|
INTERCAL
Presents Norton Weaving
This article is published on the Internet with kind permission from it’s
author, Tanya Turner of England. It was first published in the August 1997
issue of The Teddy Bear Club Magazine. Intercal is the exclusive
North American Importer for Norton (Weaving) Ltd., the mill being featured.
Antique Effect
In one corner of the mill sits the distressing machine. Built at the
turn of this century by one of the mill’s mechanics, it was originally
designed for crushing velvet. In 1986 it was dragged out of retirement
to produce an artificially aged fabric commissioned by Jack Wilson of
the House of Nisbet. The machine produced a remarkable antiquated fabric
which was then used to make Jack’s bear and replicas of Peter Bull’s famous
bear, Delicatessen. It has been causing bears much distress ever since.
The process appears rather tortuous. A length of mohair, still wet from
the dyers, is fed into the mangle-like machine where it is trussed with
string into something resembling a giant caterpillar. Having survived
this, the fabric is left to dry and then stretched or "stentered" back
into shape before being heat-set in an oversized oven. It’s a good job
this can all be accomplished before the fabric becomes a bear.
A latex backing is usually applied to each length
of mohair to help prevent the weave from fraying when the cloth is cut.
The lengths of straight pile fabric are then hung on frames while distressed
and curled mohair can be rolled.
The whole process from yarn to finished fabric
has taken several days. The end product is now ready for worldwide export
as well as for delivery to famous UK manufactures such as Merrythought
and Dean’s. It is also sent out to mohair stockists who provide a cut
length service to individual bear artists.
Bear Boom
When Michael and I took over the mill in 1985 there was only one straight
pile mohair being produced here", says Bob. "Bears were a minor application.
We were busy making pile fabrics for coats, furnishings, slippers, car rugs
and paint rollers. But from 1990 the demand for mohair fabric for bears
increased dramatically. This, together with the demand for different finishes
and dyes has lead us to develop accordingly. We still produce winter coat
fabric and paint roller pads but bears now account for the majority of the
mohair we produce.
There are now five basic finishes, but multiply
this by the many variations of pile length, density and colour and the
range becomes truly extensive.
The most exciting development in recent years
has been the increase in demand for unconventional colours," says Bob.
"Our dyers are able to produce any pantone reference. They can also colour-match
to specific requirements, so anything is possible."
Natural undyed mohair is also enjoying popularity
reflecting the growing interest in home-dyeing fabric. Mohair and wool
mixes were previously popular but the current trend is towards the softness
and purity of 100% mohair. Alpaca is also woven at Norton using yarn spun
from the fleeces of the llama-like animal.
As teddies are an increasingly important part
of his business, Bob is currently undergoing something of an initiation
into the bear world. "Last year I went to a bear fair for the first time,"
he says. "Even knowing the demand for mohair, I was amazed by the amount
of interest in bears. Talking to collectors and artists at these events
is giving me a better understanding of the market and an insight into
what people want."
Bob recently attended the Schaumburg Teddy Bear
Show in Chicago and, like most of us who visit fairs, he didn’t come back
empty-handed. With him came a huge ted, Horatio, who was rather surprised
to discover himself back at the mill where his journey began. Bob says
he bought Horatio because he is an example of Norton’s new 41.3 mm sparse
wavy mohair, which sounds like a very plausible excuse!
Again, Thank you, Tanya Turner for letting us publish this article on Intercal’s
Web Site.
|
