair of picks or alternate picks. The cord weave is alternated by plain weave weft way. The cord effects so produced enable to bring out stripe effects in solid colours. Generally cotton and worsted yarns are used in the production of bed ford cords. Cotton is used in weaving of lighter textures while worsted is used in weaving of heavier textures. In the design of bed ford cords, two series of warp threads are considered. The first group constitutes the face threads which weave as cord and plain weave on alternate or pair of picks. The other group of threads known as cutting ends weave as plain. The cutting ends separate the neighbouring cords. The cords may be

alternated by plain or twill weave weft way.

Sometimes special threads known as wadding threads are introduced in between the normal warp threads. The purpose of this is to increase the prominence of the cords and also to increase the weight, bulk and strength of the fabric. The wadding threads never interlace with weft, but lie perfectly straight between the ridges of their respective cords and the floating weft at the back. Generally wadding threads are of considerably coarser counts of yarn than the principal or face warp threads, and since they never interlace with weft but remain straight, their construction during weaving is nil. This condition necessitates the wadding threads being wound upon a separate warp beam, and held at greater tension than face warp threads during weaving.

CLASSIFICATION OF BED FORD CORDS:

STANDARD QUALITY PARTICULARS:

The following constructional particulars are suitable for Bedford cords used as worsted dress fabrics.

          Warp : 2/20s

           Weft : 18s

           Ends/inch : 92

           Picks/inch : 82

The following constructional particulars are suitable for a cotton twill faced Bedford cord (London cord).

      Warp : 14s

      Weft : 20s

      Ends/inch : 86

      Picks/inch : 78

LOOM EQUIPMENT:

A dobby loom with fast reed and heavy beat up is suitable for manufacturing bed ford cord fabrics.

PLAIN FACED BED FORD CORDS:

In this type, the cord or rib effect is produced by alternating plain weave with the cord either on alternate picks or a pair of picks. Fig. 8.1 shows the construction of a plain face Bedford cord on a pair of picks, and Fig. 8.2 shows a Bed Ford cord constructed on alternate picks.

Construction of plain faced Bedford cord on a pair of picks

In Fig. 8.1 A, is shown the repeat size of the Bedford cord. The repeat is split into cutting ends and face ends. The cutting ends weave plain and the face ends weave the cord. In Fig. A the insertion of the cutting ends are shown in the figure B, the insertion of the face ends are shown. Figs. C, D, E and F show the design, draft, peg plan and the cross section of the Bedford cord. At figure F, the interlacement of the various picks in the repeat with the face and the cutting ends are shown. In the example above the ratio of face ends to cutting ends
 is 2 : 4.

Construction of a plain faced bedford cord on alternate picks

Fig. 8.2, shows the construction of a plain faced bed ford cord on alternate picks. Fig. A, shows the face and cutting threads. Fig. B, shows the insertion of plain weave on alternate picks to obtain the Bedford cord design.

Some wadded threads are introduced in between the face threads in order to increase the weight of the fabric or enhance the cord effect. The wadded threads so introduced will usually be coarser than the face threads and made of a cheaper material. A typical example is shown in Fig. 8.3.

Construction of a plain 3 faced wadded Bedford cord design

At A, is shown the design of plain faced wadded bed ford cord. The wadded threads are introduced at the middle in between the face threads. For the purpose of differentiation, the face, cutting and wadded threads are indicated by separate notations respectively. At C is shown the warp way cross section of the design.

TWILL FACED BED FORD CORD:

In this type of cord, a twill weave is used instead of a plain weave, along with the cord or rib weave to get a better effect. In this type, the warp is brought more prominently to the surface. Figure 8.4, shows the design of a twill faced bed ford cord.

Construction of a twill faced Bedford cord design

At figure A is shown the twill faced Bedford cord. The twill weave is inserted on alternate picks. At B, is shown the basic twill weave, which is a 1/3 twill. The repeat size of the cord is 16 ¥ 16 including the face and cutting ends.

Wadding threads can also be introduced as in the case of plain faced Bedford cords. This is shown in Fig. 8.5.

Design of a wadded twill faced bedford cord

At A, is shown a wadded twill faced bed ford cord design. A 2/1 twill has been chosen(figure B) and inserted with the cord. The wadding threads are inserted in between the face threads and work with the cord threads. The wadded threads do not inter weave with the picks.

END USES OF BED FORD CORDS:

Bed ford cords find a wide range of applications such as dress materials, military dresses, suitings, woolen and worsted fabrics (heavy type).