Ordinary Honey Comb | Brighton Honey Comb | End Uses of Honey Comb

The honey comb weaves derive their name from their partial resemblance to the hexagonal honey comb cells of wax in which bees store their honey. These weaves form ridges and hollows which give a cell like appearance to the textures. Both warp and weft threads float somewhat on both sides, which coupled with the rough structure, renders this class of fabric readily absorbent of moisture. The weaves are of two classes, namely,

(i) Ordinary honey comb or honey comb proper
(ii) Brighton honey comb

Ordinary Honey Comb

These weaves are characterized by the following features
(a) Cell like appearance with ridges and hollows
(b) Single line crossing a single line or double line crossing a double diagonal line
(c) More warp and weft floats
(d) Moisture absorbent due to floats
(e) Constructed with pointed drafts
(f) A reversible fabric having similar effect on both sides.

Brighton Honey Comb

These weaves are characterized by the following features :
(a) Non-reversible cloths in which face appears different from back side of the cloth
(b) Constructed on straight drafts only
(c) Repeat size is a multiple of 4
(d) Length of longest float is N/2 – 1, where N is the repeat size
(e) A single diagonal line crosses a double diagonal line
(f) Formation of 4 cells per repeat i.e., two large and two small cells (ordinary honey comb forms only one cell per repeat)
(g) The number of threads in a repeat must be a multiple of 4.

End Uses
The fabrics constructed from honey comb weaves have more thread floats on both sides and have a rough structure. This renders more absorption of moisture. The weaves are, therefore, suitable for towels and also in various forms for bed covers and quilts.