16/12/2019 Warp and weft - Wikipedia

Warp and weft

Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to
turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp
yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the
transverse weft (sometimes woof) is drawn through and inserted
over-and-under the warp.[1] A single thread of the weft crossing the
warp is called a pick. Terms vary (for instance, in North America, the
weft is sometimes referred to as the fill or the filling yarn).[2][3]
Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end or
end.[4][5]

Inventions during the 18th century spurred the Industrial Warp and weft in plain
Revolution, with the "picking stick"[6] and the "flying shuttle" (John weaving
Kay, 1733) speeding up production of cloth. The power loom
patented by Edmund
Cartwright in 1785 allowed
sixty picks per minute.[6]

Contents Ghiordes Senneh knot

Etymology knot

Warp The yellow yarn is the pile, the vertical the warp, and the horizontal the weft

Weft
As metaphor
In hairdressing
See also
Notes
References

Etymology
The words warp and weft derive ultimately from the Old English
word wefan, to weave. Warp means "that which is thrown away"[7]
A satin weave, common for
(Old English wearp, from weorpan, to throw, cf. German werfen,
silk; each warp thread floats
Dutch werpen). over 16 weft threads.

Warp
The warp is the set of yarns or other elements stretched in place on a loom before the weft is
introduced during the weaving process. It is regarded as the longitudinal set in a finished fabric
with two or more sets of elements.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_and_weft 1/3
16/12/2019 Warp and weft - Wikipedia

The term is also used for a set of yarns established before the
interworking of weft yarns by some other method, such as finger
manipulation, yielding wrapped or twined structures. Very simple
looms use a spiral warp, in which the warp is made up of a single,
very long yarn wound in a spiral pattern around a pair of sticks or
beams.[9]

The warp must be strong to be held under high tension during the
weaving process, unlike the weft which carries almost no tension.
This requires the yarn used for warp ends, or individual warp A 3/1 twill, as used in denim
threads, to be made of spun and plied fibre. Traditionally wool,
linen, alpaca, and silk were used. However, improvements in
spinning technology during the Industrial Revolution created cotton
yarn of sufficient strength to be used in mechanized weaving. Later,
artificial or man-made fibres such as nylon or rayon were employed.
Warp threads in tablet
While most weaving is weft-faced, warp-faced textiles are created weaving
using densely arranged warp threads. In these the design is in the
warp, requiring all colors to be decided upon and placed during the
first part of the weaving process, which cannot be changed. Such limitations of color placement
create weavings defined by length-wise stripes and vertical designs. Many South American
cultures, including the ancient Incas and Aymaras, employed backstrap weaving, which uses the
weight of the weaver's body to control the tension of the loom.[10]

Weft
Because the weft does not have to be stretched on a loom the way the warp is, it can generally be
less strong. It is usually made of spun fibre, originally wool, flax and cotton, today often of
synthetic fiber such as nylon or rayon.

The weft is threaded through the warp using a "shuttle", air jets or "rapier grippers". Hand looms
were the original weaver's tool, with the shuttle being threaded through alternately raised warps by
hand.

As metaphor
The expression "warp and weft" (also "warp and woof" and "woof and warp") is used
metaphorically the way "fabric" is; e.g., "the warp and woof of a student's life" equates to "the
fabric of a student's life". Warp and weft are sometimes used even more generally in literature to
describe the basic dichotomy of the world we live in, as in, up/down, in/out, black/white,
Sun/Moon yin/yang, etc. The expression is also used similarly for the underlying structure upon
which something is built. The terms "warp" and "woof" are also found in some English translations
of the Bible in the discussion of mildews found in cloth materials in Leviticus 13:48-59. In Guru
Granth Sahib many shabads in Gurbani use the metaphor of warp (Dana) and weft (peta) to
describe the state where our soul imbibes into the Almighty as a fabric.

In hairdressing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_and_weft 2/3
16/12/2019 Warp and weft - Wikipedia

Weft is also a hairdressing term for temporary hair extensions. These can be attached to a person's
hair variously by cornrow braiding, using metal cylinders or gluing. The result is often called a
weave.[11][12]

See also
Knot density
Pile (textile)
Warp knitting

Notes
1. "Weft" (https://museum.gwu.edu/weft). The George Washington University Museum and The
Textile Museum. Washington, DC: George Washington University. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
2. Burnham (1980), pp. 170, 179
3. Barber (1991), p. 79
4. Burnham (1980), pp. 170, 179
5. Barber (1991), p. 79
6. Aspin, Chris (1981). The Cotton Industry. Shire Library. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-85263-545-2.
7. "warp | Search Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_i
n_frame=0&search=warp). www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
8. "Warp | The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum | The George
Washington University" (https://museum.gwu.edu/warp). museum.gwu.edu. Retrieved
2017-08-10.
9. Burnham (1980), p. 132
10. Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands, Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez
11. Walsh, Lynne. "Weft Hair Extensions" (http://www.hair-extensions-suppliers.com.au/weft-hair-e
xtensions/). Hair Extensions by Hair Power.
12. Glossary of hairdressing and hair styling terminology (http://www.leestafford.com/uk/thelook/gl
ossary/#gloss_w). Lee Stafford.com

References
Barber, E. J. W. (1991). Prehistoric Textiles. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00224-X.
Burnham, Dorothy K. (1980). Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology (https://archive.org/details/
warpwefttextilet0000burn). Royal Ontario Museum. ISBN 0-88854-256-9.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Warp_and_weft&oldid=930329704"

This page was last edited on 11 December 2019, at 19:20 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_and_weft 3/3