Weaving

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two

distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right
angles to form a fabric or cloth
The longitudinal threads are called the warp(end) and the
horizontal or cross threads are the weft (pick)or filling.
Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that
holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are
woven through them
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each
other is called the weave. The majority of woven products
are created with one of three basic weaves: plain
weave, satin weave, or twill.
Woven cloth can be plain (in one colour or a simple
pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs.
 Weaving- history

The warp-weighted loom is a simple and

ancient form of loom in which
the warp yarns hang freely from a bar
supported by upright poles which can be
placed at a convenient slant against a wall.
Bundles of warp threads are tied to hanging
weights called loom weights which keep the
threads tight

Warp weighted loom

 Back strap loom - A back strap loom with a shed-rod.

A simple loom which has its roots in ancient civilizations consists of two
sticks or bars between which the warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a
fixed object, and the other to the weaver usually by means of a strap around
the back. On traditional looms, the two main sheds are operated by means of a
shed roll over which one set of warps pass, and continuous string heddles
which encase each of the warps in the other set.
The weaver leans back and uses his or her body weight to tension the loom.
To open the shed controlled by the string heddles, the weaver relaxes tension
on the warps and raises the heddles. The other shed is usually opened by
simply drawing the shed roll toward the weaver. Both simple and complex
textiles can be woven on this loom.

Width is limited to how far the weaver can reach from side to side to pass the
shuttle. Warp faced textiles, often decorated with intricate pick-up patterns
woven in complementary and supplementary warp techniques are woven by
indigenous peoples today around the world. They produce such things as
belts, ponchos, bags, hatbands and carrying cloths.
Backstrap loom
Pit-looms
.
The weaver sits with his or her legs in the pit
where there are two pedals which manually
open the warp threads (longitudinal threads)
allowing the weft shuttle (transverse threads)
to pass along between the weave.

This type of loom leaves the weavers’ hands

free to pass the weft shuttle from side to side
and to compress the weaving as they go. Often
the women assist by threading the cotton onto
the bobbins that are used on the weft shuttle.
Drawloom
A drawloom is a hand-loom for weaving figured
cloth. In a drawloom, a "figure harness" is used to
control each warp thread separately. A drawloom
requires two operators, the weaver and an
assistant called a "drawboy" to manage the figure
harness.
Parts of loom
The major components of the loom are the warp beam,
heddles, harnesses or shafts (as few as two, four is
common,), shuttle, reed, cloth beam, warp beam, treadle
etc.
1.Warp Beam
The warp beam is a beam that holds the warp, or
vertical threads, on the loom. Depending on the loom,
this can be a simple beam or a more complex
arrangement allowing for easier warping of the loom.

2 Heddles
Heddles are made of cord or wire, and are attached to
the shaft of the loom. The warp threads pass through the
heddles, separating the warp threads to allow the weft
threads to pass between them easily.
PARTS OF THE LOOM
3 Harnesses
harness is a rectangular frame to which a series of wires,
called heddles or healds, are attached. The yarns are passed
through the eye holes of the heddles, which hang vertically
from the harnesses. The weave pattern determines which
harness controls which warp yarns, and the number of
harnesses used depends on the complexity of the
weave. The more harnesses or shafts a loom has, the more
design possibilities you will have. Most larger looms have
four harnesses, and table looms often only one; however,
looms of up to 16 harnesses are available.
 4 Shuttle
The shuttle is a bobbin which holds the weft yarns.
The shuttle is passed or thrown back and forth to
create the weft of the fabric.
5 Beater and Reed
The beater of the loom presses the newly created weft
thread against the already woven fabric using a reed.
This process is called battening.

shuttle reed
the main operations in weaving.
In the loom, weave processing includes shedding,
picking, battening(beating) and taking-up operations
1.Primary operations
Shedding. In Shedding, first the ends are separated by
raising or lowering heald frames (harness) to form a clear
space where the pick can pass
Shedding is the raising of part of the warp yarn to form a
shed (the vertical space between the raised and unraised
warp yarns), through which the filling yarn, carried by the
shuttle, can be inserted.
Picking In picking, the weft or pick is passed across
the loom by a shuttle. As the harnesses raise
the heddles or healds, which raise the warp yarns, the
shed is created.
The filling yarn in inserted through the shed by a small
carrier device called a shuttle. In a traditional shuttle
loom, the filling yarn is wound onto a bobbin (quill),
which in turn is mounted in the shuttle. A single crossing
of the shuttle from one side of the loom to the other is
known as a pick.

As the shuttle moves back and forth across the shed, it

weaves an edge, or selvage, on each side of the fabric to
prevent the fabric from raveling.
Picking
 Battening( BEATING). Beating-up or battening in
which the weft is pushed up against the fell of the cloth
by the reed.

Between the heddles and the take- up roll, the warp threads
pass through another frame called the reed (which
resembles a comb).

After the shuttle moves across the loom laying down the
WEFT yarn, the weaver uses the reed to press (or batten)
each filling yarn against the already woven cloth end
(fell).

Conventional shuttle looms can operate at speeds of about

150 to 160 picks per minute.
2.The secondary motion of the loom
Taking up and letting off: There are two secondary motions,
because with each weaving operation the newly constructed
fabric must be wound on a cloth beam. Taking up of the
woven fabric in a regulated manner is called taking up.
Let off Motion in this the warp is let off from the warp
beam at a regulated speed to make the filling even and to
continue the weaving
3.The tertiary motions of the loom are the stop motions: to
stop the loom in the event of a thread break. The two main
stop motions are the
warp stop motion
weft stop motion