The principal use of spun silk is in mixed fabrics, in conjunction with wool, cotton, or raw silk, the spun silk thread generally being used as filling rather than warp. The better grades are made into velvet and plush and various types of knit goods. Although high quality spun silk often has the strength and wearing quality of thrown silk, it never can compete with the latter in regard to lustre. [Sidenote: _Sizing_] Spun silk is described as to size in one of two general ways. In the English system the number of the yarn is the number of hanks of 840 yards weighing a pound, with a second number indicating the ply. Thus, size “20-2” would designate a 2-ply yarn, a pound of which contained 16,800 yards. The French system is more or less on the same principle, the main difference being that the number of the yarn indicates the thousands of metres weighing a kilogram. [8] See Part Two, Page 74 to Page 78 for details of spinning. 3. MARKETING THROWN AND SPUN SILK Thrown and spun silk are bought and sold in very much the same way as is raw silk, although the market is not as extensive nor is the volume of trading as large. The following tables of quotations are from a recent silk journal. A comparison with the quotations given in Chapter III will show the appreciation in value of the various gradings through the throwing and spinning processes. THROWN SILK ORGANZINE Double Extra Crack $7.30 Double Extra 7.20 Extra 7.10 TRAM Extra $6.85 Best No. 1 6.75 Kansai No. 1 6.70 Japan Crepe Twist, 2 thread, 75 turns 7.80 Japan Crepe Twist, 3 and 4 thread, 60-65 turns 7.25 Canton Crepe Twist, 3 and 4 thread, 60-65 turns 7.20 Hosiery Tram 6.75 SPUN SILK 2% net 30 days 6/2 $4.25 10/2 4.35 20/2 4.75 30/2 5.15 40/2 5.35 50/2 5.50 60/1 4.45 60/2 5.60 [Illustration: _Twisting on New Warp Threads_] [Illustration: _Modern British Loom_ Shown at the British Empire Exposition Wembley, 1924] [Sidenote: _Imports_] Although far from approaching raw silk, the importations of silk waste to this country reach quite substantial figures, as the following table shows: Raw Silk Waste Silk 1920 30,058,374 9,400,985 1921 45,355,095 6,849,369 1922 50,711,826 7,638,317 1923 49,505,581 12,101,420 (Courtesy of Silk Association of America) CHAPTER V WEAVING AND FINISHING 1. WEAVING