The loom is controlled by cards with punched holes, each row of which corresponds to one row of the design. Machine), holds the name of its inventor: Joseph Marie Jacquard, from Lyon. The Jacquard loom, also nicknamed by the French “bistanclaque” (relating to the noise made by the Jacquard loom invented in 1801, was a major technical and social revolution in the profession. In the 19th Century, the invention and the generalization of automated looms such as the The Flying Shuttle was omnipresent for more than 2 centuries, until the creation of mechanical looms. This mechanical system was a major upgrade as it allows the shuttle to « fly » from one end to another and sped up the weaving process. In 1733, British weaver John Kay developed the Flying Shuttle. In order to make large pieces on a loom, to weavers had to pass the shuttle to each other. Its use was simplified at the beginning of the 18th Century thanks to French weaver, Claude Dangon.įor a long time, a shuttle was used to push the weft thread through the warp: the shuttle enclosing the weft thread had to be slid into the opening by hand, which limited the width of the material. These different combinations were attached to numerous runners that a second person would lift in turn. The draw loom is a model which allows the weaving of patterns using treadles or some other mechanism, the heddles are raised and lowered to open the shed in the warp threads. However the first known fabrics date from the end of the Neolithic period and were found in Turkey and Palestine. This invention is likely to be of Chinese origin. The treadles lift several different heddles allowing complex patterns to be obtained. The first looms didn’t start to evolve dramatically until the Middle Ages, machines such as this one were used. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads.

Letha Oelz (You can contact Letha follow me at or )Ī loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry.

Parts of a weaving loom