Manufacture
Crucial to process of manufacture was fustian cutting. This was a laborious process using a fustian cutting knife. This tool was around 50cm long, and looked like a long spike; about 10cm from the tip, the top edge was sharpened into a blade. It was inserted along the fabric alongside two warp threads, and under the raised weft, and as it was guided forward the blade severed the weft. In corduroy, there were seven ridges to the inch, so along a 31in bolt, there would be about 320 cuts to be done. In the 1860s, the cloth would be stretched over a 22yd long table, and the cutters would walk the length of the table as many times as was necessary, in recent times the cloth was tensioned over a 6ft table and all the cuts made, and then the cloth would be released and the next two yards tensioned onto the table. Over a 60hr week the cutter would be expected to produce 500 yards of 7-8 ridge corduroy. Velveteen was cut the same way but had 32 ridges per inch so production would be proportionately less.
Cutting was one part of the process. The yarn was sized and the cloth was woven—there would be a high number of weft threads to warp. The ridges were manually cut, and the cloth sent to be finished. It was scoured to remove the size, and brushed to raise the nap. This was then singed over a gas flame, then bleached and or dyed. It was brushed again. It was now stentered to pull it out to the standard width. The cloth was woven at 31 or 32 inches and during processing has shrunk to 27 inches. Stentering would stabilise the width to 28 inches. The back of the cloth would now be filled to give it stiffness. This could be with a glue based mixture that could be formed from boiled bones. Each manufacturer had their own techniques. The cloth was now ready to be taken to the warehouse to be sold.
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