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82-412: In 1958, Caroline Stevens Rogers, a member of a textile industry family and a hand weaver and dyer , came into possession of her father’s collection of over 50 spinning wheels in various stages of collapse and a truck load of heavy beams (the disassembled parts of antique hand looms ) as well as dozens of reels , winders , skarnes, riddles, and niddy-noddies . This collection had been cultivated over

164-499: A fabric or cloth . Other methods are knitting , crocheting , felting , and braiding or plaiting . The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft , woof, or filling. The method in which these threads are interwoven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom , a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band that meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with

246-504: A warp faced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. There are some indications that weaving was already known in the Paleolithic Era, as early as 27,000 years ago. An indistinct textile impression has been found at

328-579: A 50-year period by her father, Samuel Dale Stevens (1859–1922). Caroline’s husband, Horatio Rogers, a retired doctor, restored many of the pieces. By the spring of 1958 Caroline was thinking of ways to use her father’s collection of early cloth-making equipment, and, when named as President of the North Andover Historical Society , she decided to add the collection to the holdings of the Society. In 1959, J. Bruce Sinclair became

410-595: A broader array of interactive exhibits and activities for both adult and child visitors. It also reopened as a member of the Smithsonian Affiliations . As an Affiliate, ATHM explores object loan options with Smithsonian Institution museums and is also developing a relationship with the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation . In November 2011, Jonathan Stevens assumed

492-455: A commercial household industry in the historical region of Macedonia has been found at the Olynthus site. When the city was destroyed by Philip II in 348 BCE, artifacts were preserved in the houses. Loomweights were found in many houses, enough to produce cloth to meet the needs of the household, but some of the houses contained more loomweights, enough for commercial production, and one of

574-572: A double cylinder carding engine, a 200 spindle spinning jack, a two-harness plain loom , an automatic bobbin-changing dobby loom and a shearing machine. In 1971 the MVTM became accredited by the American Alliance of Museums . In 1973 Caroline Stevens Rogers was succeeded by Walter Muir Whitehead, who had been a member of the Board of Trustees of the museum from the beginning. By this time

656-595: A period of relative peace; Europe became overpopulated. Poor weather led to a series of poor harvests and starvation. There was great loss of life in the Hundred Years War . Then in 1346, Europe was struck with the Black Death and the population was reduced by up to a half. Arable land was labour-intensive and sufficient workers no longer could be found. Land prices dropped, and land was sold and put to sheep pasture. Traders from Florence and Bruges bought

738-631: A piece of cloth woven from hemp was found in burial F. 7121 at the Çatalhöyük site, suggested to be from around 7000 BCE Further finds come from the Neolithic civilisation preserved in the pile dwellings in Switzerland. Another extant fragment from the Neolithic was found in Fayum , at a site dated to about 5000 BCE. This fragment is woven at about 12 threads by 9 threads per centimetre in

820-957: A plain weave. Flax was the predominant fibre in Egypt at this time (3600 BCE) and had continued popularity in the Nile Valley , though wool became the primary fibre used in other cultures around 2000 BCE. The oldest-known weavings in North America come from the Windover Archaeological Site in Florida . Dating from 4900 to 6500 BCE and made from plant fibres, the Windover hunter-gatherers produced "finely crafted" twined and plain weave textiles. Eighty-seven pieces of fabric were found associated with 37 burials. Researchers have identified seven different weaves in

902-454: A result, many people wove cloth from locally produced fibres. The colonists also used wool, cotton and flax (linen) for weaving, though hemp could be made into serviceable canvas and heavy cloth. They could get one cotton crop each year; until the invention of the cotton gin it was a labour-intensive process to separate the seeds from the fibres. Functional tape, bands, straps, and fringe were woven on box and paddle looms. A plain weave

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984-590: A secretary, a curator joined the staff in March, and a librarian was added in August. The exhibits were arranged to tell the story of wool manufacturing. The design was organized around a modular system of floor-to-ceiling posts and panels. The use of silk screens and photographic blow-ups, along with the use of color filled the galleries. The contents of the exhibit illustrated the transition from hand to machine technology in wool manufacturing. A ‘before’ and ‘after’ example

1066-528: A sign of the enlargement of cotton thread and textile production. Due to its low cost and portability because of its small size, it was favored among rural weaving communities in countries of Southeast Asia. Weaved textiles in Southeast Asia are mostly made with looms. The foot brace loom is the earliest loom introduced to Southeast Asia from China, having its first appearance in Vietnam. Although, it

1148-416: A simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic design. In general, weaving involves using a loom to interlace two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp which runs longitudinally and the weft (older woof ) that crosses it. ( Weft is an Old English word meaning "that which is woven"; compare leave and left . ) One warp thread is called an end and one weft thread

1230-514: A weaving machine that would function similar to recently developed cotton-spinning mills in 1784, drawing scorn from critics who said the weaving process was too nuanced to automate. He built a factory at Doncaster and obtained a series of patents between 1785 and 1792. In 1788, his brother Major John Cartwight built Revolution Mill at Retford (named for the centenary of the Glorious Revolution ). In 1791, he licensed his loom to

1312-432: A weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving , back strap loom , or other techniques that can be done without looms. 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 weave . Woven cloth can be plain or classic (in one colour or

1394-515: A wooden draw-loom or pattern loom was used. This loom would require two or three weavers and was usually operated by men. There were also other smaller looms, such as the waist loom, that could be operated by a single woman and were usually used domestically. Sericulture and silk weaving spread to Korea by 200 BCE, to Khotan by 50 CE, and to Japan by about 300 CE. The pit-treadle loom may have originated in India though most authorities establish

1476-583: Is attempting to sell off all its assets. The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives at Cornell University collects materials related to unions, with particular strengths in the area of textile and garment manufacturing. When the American Textile History Museum (ATHM) closed its doors in 2016, the Kheel Center acquired the bulk of the library and archives as well as many fabric samples. The Osborne Library

1558-420: Is called a pick . The warp threads are held taut and in parallel to each other, typically in a loom. There are many types of looms. Weaving can be summarized as a repetition of these three actions, also called the primary motions of the loom . The warp is divided into two overlapping groups, or lines (most often adjacent threads belonging to the opposite group) that run in two planes, one above another, so

1640-459: Is cotton that is interwoven with threads made of different materials. Brunei is famous for its Jong Sarat, a cloth usually used in traditional weddings, uses silver and gold threads interwoven usually with cotton threads. Similarly, Indonesia has the Songket, also used in traditional weddings, which also utilizes gold and silver wrapped thread to create elaborate designs on their weaved textiles. On

1722-416: Is made between the threads of warp, through which the pick is inserted. Traditionally the weft thread is inserted by a shuttle. On a conventional loom, continuous weft thread is carried on a pirn , in a shuttle that passes through the shed. A handloom weaver could propel the shuttle by throwing it from side to side with the aid of a picking stick. The "picking" on a power loom is done by rapidly hitting

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1804-526: Is reflected in the wool towns of eastern England; Norwich , Bury St Edmunds and Lavenham being good examples. Wool was a political issue. The supply of thread has always limited the output of a weaver. About that time, the spindle method of spinning was replaced by the great wheel and soon after the treadle-driven spinning wheel . The loom remained the same but with the increased volume of thread it could be operated continuously. The 14th century saw considerable flux in population. The 13th century had been

1886-755: The Dolní Věstonice site. According to the find, the weavers of the Upper Palaeolithic were manufacturing a variety of cordage types, produced plaited basketry and sophisticated twined and plain woven cloth. The artifacts include imprints in clay and burned remnants of cloth. The oldest known textiles found in the Americas are remnants of six finely woven textiles and cordage found in Guitarrero Cave , Peru . The weavings, made from plant fibres, are dated between 10,100 and 9080 BCE. In 2013

1968-540: The Inca Empire of the Andes, both men and women produced textiles. Women mostly did their weaving using backstrap looms to make small pieces of cloth and vertical frame and single- heddle looms for larger pieces. Men used upright looms. The Inca elite valued cumbi , which was a fine tapestry-woven textile produced on upright looms. The elite often offered cumbi as gifts of reciprocity to lords (other elite) in

2050-619: The Merrimack River . It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation . The development of the state's heritage parks program began with the allocation of $ 35 million in 1978 for the creation of eight urban parks throughout Massachusetts. The program's aim was to create quality urban space, celebrate the communities' cultural heritage, and stimulate private economic investment. Lawrence Heritage State Park opened in 1980. The restoration of

2132-515: The Normans , they took the technology to Northern Italy and then the rest of Europe. Silk fabric production was reintroduced towards the end of this period and the more sophisticated silk weaving techniques were applied to the other staples. The weaver worked at home and marketed his cloth at fairs . Warp-weighted looms were commonplace in Europe before the introduction of horizontal looms in

2214-624: The protective clothing that firefighters and soldiers wear to the “shark skin” swimsuits of Olympic swimmers . It was a study in how textiles are changing the world. The ATHM started the American Textile Hall of Fame in 2001. It honors past and present individuals, corporations, and institutions that have made contributions to the textile industry and have helped foster an appreciation of textiles in America. Individuals and companies who are recognized by this award are chosen by

2296-430: The 10th and 11th centuries. Weaving became an urban craft and to regulate their trade, craftsmen applied to establish a guild . These initially were merchant guilds , but developed into separate trade guilds for each skill. The cloth merchant who was a member of a city's weavers guild was allowed to sell cloth; he acted as a middleman between the tradesmen weavers and the purchaser. The trade guilds controlled quality and

2378-455: The American Textile Hall of Fame Committee. Class of 2001 Class of 2002 Class of 2003 Class of 2004 Class of 2005 Class of 2008 Class of 2009 Class of 2010 42°38′30″N 71°19′00″W  /  42.6417°N 71.3168°W  / 42.6417; -71.3168 Weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form

2460-552: The Empire. In regions under direct control of the Inca, special artisans produced cumbi for the elite. Women who created cumbi in these regions were called acllas or mamaconas and men were called cumbicamayos . Andean textile weavings were of practical, symbolic, religious, and ceremonial importance and used as currency, tribute, and as a determinant of social class and rank. Sixteenth-century Spanish colonists were impressed by both

2542-503: The Grimshaw brothers of Manchester , but their Knott Mill burnt down the following year (possibly a case of arson). Edmund Cartwight was granted a reward of £10,000 by Parliament for his efforts in 1809. However, success in power-weaving also required improvements by others, including H. Horrocks of Stockport . Only during the two decades after about 1805, did power-weaving take hold. At that time there were 250,000 hand weavers in

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2624-584: The UK. Textile manufacture was one of the leading sectors in the British Industrial Revolution , but weaving was a comparatively late sector to be mechanised. The loom became semi-automatic in 1842 with Kenworthy and Bulloughs Lancashire Loom . The various innovations took weaving from a home-based artisan activity (labour-intensive and man-powered) to steam driven factories process. A large metal manufacturing industry grew to produce

2706-425: The boiling water. Usually this task was done by girls aged eight to twelve, while the more complex jobs were given to older women. They would then create a silk thread, which could vary in thickness and strength from the unwound cocoons. After the reeling of the silk, the silk would be dyed before the weaving process began. There were many different looms and tools for weaving. For high quality and intricate designs,

2788-461: The collection. The main building could not be expanded and Machinery Hall was crammed with artifacts and in a poor location for public access. The Board of Trustees began to consider moving the MATH to an entirely new location. They wanted the MATH to be somewhere that offered better access to the public and was large enough to house their collection, as well as accommodate for future expansion. At first

2870-632: The discovery of mauveine in 1856, and its popularity in fashion. Researchers continued to explore the chemical potential of coal tar waste from the growing number of gas works in Britain and Europe, creating an entirely new sector in the chemical industry . The invention in France of the Jacquard loom , patented in 1804, enabled complicated patterned cloths to be woven, by using punched cards to determine which threads of coloured yarn should appear on

2952-407: The fabric. One kind of fabric had 26 strands per inch (10 strands per centimetre). There were also weaves using two-strand and three-strand wefts . A round bag made from twine was found, as well as matting . The yarn was probably made from palm leaves. Cabbage palm , saw palmetto and scrub palmetto are all common in the area, and would have been so 8,000 years ago. Evidence of weaving as

3034-502: The fell progressed. Weaving became simpler when the warp was sized . Around the 4th century BCE , the cultivation of cotton and the knowledge of its spinning and weaving in Meroë reached a high level. Export of textiles was one of the main sources of wealth for Kush . Aksumite King Ezana boasted in his inscription that he destroyed large cotton plantations in Meroë during his conquest of

3116-427: The filling thread and carry it halfway across the loom where another rapier picks it up and pulls it the rest of the way. Some carry the filling yarns across the loom at rates in excess of 2,000 metres per minute. Manufacturers such as Picanol have reduced the mechanical adjustments to a minimum, and control all the functions through a computer with a graphical user interface . Other types use compressed air to insert

3198-821: The first Director of the North Andover Historical Society, and he proposed that a regional textile museum be established. He wanted its central concern to be wool and materials for its exhibits to be collected from all over the Merrimack Valley . At the first meeting of the Advisory Board in January, 1960, those present agreed that the scope of the MVTM should not be limited to a specific geographic area nor by specific chronological dates. This meant that geographical and chronological boundaries would be considered less important than

3280-528: The heart of the historic textile manufacturing center of Lowell were underway. MATH moved to Lowell on April 27, 1997. In Lowell, MATH became the American Textile History Museum (ATHM). ATHM closed in 2007 to renovate its exhibit space. This marked the beginning of a large fundraising effort that eventually netted more than $ 4 million. In 2008, ATHM introduced its mascot, Lulu the Lamb. ATHM reopened in June 2009 with

3362-427: The heddles is controlled by "cams" which move up the heddles by means of a frame called a harness; in larger patterns the heddles are controlled by a dobby mechanism, where the healds are raised according to pegs inserted into a revolving drum. Where a complex design is required, the healds are raised by harness cords attached to a Jacquard machine. Every time the harness (the heddles) moves up or down, an opening ( shed )

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3444-461: The household income while staying at home. Women would usually weave simpler designs within the household while men would be in charge of the weaving of more intricate and complex pieces of clothing. The process of sericulture and weaving emphasized the idea that men and women should work together instead of women being subordinate to men. Weaving became an integral part of Chinese women's social identity. Several rituals and myths were associated with

3526-464: The houses was adjacent to the agora and contained three shops where many coins were found. It is probable that such homes were engaged in commercial textile manufacture. Weaving was known in all the great civilisations, but no clear line of causality has been established. Early looms required two people to create the shed and one person to pass through the filling. Early looms wove a fixed length of cloth, but later ones allowed warp to be wound out as

3608-634: The invention in China. Pedals were added to operate heddles . By the Middle Ages such devices also appeared in Persia , Sudan, Egypt and possibly the Arabian Peninsula, where "the operator sat with his feet in a pit below a fairly low-slung loom". In 700 CE, horizontal looms and vertical looms could be found in many parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. In Africa, the rich dressed in cotton while

3690-473: The loom are the: 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 The principal parts of a loom are the frame, the warp-beam or weavers beam, the cloth-roll (apron bar), the heddles, and their mounting, the reed . The warp-beam is a wooden or metal cylinder on the back of the loom on which the warp is delivered. The threads of

3772-413: The loom, then an operator rolls the old and new threads back on the warp beam . The harnesses are controlled by cams, dobbies or a Jacquard head. The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures: 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

3854-572: The looms, firms such as Howard & Bullough of Accrington , and Tweedales and Smalley and Platt Brothers . Most power weaving took place in weaving sheds, in small towns circling Greater Manchester away from the cotton spinning area. The earlier combination mills where spinning and weaving took place in adjacent buildings became rarer. Wool and worsted weaving took place in West Yorkshire and particular Bradford , here there were large factories such as Lister's or Drummond's, where all

3936-717: The museum should no longer have a regional name. They wanted a name that encompassed the scope of the museum. So, on September 1, 1984, the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum became the Museum of American Textile History (MATH). It was around this time that the scope of the MATH expanded even further to include the study of manmade and contemporary materials. At this point it became clear that the MATH’s accommodations in North Andover were not enough to support

4018-403: The natural boundaries limited only by the significance of the subject matter. In May, 1960, plans for a new building to house the MVTM began. It was completed by the summer of 1961. 18,000 square feet (1,700 m) of floor space was divided almost evenly among the exhibit, study collection, and administrative areas. As the MVTM became a reality, the staff also grew. In January, 1961 Sinclair hired

4100-611: The other hand, Cambodia has the Ikat, which utilizes the method of dyeing thunks of thread tied with fiber to create patterns while weaving. In addition to using threads, weavers of Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam combine silk and other fibers with cotton for weaving. While in Laos, natural materials are used, like roots, tree bark, leaves, flowers, and seeds, but for dyeing the textile that has been already weaved. These countries in Southeast Asia have more weaving traditions but these techniques are

4182-424: The peasant class. Silk weaving became a specialized job requiring specific technology and equipment that was completed domestically within households. Although most of the silk weaving was done within the confines of the home and family, there were some specialized workshops that hired skilled silk weavers as well. These workshops took care of the weaving process, although the raising of the silkworms and reeling of

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4264-436: The pick. They are all fast, versatile and quiet. The warp is sized in a starch mixture for smoother running. The loom warped (loomed or dressed) by passing the sized warp threads through two or more heddles attached to harnesses. The power weavers loom is warped by separate workers. Most looms used for industrial purposes have a machine that ties new warps threads to the waste of previously used warps threads, while still on

4346-726: The plan was to move the MATH to the Heritage State Park in Lawrence, MA . However, in 1985 it became clear that the cost of rehabilitating the building in Lawrence would greatly exceed the original estimates. The search for a new location continued and, on April 30, 1992, the museum purchased the old Kitson Shop in Lowell, MA. Built in the 1860s, the Kitson Shop had been a textile machinery manufacturer. Plans to relocate to

4428-1068: The poorer wore wool. By the 12th century it had come to Europe either from the Byzantium or Moorish Spain where the mechanism was raised higher above the ground on a more substantial frame. In the Philippines , numerous pre-colonial weaving traditions exist among different ethnic groups . They used various plant fibers, mainly abacá or banana , but also including tree cotton , buri palm (locally known as buntal ) and other palms, various grasses (like amumuting and tikog ), and barkcloth . The oldest evidence of weaving traditions are Neolithic stone tools used for preparing barkcloth found in archeological sites in Sagung Cave of southern Palawan and Arku Cave of Peñablanca, Cagayan . The latter has been dated to around 1255–605 BCE. Other countries in Southeast Asia have their own extensive history of weaving traditions. Weaving

4510-433: The popular ones. To create threads of cotton for weaving, spindle whorls were commonly used in Southeast Asia. It is made from either clay, stone or wood and has a variety of appearances regarding its shape and size. Spindle whorls were said to emerge in Southeast Asia along with expansion of rice agriculture from Yangtse, China. Additionally, its increasing appearance in certain regions of Southeast Asia back then may be also

4592-645: The power loom led to disquiet and industrial unrest. Well known protests movements such as the Luddites and the Chartists had handloom weavers amongst their leaders. In the early 19th-century power weaving became viable. Richard Guest in 1823 made a comparison of the productivity of power and handloom weavers: A very good Hand Weaver, a man twenty-five or thirty years of age, will weave two pieces of nine-eighths shirting per week, each twenty-four yards long, and containing one hundred and five shoots of weft in an inch,

4674-507: The process of weaving. There was thus a shortage of thread or a surplus of weaving capacity. The opening of the Bridgewater Canal in June 1761 allowed cotton to be brought into Manchester, an area rich in fast flowing streams that could be used to power machinery. Spinning was the first to be mechanised ( spinning jenny , spinning mule ), and this led to limitless thread for the weaver. Edmund Cartwright first proposed building

4756-467: The processes took place. Both men and women with weaving skills emigrated, and took the knowledge to their new homes in New England, to places like Pawtucket and Lowell . Woven ' grey cloth ' was then sent to the finishers where it was bleached, dyed and printed. Natural dyes were originally used, with synthetic dyes coming in the second half of the 19th century. A demand for new dyes followed

4838-452: The promotion of silk weaving, especially as a symbol of female power. Weaving contributed to the balance between men and women's economic contributions and had many economic benefits. There were many paths into the occupation of weaver. Women usually married into the occupation, belonged to a family of weavers and or lived in a location that had ample weather conditions that allowed for the process of silk weaving. Weavers usually belonged to

4920-511: The quality and quantity of textiles produced by the Inca Empire. Some of the techniques and designs are still in use in the 21st century. Whereas European cloth-making generally created ornamentation through "suprastructural" means—by adding embroidery, ribbons, brocade, dyeing, and other elements onto the finished woven textile—pre-Columbian Andean weavers created elaborate cloth by focusing on "structural" designs involving manipulation of

5002-452: The reed of the cloth being a forty-four, Bolton count, and the warp and weft forty hanks to the pound, A Steam Loom Weaver, fifteen years of age, will in the same time weave seven similar pieces. Lawrence Heritage State Park Lawrence Heritage State Park is a history-themed public recreation area dedicated to preserving the industrial heritage of Lawrence , Massachusetts . The state park comprises three separate units on or near

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5084-490: The region. The Indigenous people of the Americas wove textiles of cotton throughout tropical and subtropical America and in the South American Andes of wool from camelids , primarily domesticated llamas and alpacas . Cotton and the camelids were both domesticated by about 4,000 BCE. American weavers are "credited with independently inventing nearly every non-mechanized technique known today." In

5166-421: The role of President and CEO. Mr. Stevens, the son of textile entrepreneur Edward Stevens, is the former CEO of Ames Textile Corporation in Lowell and served previously as a Trustee and Treasurer of the Museum. On March 15, 2012 Jonathan Stevens was named the new President and CEO of the American Textile History Museum. Due to large deficits, in June 2016 it was announced that the museum was closing permanently and

5248-520: The scope of the MVTM had stretched to include much of the United States up to 1950. The MVTM was also expanding in size. In 1967 a library wing of approximately 6,000 square feet (560 m) had been added and in 1971, Machinery Hall, a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m) study-storage building was completed to house the collection of tools and machinery. In June, 1984 the Trustees decided that

5330-421: The shuttle can be passed between them in a straight motion. Then, the upper group is lowered by the loom mechanism, and the lower group is raised (shedding), allowing the shuttle to pass in the opposite direction, also in a straight motion. Repeating these actions forms a fabric mesh but without beating-up, the final distance between the adjacent wefts would be irregular and far too large. The secondary motions of

5412-514: The shuttle from each side using an overpick or underpick mechanism controlled by cams 80–250 times a minute. When a pirn is depleted, it is ejected from the shuttle and replaced with the next pirn held in a battery attached to the loom. Multiple shuttle boxes allow more than one shuttle to be used. Each can carry a different colour which allows banding across the loom. The rapier-type weaving machines do not have shuttles, they propel cut lengths of weft by means of small grippers or rapiers that pick up

5494-404: The silk remained work for peasant families. The silk that was woven in workshops rather than homes were of higher quality, since the workshop could afford to hire the best weavers. These weavers were usually men who operated more complicated looms, such as the wooden draw-loom. This created a competitive market of silk weavers. The quality and ease of the weaving process depended on the silk that

5576-413: The threads by leaning backwards and forward. The body tension loom was developed from the foot-brace loom to eventually accommodate weaving of larger and wider cloth types. The predominant fibre in Europe during the medieval period was wool , followed by linen and nettlecloth for the lower classes. Cotton was introduced to Sicily and Spain in the 9th century. When Sicily was captured by

5658-524: The time of 1685 challenged the English weavers of cotton, woollen and worsted cloth, who subsequently learned the Huguenots' superior techniques. Colonial America relied heavily on Great Britain for manufactured goods of all kinds. British policy was to encourage the production of raw materials in colonies and discourage manufacturing. The Wool Act 1699 restricted the export of colonial wool. As

5740-402: The training needed before an artisan could call himself a weaver. By the 13th century, an organisational change took place, and a system of putting out was introduced. The cloth merchant purchased the wool and provided it to the weaver, who sold his produce back to the merchant. The merchant controlled the rates of pay and economically dominated the cloth industry. The merchants' prosperity

5822-405: The uplands weavers worked from home on a putting-out system . The wooden looms of that time might be broad or narrow; broad looms were those too wide for the weaver to pass the shuttle through the shed, so that the weaver needed an expensive assistant (often an apprentice ). This ceased to be necessary after John Kay invented the flying shuttle in 1733. The shuttle and the picking stick sped up

5904-460: The upper side of the cloth. The jacquard allowed individual control of each warp thread, row by row without repeating, so very complex patterns were suddenly feasible. Samples exist showing calligraphy, and woven copies of engravings. Jacquards could be attached to handlooms or powerlooms. A distinction can be made between the role and lifestyle and status of a handloom weaver, and that of the power loom weaver and craft weaver. The perceived threat of

5986-462: The warp and weft of the fabric itself. Andeans used "tapestry techniques; double-, triple- and quadruple-cloth techniques; gauze weaves; warp-patterned weaves; discontinuous warp or scaffold weaves; and plain weaves" among many other techniques, in addition to the suprastructural techniques listed above. The weaving of silk from silkworm cocoons has been known in China since about 3500 BCE. Silk that

6068-408: The warp extend in parallel order from the warp-beam to the front of the loom where they are attached to the cloth-roll. Each thread or group of threads of the warp passes through an opening (eye) in a heddle. The warp threads are separated by the heddles into two or more groups, each controlled and automatically drawn up and down by the motion of the heddles. In the case of small patterns the movement of

6150-538: The wool, then sheep-owning landlords started to weave wool outside the jurisdiction of the city and trade guilds. The weavers started by working in their own homes then production was moved into purpose-built buildings. The working hours and the amount of work were regulated. The putting-out system had been replaced by a factory system . The migration of the Huguenot Weavers , Calvinists fleeing from religious persecution in mainland Europe, to Britain around

6232-579: Was a part of the ATHM that contains an extensive collection of books, prints, photographs, and manuscripts. Users of the library include spinners and weavers, designers, architects, and many more. Access to the Osborne Library is by appointment only. Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time: The permanent exhibit at the ATHM was Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time. It featured examples of materials that ranged from

6314-412: Was intricately woven and dyed, showing a well developed craft, has been found in a Chinese tomb dating back to 2700 BCE. Silk weaving in China was an intricate process that was very involved. Men and women, usually from the same family, had their own roles in the weaving process. The actual work of weaving was done by both men and women. Women were often weavers since it was a way they could contribute to

6396-457: Was introduced to Southeast Asia at the same time rice agriculture was introduced from China. As it was introduced alongside rice farming, weaving is more popular in communities where rice is being farmed as compared to communities that rely on hunting, gathering, and animal farming. Each country has its own distinctive weaving traditions or has absorbed weaving traditions from their neighboring countries. The most common material used for weaving

6478-410: Was only used in certain areas of Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Another loom that is widely used across Southeast Asia is the ground level body tension loom, also known as the belt loom, as a part of it needs to be attached to a belt-like strap on the weaver’s waist to control and hold the tension of the warped threads. It is usually operated at the ground level and the weaver is able to control

6560-476: Was preferred as the added skill and time required to make more complex weaves kept them from common use. Sometimes designs were woven into the fabric but most were added after weaving using wood block prints or embroidery. Before the Industrial Revolution , weaving was a manual craft and wool was the principal staple. In the great wool districts a form of factory system had been introduced but in

6642-428: Was produced by the silk worms. The easiest silk to work with came from breeds of silk worms that spun their cocoons so that it could be unwound in one long strand. The reeling, or unwinding of silk worm cocoons is started by placing the cocoons in boiling water in order to break apart the silk filaments as well as kill the silk worm pupae . Women would then find the end of the strands of silk by sticking their hand into

6724-413: Was used at each stage in cloth production, from sheep-shearing to cloth-dyeing. The materials shown included artifacts, text blocks, illustrations, models, and replicas . Illustrations outnumbered the 3-dimensional objects by a ratio of 2 to 1. The exhibit contained less than 2 dozen artifacts that illustrated significant developments in textile technology. Among the machines on display were a wool picker,

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