:''In
computer science,
weaving describes the process of combining different
aspects into a complete
application. See
Aspect-oriented programming.''
Weaving is an ancient
textile art and craft that involves placing two threads or
yarn made of fibre onto a
warp and
weft of a
loom and turning them into
cloth. This cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or it can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including
tapestries.
The majority of commercial fabrics are woven on
computer-controlled
Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on other
dobby looms and the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. The efficiency of the Jacquard loom makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.
Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is
tie-dyed before weaving is called
ikat. Fabric decorated using a wax resist method is called
batik.
Process
In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at
right angles to each other: the warp and the weft. The warp's many threads are held taut and in
parallel order by means of a loom. The weft thread crosses the warp in some over/under sequence. The nature of that sequence gives rise to many possible weave structures from the simplest plain weave, through
twills and
satins to complex computer-generated interlacing.
Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a
warpfaced textile. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a
weftfaced textile, such as a
tapestry or a
Kilim rug. There are a variety of
loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by only placing
weft in certain areas, rather than in the weave structure itself.
History
There are some indications that weaving was already known in the Palaeolithic. An indistinct textile impression has been found at
Pavlov, Moravia.
Neolithic textiles are well known from finds in
pile dwellings in Switzerland. They are made of
flax or tree
bast,
wool has only been attested since the
Bronze Age. Plain weaves and tabbies predominate.
Enslaved women worked as weavers during the
Sumerian Era. They would wash
wool fibers in hot water and wood-ash soap and then dry them. Next, they would beat out the dirt and
card the wool. The wool was then graded, bleached, and spun into a thread. The spinners would pull out fibers and twist them together. This was done by either rolling fibers between
palms or using a hooked stick. The thread was then placed on a
wooden or
bone spindle and rotated on a
clay whorl which operated like a
flywheel.
The slaves would then work in three-woman teams on
looms, where they stretched the threads, after which they passed threads over and under each other at perpendicular angles. The
cloth was then taken to a
fuller.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) points to numerous Biblical references to weaving in ancient times:
:Weaving was an art practised in very early times (Ex. 35:35).
The Egyptians were specially skilled in it (Isa. 19:9; Ezek.
27:7), and some have regarded them as its inventors.
:In the wilderness, the
Hebrews practised it (Ex. 26:1, 8;
28:4, 39; Lev. 13:47). It is referred to in subsequent times as
specially the women's work (2 Kings 23:7; Prov. 31:13, 24). No
mention of the loom is found in Scripture, but we read of the
"shuttle" (Job 7:6), "the pin" of the beam (Judg. 16:14), "the
web" (13, 14), and "the beam" (1 Sam. 17:7; 2 Sam. 21:19). The
rendering, "with pining sickness," in Isa. 38:12 (A.V.) should
be, as in the Revised
Version, "from the loom," or, as in the
margin, "from the thrum." We read also of the "warp" and "woof"
(Lev. 13:48, 49, 51-53, 58, 59), but the Revised
Version margin
has, instead of "warp," "woven or knitted stuff."
The
mechanization of weaving leading to an industry-scale operation took place in the
Industrial Revolution in
Britain. Numerous innovations took place taking the home-based
artisan's activity from a labour intensive; man-powered undertaking to mass-production under the power of
steam.
Weaving in Colonial America
Weaving was not allowed by the British in
Colonial America. Colonists were supposed to send unfinished goods like cotton and flax to Britain and buy finished cloth back from England. Nonetheless, many people wove cloth in Colonial America.
In Colonial times the colonists mostly used
cotton and
flax for weaving because the English would not send them
sheep or wool. They could get one cotton crop each fall. Flax was harvested in the summer.
In preparing wool for weaving, colonists would first shear the sheep with spring back clippers. This was done while keeping the sheep's feet from touching anything so it would not try to break free. They would try to cut the wool off the sheep in one big chunk because that way they would get long fibers. Sheep-shearing was done in the spring so that the fleece would regrow in time for the winter.
After shearing, wool would be washed in hot water to get out the dirt and grease (
lanolin), then carded, at which point it would be ready for
spinning into yarn. Washing the wool was a delicate procedure, because they didn't want to agitate the fibres too much in the process, and end up with
felt. If the wool was clean enough (little to no vegetable matter), they could wait until after it is spun to clean out the lanolin, at which point it is easier to clean because it is yarn.
A card is a set of two brushes rubbed against each other with the fibre in the middle. The process of
carding lines up all the fibres in the same direction, making the wool or cotton ready for
spinning.
Cotton was harvested from little stalks. The cotton boll is white, roughly spherical and fluffy. Its seeds had to be removed before carding, a difficult and time-consuming process. ( later a "
cotton gin" was invented which took a lot of the work out of seed removal.) After carding it would be ready for spinning.
Linen is made from flax fibre. To prepare flax for weaving, the stalks would be beaten with a scutching tool to crush them, and then pulled through a heckling comb to get it ready for spinning. A scutching tool looks like a paper cutter but instead of having a big knife it has a blunt arm. A heckling comb is like a brush with metal bristles that you pull flax stalks through.
After they spun the yarn, it would be dyed with berries, bark, flowers, herbs or weeds, often gathered by children.
With the yarn made, they would prepare the loom. The strings on a loom run in two directions. The yarn that is attached to the loom is called the warp, and the woof or weft is woven through it. The woof is wrapped around the
shuttle, and woven alternately over and under the warp strings.
A plain weave was what most people liked in Colonial times. Almost everything was plain woven then. Sometimes designs were woven into the fabric but mostly designs were added after weaving. The colonists would usually add designs by using either wood block prints or embroidering.
See also
External links
Category:Weaving
de:Weben
he:אריגה
nl:Weven
sv:Vävning