the best. The
cloth cracks or breaks, especially if plaited. It is used for gowns,
shirtwaists, linings, petticoats, etc.

=Tulle.= Openwork silk net; made on the pillow as lace by young women
of Tulle, France.

=Velour.= French for velvet. A trade term of somewhat loose
application, being used indiscriminately to describe a great variety
of textures so constructed or finished as to present a velvet-like
surface. It is usually a velvety fabric made of coarse wool yarn and
silk. Velour is woven with a coarse stiff pile after the manner of
plush; while at present it is made of jute, cotton, and worsted, it
was originally constructed of linen. It is produced in numberless
forms, both plain and in fancy effects.

=Velvet.= From the Italian _velluto_, feeling woolly to the touch, as
a woolly pelt or hide. Fine velvet is made wholly of silk.

=Velveteen.= An imitation velvet, made of cotton, usually with plain
back, not twilled, as silk velvet.

=Tabby Velvet.= The lowest grade of cotton velvet, used for covering
cheap coffin lining cases, sold by the inch in widths which range from
sixteen to thirty-two inches. Originally made in Bagdad for wall
covering, its name being derived from a section of that city.

=Voile.= From the French _voile_, meaning a veil, a light fabric
usually more or less transparent, intended to conceal the features in
whole or in part or to serve as a screen against sunlight, dust,
insects, etc., or to emphasize or preserve the beauty. The custom of
wearing veils had its origin in the early ages in the desire of
semi-savage man to hide away the woman of his choice, and is a
survival of the ancient custom of hiding women that is found even down
to the present day in Eastern countries. Voile is a transparent, wiry
material with a square mesh.

CHAPTER XIX

ARTIFICIAL SILK

=Silk Cotton.= On account of the high price of silk various attempts
have been made to find satisfactory substitutes for it. There are
certain seed coverings of plants that contain very fine hair-like
fibers with a luster almost equal to silk, but the staples are short,
and the texture weak. The Kapok plant furnishes most of the commercial
silk cotton on the market. The fibers of Kapok are thin and
transparent. They are extremely light, and the length is less than
half an inch. Silk cotton has a smooth surface and therefore cannot be
spun like true cotton which has corded edges.

=Artificial Silk.= Since seed hair