rocess. To felt is to mix
and press into shape.

=Flannel.= Wales appears to have been the original home of flannel,
and history informs us that this was the only textile produced in that
country for hundreds of years. It is constructed either of cotton or
wool, or of an intermixture of these fibers, and is a coarse-threaded,
loosely woven, light-weight fabric, more or less spongy and elastic,
with an unfinished, lusterless surface. Generally speaking all grades
of plain colored flannel are piece dyed, the soft open texture of the
goods permitting the fibers to absorb the dye as readily in the web as
in the yarn. Flannels are subjected to several finishing operations,
such as fulling, teaseling, pressing, and stretching. Flannels do not
require a great deal of fulling. All that is necessary is enough to
give a degree of stability and body to the goods.

=Dress Flannel.= All wool fabric used chiefly for women's winter
dresses; also called flannel suiting. It has a diversity of qualities,
colors, and styles of finish. It is commonly put up in double fold,
width from twenty-six to fifty inches.

=French Flannel.= A fine, soft twill, woven variety dyed in solid
shades, and also printed with patterns after the manner of calico;
used for morning gowns, dressing sacques, waists, etc.

=Shaker Flannel.= A variety of white flannel finished with
considerable nap, composed of cotton warp and woolen weft.

=Indigo Blue.= A superior all wool grade used in the manufacture
of men's suits and particularly for the uniform of members of the
G. A. R.

=Mackinaw.= The name applied to an extra heavy blanket-like material
used in cold climates by miners and lumbermen for shirts and
underwear.

=Navy Twilled Flannel.= A heavy all wool variety commonly dyed indigo
blue, commonly used in the manufacture of overshirts for out-door
laborers, firemen, sailors, and miners.

=Silk Warp Flannel.= A high grade, pure variety of flannel woven with
a silk warp and a fine woolen weft. It is a very soft, light-weight,
loosely woven flannel and runs only in narrow widths, twenty-seven
inches. If the finishing process is carried beyond fulling the texture
is rendered hard and firm, the cloth thus losing its softness and
elasticity. In the teaseling process it is necessary for the nap to be
raised only slightly, and this is commonly done in the direction of
the grain or twist of the warp. The perfection of a flannel finish
lies not in the smooth ap