Created page with "Hattersley & Sons, Domestic Loom, built under license in 1893, in Keighley, Yorks..."
New page
[[File:Pedal-driven-weaving-machine.jpg|thumb|A foot-treadle operated [[Geo. Hattersley|Hattersley & Sons]], Domestic Loom, built under license in 1893, in [[Keighley]], Yorkshire.]]
[[File:loomwork.jpg|thumb|A woman in [[Konya]], [[Turkey]], works at a [[#Haute lisse and basse lisse looms|vertical]] loom]]
A '''loom''' is a device used to [[weaving|weave]] cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] threads under [[tension (mechanics)|tension]] to facilitate the interweaving of the [[weft]] threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.
==Etymology==
The word "loom" is derived from the Old English ''"geloma"'' formed from ge-(perfective prefix) and loma, a root of unknown origin; this meant utensil or tool of any kind. In 1404 it was used to mean a machine to enable weaving thread into cloth.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=loom Etymology Online]</ref> By 1838 it had gained the meaning of a machine for interlacing thread 1932
==Weaving==
{{see also|Weaving|Textile manufacturing terminology}}
Weaving is done by intersecting the longitudinal threads, the '''[[Warp (weaving)|warp]]''', i.e. "that which is thrown across", with the transverse threads, the '''[[weft]]''', i.e. "that which is woven".
The major components of the loom are the warp beam, [[heddle]]s, harnesses or shafts (as few as two, four is common, sixteen not unheard of), [[Shuttle (weaving)|shuttle]], [[reed (weaving)|reed]] and takeup roll. In the loom, yarn processing includes shedding, picking, battening and taking-up operations. These are the principal motions.
*'''Shedding'''. Shedding is the raising of part of the [[warp (weaving)|warp]] yarn to form a [[shed (weaving)|shed]] (the vertical space between the raised and unraised warp yarns), through which the filling yarn, carried by the shuttle, can be inserted. On the modern loom, simple and intricate shedding operations are performed automatically by the heddle or heald frame, also known as a harness. This 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. Two common methods of controlling the heddles are [[Dobby loom|dobbies]] and a [[Jacquard Loom|Jacquard Head]].
[[File:Weaving shuttles.JPG|thumb|Shuttles]]
*'''Picking'''. As the harnesses raise the [[heddle]]s 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. The shuttle is normally pointed at each end to allow passage through the shed. In a traditional shuttle loom, the filling yarn is wound onto a quill, which in turn is mounted in the shuttle. The filling yarn emerges through a hole in the shuttle as it moves across the loom. 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.
*'''Battening'''. Between the heddles and the takeup roll, the warp threads pass through another frame called the reed (which resembles a comb). The portion of the fabric that has already been formed but not yet rolled up on the takeup roll is called the fell. After the shuttle moves across the loom laying down the fill yarn, the weaver uses the reed to press (or batten) each filling yarn against the fell. Conventional shuttle looms can operate at speeds of about 150 to 160 picks per minute.<ref name="Collier 1970 104">{{harvnb|Collier|1970|p=104}}</ref>
There are two secondary motions, because with each weaving operation the newly constructed fabric must be wound on a cloth beam. This process is called taking up. At the same time, the warp yarns must be let off or released from the warp beams. To become fully automatic, a loom needs a tertiary motion, the filling stop motion. This will brake the loom, if the weft thread breaks.<ref name="Collier 1970 104"/> An automatic loom requires 0.125 hp to 0.5 hp to operate.
==Types of looms==
===Back strap loom===
[[File:Backstrap loom.jpg|thumb|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. Supplementary weft patterning and brocading is practiced in many regions. Balanced weaves are also possible on the backstrap loom. Today, commercially produced backstrap loom kits often include a rigid heddle.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}
===Warp-weighted loom===
{{main|Warp-weighted loom}}
The [[warp-weighted loom]] is a vertical loom that may have originated in the [[Neolithic]] period. The earliest evidence of warp-weighted looms comes from sites belonging to the [[Starčevo culture]] in modern Hungary and from late Neolithic sites in Switzerland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Barber|1991|pp.93–96}}</ref> This loom was used in [[Ancient Greece]], and spread north and west throughout Europe thereafter.<ref>{{Harvnb|Crowfoot| 1936| p=36}}</ref> Its defining characteristic is hanging weights (loom weights) which keep bundles of the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] threads taut. Frequently, extra warp thread is wound around the weights. When a weaver has reached the bottom of the available warp, the completed section can be rolled around the top beam, and additional lengths of warp threads can be unwound from the weights to continue. This frees the weaver from vertical size constraints.
===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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Burnham|1980|p=48}}</ref> A drawloom requires two operators, the weaver and an assistant called a "drawboy" to manage the figure harness.
===Handloom===
{|width="25%" align="right" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"
| align="center" style="background:#e7dac1"|{{lang|en|'''Elements of a foot-treadle floor loom'''}}
|-
|align="right" valign="top"|[[File:Warsztat.svg|280px]]
|-
|align="left" width=60%|
# Wood frame
# Seat for weaver
# Warp beam- let off
# Warp threads
# Back beam or platen
# Rods – used to make a shed
# Heddle frame - heald frame - harness
# [[Heddle]]- heald - the eye
# [[w:Shuttle (weaving)|Shuttle]] with weft yarn
# Shed
# Completed fabric
# Breast beam
# [[Beater (weaving)|Batten]] with [[reed (weaving)|reed]] comb
# [[Beater (weaving)|Batten]] adjustment
# Lathe
# Treadles
# Cloth roll- takeup
|}
A handloom is a simple machine used for weaving.In a wooden vertical-shaft looms, the [[heddle]]s are fixed in place in the shaft. The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle, and through a space between the heddles (the [[shed (weaving)|shed]]), so that raising the shaft raises half the threads (those passing through the heddles), and lowering the shaft lowers the same threads—the threads passing through the spaces between the heddles remain in place.
===Flying shuttle===
{{main|Flying shuttle}}
Hand weavers could only weave a cloth as wide as their armspan. If cloth needed to be wider, two people would do the task (often this would be an adult with a child). [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]] (1704–1779) patented the [[flying shuttle]] in 1733. The weaver held a picking stick that was attached by cords to a device at both ends of the shed. With a flick of the wrist, one cord was pulled and the shuttle was propelled through the shed to the other end with considerable force, speed and efficiency. A flick in the opposite direction and the shuttle was propelled back. A single weaver had control of this motion but the flying shuttle could weave much wider fabric than an arm’s length at much greater speeds than had been achieved with the hand thrown shuttle.
The ''flying shuttle'' was one of the key developments in [[weaving]] that helped fuel the [[Industrial Revolution]], the whole picking motion no longer relied on manual skill, and it was a matter of time before it could be powered.
===''Haute-lisse'' and ''basse-lisse'' looms===
Looms used for weaving traditional [[tapestry]] are classified as ''[[Warp (weaving)|haute-lisse]]'' looms, where the warp is suspended vertically between two rolls, and the ''basse-lisse'' looms, where the warp extends horizontally between the rolls.
===Ribbon weaving===
{{main|Inkle weaving}}
===Traditional looms===
Several other types of hand looms exist, including the [[simple frame loom]], [[pit loom]], [[free-standing loom]], and the [[pegged loom]]. Each of these can be constructed, and provide work and income in developing societies.<ref>[http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/vita/handloom/en/handloom.htm Handlooms: Practical guide to constructing viable handlooms, Joan Koster,1978]</ref>
==Power looms==
{{Main|Power loom}}
[[File:QSMM Two Lancashire looms.ogg|thumb|Two Lancashire looms in the [[Queen Street Mill]] weaving shed, [[Burnley]]]]
[[File:Weben in der Tuchfabrik Müller.ogg|thumb|A 1939 loom working at the [[Mueller Cloth Mill]] museum in [[Euskirchen]], Germany.]]
[[Edmund Cartwright]] built and patented a [[power loom]] in 1785, and it was this that was adopted by the nascent cotton industry in England. The silk loom made by [[Jacques Vaucanson]] in 1745 operated on the same principles but wasn't developed further. The invention of the [[flying shuttle]] by [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]] was critical to the development of a commercially successful power loom.<ref>{{harvnb|Marsden|1892|p=57}}</ref> Cartwright's loom was impractical but the ideas behind it were developed by numerous inventors in the Manchester area of England; where by 1818 there were 32 factories containing 5732 looms.<ref>{{cite web|last=Guest|first=Richard|title=The Compendious History of Cotton-Manufacture|year=1823|pages=46|chapter=XII|url=http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/a_results.php?x=7&y=2&QueryName=KeyWord&KeyWords=Compendious+History|accessdate=Feb 2009}}</ref>
[[Horrocks loom]] was viable, but it was the [[Roberts Loom]] in 1830 that marked the turning point.<ref>{{harvnb|Marsden|1892|p=76}}</ref> Incremental changes to the three motions continued to be made. The problems of sizing, stop-motions, consistent take-up, and a temple to maintain the width remained. In 1841, Kenworthy and [[Howard & Bullough|Bullough]] produced the [[Lancashire Loom]]<ref>{{harvnb|Marsden|1892|p=94}}</ref> which was self-acting or semi-automatic. This enables a youngster to run six looms at the same time. Thus, for simple calicos, the power loom became more economical to run than the hand loom- with complex patterning that used a dobby or Jacquard head, jobs were still [[domestic system|put out]] to handloom weavers until the 1870s. Incremental changes were made such as the [[Dickinson Loom]], culminating in the [[Keighley]]-born inventor Northrop, who was working for the [[Draper Corporation]] in [[Hopedale]] producing the fully automatic [[Northrop Loom]]. This loom recharged the shuttle when the [[pirn]] was empty. The Draper E and X models became the leading products from 1909. They were challenged by synthetic fibres such as [[rayon]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mass|1990|}}</ref>
From 1942 the faster and more efficient shuttleless [[Sulzer (manufacturer)|Sulzer looms]] and the [[rapier loom]]s were introduced.<ref>{{harvnb|Collier|1970|p=111}}</ref> Modern industrial looms can weave at 2000 [[weft|weft insertion]]s per minute.<ref name=Rajagopalan >S. Rajagopalan, S.S.M. College of Engineering, Komarapalayam, [http://www.pdexcil.org/news/40N1002/advances.htm Pdexcil.org]</ref>
===Weft Insertion===
Different types of looms are most often defined by the way that the weft, or pick, is inserted into the warp. Many advances in weft insertion have been made in order to make manufactured cloth more cost effective. There are five main types of weft insertion and they are as follows:
*Shuttle
The first ever powered looms were shuttle type looms. Spools of weft are unraveled as the shuttle travels across the shed. This is very similar to projectile methods of weaving with the exception that the weft spool is stored on the shuttle. These looms are considered obsolete in modern industrial fabric manufacturing because these machines can only reach a maximum of 300 picks per minute.
*Air Jet
An air jet loom uses short quick bursts of compressed air to propel the weft through the shed in order to complete the weave. Air jets are the fastest traditional method of weaving in modern manufacturing and they are able to achieve up to 1200 picks per minutes. However, the amounts of compressed air required to run these looms as well as the complexity in the way the air jets are positioned makes them more costly than other looms.
*Water Jet
Water jet type looms use the same principle as air jet looms, however, they take advantage of pressurized water to propel the weft. The advantage of this type of weaving is that water power is cheaper where water is directly available on site. Picks per minute can reach as high as 1000.
*Rapier
[[File:Greifer.JPG|thumb|A [[Picanol]] rapier loom]]
This type of weaving is very versatile in that rapier looms can weave using a large variety of threads. There are several different types of rapiers, however they all use a hook system attached to a rod or metal band to pass the pick across the shed. These machines regularly reach 700 picks per minute in normal production.
{{further|Rapier loom}}
*Projectile
Projectile looms utilize an object that is propelled across the shed, usually by spring power, and is guided across the width of the cloth by a series of reeds. The projectile is then removed from the weft fibre and it is returned to the opposite side of the machine so it can get reused. Multiple projectiles are in use in order to increase the pick speed. Speeds max out on these machines at 1050 ppm.
===Shedding===
====Dobby looms====
A Dobby Loom is a type of floor loom that controls the whole warp threads using a dobby head. Dobby is a corruption of "draw boy" which refers to the weaver's helpers who used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads. A dobby loom is an alternative to a treadle loom, where multiple heddles (shafts) were controlled by foot treadles- one for each heddle.
{{Further|Dobby loom}}
====Jacquard looms====
The '''Jacquard loom''' is a mechanical loom, invented by [[Joseph Marie Jacquard]] in 1801, that simplifies the process of manufacturing [[textiles]] with complex patterns such as [[Brocade (fabric)|brocade]], [[damask]] and [[matelasse]].<ref>Eric Hobsbawm, "The Age of Revolution", (London 1962; repr. 2008), p.45.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christinalynn.com/fabric-glossary.shtml|title=Fabric Glossary|accessdate=2008-11-21}}</ref> The loom is controlled by [[punched card]]s with punched holes, each row of which corresponds to one row of the design. Multiple rows of holes are punched on each card and the many cards that compose the design of the textile are strung together in order. It is based on earlier inventions by the Frenchmen [[Basile Bouchon]] (1725), Jean Baptiste Falcon (1728) and [[Jacques Vaucanson]] (1740)<ref>[[#RAZY|C. Razy]] p.120 (1913)</ref> To call it a loom is a misnomer, a Jacquard head could be attached to a power loom or a hand loom, the head controlled which warp thread was raised during shedding. Multiple shuttles could be used to control the colour of the weft during picking.
{{Further|Jacquard loom}}
<gallery>
File:JacquardLoomsSAFALodzPoland.jpg|Hand operated Jacquard looms in the Textile Department of the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in [[Lodz]], [[Poland]].
File:JacquardWeavingPoland.jpg| Battening on a jacquard loom in Lodz.
File:PunchingJacquardCardPoland.jpg|Following the pattern, holes are punched in the appropriate places on a jacquard card.
</gallery>
==Circular looms==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Six shuttle circular loom machine.jpg|thumb|typical circular loom]] -->
A circular loom is used to create a seamless tube of fabric for products such as hosiery, sacks, clothing, fabric hose (such as fire hose) and the like. Circular looms can be small jigs used for hand knitting or large high speed machines for modern garments. A good example of the circular loom's work is the seamless woman's stocking.
===Gallery===
<!--===========================([[WP:IDD]])===============================
| PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE IMAGES TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA IS |
| NOT A COLLECTION OF IMAGES NOR SHOULD IT BE USED FOR ADVERTISING. |
| |
| Excessive or inappropriate images WILL BE DELETED. |
| See [[WP:PERTINENCE]] for details. |
| |
| If there are already plentiful images, please propose additions or |
| replacements on this article's discussion page. |
===========================([[WP:IDD]])===============================-->
<gallery>
Japaneseweavera.jpg|An early nineteenth century [[Japan]]ese loom with several heddles, which the weaver controls with her foot
JakaltekBackstrapWeaving.jpg|A [[Jakaltek people|Jakaltek]] Maya brocades a hair sash on a back strap loom.
File:Hjerl Hede, krosno tkackie, ubt.jpeg|Hand loom at Hjerl Hede, [[Denmark]], showing grayish warp threads (back) and cloth woven with red filling yarn (front)
File:Alberto Sa¦ünchez Marti¦ünez working.tiff|Oaxacan artisan Alberto Sanchez Martinez at loom
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Fashion and Textile Museum]]
*[[Shuttle (weaving)]]
*[[Textile manufacturing]]
*[[Timeline of clothing and textiles technology]]
*[[Weaving (mythology)]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
|last= Barber
|first= E. J. W.
|title= Prehistoric Textiles
|year= 1991
|publisher= Princeton University Press
|isbn= 0-691-00224-X}}
*{{cite book
|last= Burnham
|first= Dorothy K.
|title= Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology
|year= 1980
|publisher= Royal Ontario Museum
|isbn=0-88854-256-9 }}
*{{cite book|last=Collier|first= Ann M|title=A Handbook of Textiles |publisher=Pergamon Press |year=1970 |pages=258|isbn=0-08-018057-4}}
*{{cite journal|last=Crowfoot|first=Grace|date=1936/1937|title= Of the Warp-Weighted Loom|journal=The Annual of the British School at Athens|volume=37|pages=36–47}}
*{{cite book|last=Marsden|first=Richard|title=Cotton Weaving: Its Development, Principles, and Practice|publisher=George Bell & Sons|year=1895|pages=584|url=http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/books.html|accessdate=Feb 2009}}
*{{cite journal|last=Mass|first=William|year=1990|title=The Decline of a Technology Leader:Capability, strategy and shuttleless Weaving|journal=Business and Economic History|issn=0894-6825|url=http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v019/p0234-p0244.pdf}}
*{{cite book
|last= Ventura
|first= Carol
|title= Maya Hair Sashes Backstrap Woven in Jacaltenango, Guatemala, Cintas Mayas tejidas con el telar de cintura en Jacaltenango, Guatemala
|year= 2003
|publisher= Carol Ventura
|isbn= 0-9721253-1-0}}
==External links==
{{Wiktionary|loom}}
{{Commons category|Looms}}
* [http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/vita/handloom/en/handloom.htm Handloom construction: Practical guide to constructing viable handlooms, Joan Koster,1978]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flUCPh9AsS0 Loom demonstration video]
* [http://www.woolfestival.com/articles/loomcare.htm "Caring for your loom" article]
* [http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/fap/weav.html "The Art and History of Weaving"]
* The Medieval Technology Pages: [http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/loom.html "The Horizontal Loom"]
{{weaving}}
[[Category:Machines]]
[[Category:Weaving equipment]]
{{usedwps}}