Page 340 - The_story_of_the_C._W._S._The_jubilee_history_of_the_cooperative_wholesale_society,_limited._1863-1913_(IA_storyofcwsjubill00redf) (1)_Neat

The Story of the C.W.S. —
accompanied by the best results. Nevertheless, for the year 1912,
the factory, under Mr. Ede, could boast an output grown in value
from the £45,000 of 1905 to £125,000 for 1912. Shirt making is also
a department of the general clothing factory at Pelaw; while a
branch from Broughton was opened in January, 1913, at Shefl&eld.
Writing of this departure the March Wheatsheaf said :
Great as is the activity of the busy hive at Broughton, and although most
possible economies of space have been made, the factory is not large enough
for the growing demands of a successful trade. A branch has therefore been
opened in Sheffield. Trippett Lane, when the now amalgamated Sheffield
Society began the present shop there, was a thriving working-class quarter,
and good use was found for the hall over the shops. But as workshops
advanced the members retired, and gradually the branch became a problem
to the new society. The C.W.S. has taken the hall, with the rooms immedi-
ately below, as workrooms. Two hundred machines have been installed, and
work began in January last. At present only jackets and overalls are made;
but as the -work becomes established, further developments will come. It has
been regretted in the local press that Sheffield has thus lost a public hall, of
which the town had none too many. Tliis loss is probably outweighed by the
gain to labour.
Of the underclothing branch of the business, managed by Mr.
Kershaw, the lady whose work is known to the Manchester press
over the name of "Sigma," wrote in the Wheatsheaf for April,
1911:—
So far I have been speaking chiefly of the sliirt and overall factory. The
underclothing one close by is even more interesting, as there is, of course,
more scope for daintiness and delicacy in the finished product. Here the
machines not only accomplish seaming, tucking, and the other plain-sewing
processes described above, they also hem-stitch and blanket-stitch edgings upon
the garments as they are made, so that a simple flannelette nightdress or
combination may have a suitable and pretty decoration added at very small
cost. The girls who work these machines are a very cheerful and intelligent
set. The older hands carry out their work with a deftness bom of long
practice, whije the learners very rapidly profit by their instruction.
One nightdress of finest nainsook, with tucked medallions svurrounded by
cluny insertion, could bear comparison with much of the best French machine
work. Another has a yoke of English embroider}', a miracle of tucked and
inserted elaboration. . . . Similar garments, produced at Broughton with
an equal skill, have won many awards and diplomas at international exhibi-
tions.
The mantle making, under I\Ir. Harrison, at Broughton, of late
years, largely has meant the manufacture of rainproofs and ladies'
costumes. By means of fashion books and samples the factory
through the retail stores is brought to the wearers ; and cutters and
trimmers, machinists and pressors, are kept busily engaged in the
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