OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 4032, 23 June 1931, Page 18

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

SOME AVENUES OF WOOL CONSUMPTION. HOW ATTRACTIVE CLOTHS ARE MADE. (From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, April 16. This is usually a quiet period of the year in the Yorkshire wool textile trade, this being partly due to the fact that the selling season in overseas markets is either finished or approaching the end. Last week there were no auctions in Australia or New Zealand, but this week and next there are sales in Brisbane and Sydney. This is not news to readers, but it has its bearing upon what the writer has to say about the state of affairs in the Old Country. The season is practically over in South America, and will be about finished in New Zealand before another letter is penned. South American crossbred wool seems to have passed out of hand better than New Zealand this season, but taking crossbred wool generally one would like to be able to write in a more definite fashion and in a more optimistic tone. Taking the wool situation as a whole as seen from this end of the trade, it really looks as if the market will remain more or less inactive until a new lead is given by the opening of the London sales on April 28. The news received from overseas this week about the movement of wool is fairly gratifying, though no surprise was felt that the Timaru sale showed a slight tendency in buyers’ favour. WHERE CONSUMPTION IS LARGEST.

With a considerable weight of the New Zealand clip still to go into consumption, there is unfortunately little prospect of any enhancement just yet in values for that class of raw material. Even m merinos credit must be given to Japanese and other foreign buyers for establishing a very firm market in Brisbane. No doubt a continuance of sound _ values in Australia will do something to impart the confidence which just now seems to be rather lacking in Bradford. There is no need, however, to entertain any serious misgiving about the future of merinos. Sellers of tops at reasonable prices can still be found, and at this writing very little new business can be done, but the policy of the majority of topmakers is based on the fact that fine wool and tops are still on a very reasonable level. A large consumption of botany yarns is proceeding, and prices for these counts are steady. Some irregularity is seen in crossbred qualities, and no doubt spinners are not unmindful of the fact that raw material supplies are likely to be quite equal to all forthcoming requirements. Useful developments are taking place in the seasonal demand for piece goods, and on the whole the tendency in manufacturing circles is in the right direction. At the same time progress is being made only very slowly, largely owing to the continued conservative policy of wholesale and retail houses. THE OLD AND THE NEW.

Readers will no doubt realise that the sale of fabrics made from wool is very largely dependent upon the displays made by the shops in all cities, towns, and villages. In a sense one regrets the passing of the village tailors, who supplied their little clientele with suits to measure when required. The village dressmaker has held her own better than the tailor, perhaps partly because made-up dresses

and costumes very often have the cheapest material put into them which does not stand reasonable wear. Another explanation is probably found in the extreme fastidiousness of feminine taste and the strong desire for perfect fit. Women often wish to be in close touch with a dressmaker in order that little adjustments can be quickly made. Of more intimate interest to growers and sellers of wool, however, is the raw material which enters into the multitude ot fabrics now made from the fleece of the sheep and (incidentally) other fibres. This raw material has to be manipulated in various ways, and the present display of new spring fashions for dress goods seen in the large retail stores in Bradford and in such fashionable centres as Harrogate shows that no little skill has been exercised. Some of the fabrics which are on show are quite different from the high-class solid worsted fancy suiting for which a certain section of the public will pay 10 to 12 guineas when made up, but the production of goodfl for the rank and file of the population finds employment for by far the largest number of looms. FASHION CENTRES. One thing which the writer has observed in these new spring fashions is that knop yarns have been extensively used, there being a very big display of “ spot ” effects which are all obtained in this way. Last week the writer was greatly surprised to receive an inquiry from Holland as to where these knop yarns could be bought, information being wanted, not only about the spinners, but also about those who make machinery suitable for spinning such yarns. Accompanying the inquiry was a sample of the yarn wanted. In the olden days such a yarn would have been called a slub yarn, but great developments have taken place compared with 25 to 50 years ago. Now the slub yarn consists of a straight thread to which a cotton yarn and an artificial silk yarn are often attached, and finally a elub yarn of some high colour. It is a really wonderful combination, made possible by up-to-date machinery. Three or four different yarns can be used together, and manufacturers are provided with something very useful for dress goods as well as hosiery fabrics. Such yarn as the sample received from Holland is especially suitable for hosiery manufacture, presumably for the production of ladies’ costumes for outdoor wear. Wonderful effects are being shown in golfing attire and tennis cloths, and the novelties produced will help to keep spindles and looms running. This season West Riding mills seem to have “ sensed ” what will be fashionable for the coming spring and summer. TWO YORKSHIRE TOWNS.

In Yeadon and Guiseley, two places ] about six miles from Bradford, which have developed sufficiently during recent j years to be described as growing towns, an extensive trade is done in the manufacture of woollen dress goods and cap cloths which are known in almost every country in the world. The two places named are only about a mile apart, and in them there are eight mills with 68,519 woollen spindles and 1390 looms. Each business represented by this machinery was started in a small way, considerable enterprise having been shown by the past generation of manufacturers. One hundred years ago Guiseley tweeds were taken X>n horseback or by a local carrier to the Leeds Old Cloth Hall. Those tweeds were woven on hand looms in the homes of the people. At the present time several mills in Guiseley and Yeadon are running day and night to cope with the demand that has arisen for these cheap woollen cloths, which apparently meet the requirements of wholesale makers-up. Wonderful effects are being obtained in the production of. woollen dress goods by the use of knop yarns, to which reference has already been made. It should not be assumed that in the production of these drees goods nothing but pure wool yarn is used. Reference has been made above to the way artificial silk is introduced, and this is a confirmation of the writer’s own argument that artificial silk yarn is a more serious competitor of wool than some have been inclined to believe. In the manufacture af these cheap dress goods shoddy and mungo are also largely used, whils the artificial silk appears as a solid yarn, which is also the case with cotton. Three or four years ago it was said that artificial silk would help the consumption of worsted yarn. The writer then questioned the accuracy of the statement, the opinion being expressed that artificial silk would he a competitor against wool. _ This has turned out to be the case, artificial silk having seriously i affected the consumption of wool yarns

for hosiery purposes. During the past three years we have had about 30 per cent, of standing looms and spindles in the West Riding of Yorkshire. This shows that the state af trade has been unsatisfactory, and the writer has always maintained that 30 per cent, standing spindles represents our lost trade in botany yarns for women’s hose. If the feminine public would get back to wearing botany hose West _ Riding spindles would be busy. Meanwhile manufacturers are doing their utmost to present, attractive designs of cloths for the spring and summer of 1932, and it is not too much to expect that they will meet with a large measure of success.