THE ARTISTIC CRAFTS SERIES 
 
 OF TECHNICAL HANDBOOKS 
 
 EDITED BY W. R. LETHABY 
 
 HAND-LOOM WEAVING 
 
Domestic Loom 
 
 From a Lyonnese Woodcut, 1510 
 
 A winter garment now demands your care. 
 To guard your body from th* inclement air ; 
 Soft be the inward vest, the outward strong, 
 And large to wrap you warm, down reaching 
 
 long: 
 
 Thin lay your warp, when you the loom prepare. 
 And close to weave the woof no labour spare. 
 The rigour of the day a man defies 
 Thus clothed, nor sees his hairs like bristles rise." 
 
 The matron cheerful plies the loom at home" 
 
 Hesiod Work* and D<yt* 
 
HAND-LOOM WEAVING 
 PLAIN ftf ORNAMENTAL 
 
 BY LUTHER HOOPER : WITH LINE 
 DRAWINGS #Y THE AUTHOR 6? 
 NOEL ROOKE: ALSO SEVERAL 
 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ANCIENT 
 AND MODERN TEXTILES 
 
 LONDON 
 SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD. 
 
 I AMEN CORNER, E.G. 4 
 
 BATH, MELBOURNE AND NEW YORK 
 
 I92O 
 
PREFATORY NOTE TO THE 
 1920 REPRINT 
 
 Prefatory IT was unfortunate that the first edition of " Hand- 
 Note loom Weaving " became exhausted at a time 
 when the difficulty of producing such books was 
 almost insurmountable, especially as its success and 
 the increasing demand for it called for an immediate 
 reprint. Happily the lengthy period of delay has 
 come to an end, and the present volume, which is 
 an exact replica of the first edition, except for a 
 page or two of necessary addenda, is now ready 
 for the use of students and others interested in the 
 fascinating textile arts. 
 
 The favourable opinions of "Hand-loom Weaving" 
 so generally communicated to the author have been 
 highly gratifying, and have more than compensated 
 for the care and labour bestowed on the preparation 
 of the work. These communications are hereby 
 gratefully acknowledged. 
 
 LUTHER HOOPER. 
 
 PBINTED n? BATH, ENGLANB, T 
 
 8m ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, Lmmep. 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE 
 
 IN issuing this volume of a series of Handbooks on Editor's 
 the Artistic Crafts, it will be well to state what are Preface 
 our general aims. 
 
 In the first place, we wish to provide trustworthy 
 text-books of workshop practice, from the points of 
 view of experts who have critically examined the 
 methods current in the shops, and putting aside 
 vain survivals, are prepared to say what is good 
 workmanship, and to set up a standard of quality 
 in the crafts which are more especially associated 
 with design. Secondly, in doing this, we hope to 
 treat design itself as an essential part of good work- 
 manship. During the last century most of the arts, 
 save painting and sculpture of an academic kind, 
 were little considered, and there was a tendency to 
 look on <c design " as a mere matter of appearance. 
 Such "ornamentation" as there was was usually 
 obtained by following in a mechanical way a drawing 
 provided by an artist who often knew little of the 
 technical processes involved in production. With 
 the critical attention given to the crafts by Ruskin 
 v 
 
 ** 
 
Editor's and Morris, it came to be seen that it was impos- 
 Preface B fole to d e t a ch design from craft in this way, and 
 that, in the widest sense, true design is an insepar- 
 able element of good quality, involving as it does 
 the selection of good and suitable material, con- 
 trivance for special purpose, expert workmanship, 
 proper finish and so on, far more than mere orna- 
 ment, and indeed, that ornamentation itself was 
 rather an exuberance of fine workmanship than a 
 matter of merely abstract lines. Workmanship 
 when separated by too wide a gulf from fresh 
 thought that is, from design inevitably decays, 
 and, on the other hand, ornamentation, divorced 
 from workmanship, is necessarily unreal, and quickly 
 falls into affectation. Proper ornamentation may be 
 defined as a language addressed to the eye ; it is 
 pleasant thought expressed in the speech of the tool. 
 In the third place, we would have this series put 
 artistic craftsmanship before people as furnishing 
 reasonable occupations for those who would gain 
 a livelihood. Although within the bounds of 
 academic art, the competition, of its kind, is so 
 acute that only a very few per cent, can fairly hope 
 to succeed as painters and sculptors ; yet, as artistic 
 craftsmen, there is every probability that nearly 
 every one who would pass through a sufficient 
 period of apprenticeship to workmanship and design 
 would reach a measure of success, 
 vi 
 
In the blending of handwork and thought in such Editor's 
 arts as we propose to deal with, happy careers may Preface 
 be found as far removed from the dreary routine 
 of hack labour, as from the terrible uncertainty of 
 academic art. It is desirable in every way that 
 men of good education should be brought back into 
 the productive crafts : there are more than enough 
 of us "in the City," and it is probable that more 
 consideration will be given in this century than in 
 the last to Design and Workmanship. 
 
 # -->;: * # 
 
 This volume on Weaving, the seventh of our 
 series, is an interesting account of a very ancient and 
 a very remarkable art. With weaving from early 
 days has been associated the making of patterns 
 which repeat a given unit, and the commerce in 
 such fabrics has been the chief means of disseminat- 
 ing patterns over the world. Considering the utility, 
 the universality, and the wonderful nature of the 
 art at its simplest and the splendid triumphs of its 
 maturity, weaving must have a strong claim for 
 being the most extraordinary of man's inventions. 
 
 W. R. LETHABY. 
 
 September 1910. 
 
 vi. 
 
ARMS OF THE WKAVKRS* COMPANY 
 LONDON 17OO 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the competition of its for- Author's 
 midable rival the power-loom, the hand-loom still Preface 
 survives, and seems likely to continue in use for the 
 weaving of the best webs, in several branches of 
 textile manufacture. 
 
 In various districts of Great Britain, as well as 
 in France, Germany, Italy, and other European 
 countries, hand-loom weaving continues to be, 
 though much decayed, an important industry. In 
 the East in India, China, and Japan the hand- 
 loom weavers outnumber by several millions the 
 workers employed in attending to the textile 
 machinery of Europe and America. 
 
 The fact that hand-loom weaving has so long 
 survived gives hope, that, now that there is a 
 growing demand for the best in all departments of 
 workmanship, the future may see an extensive 
 revival of this beautiful and ingenious art. 
 
 There is more hope for such a revival since 
 numerous handicraft societies and guilds, as well as 
 many independent art workers, have been led to 
 ix 
 
Author's study and practise weaving, and have met with 
 Preface much encouragement, both as regards the quality 
 of the work they have been able to produce, and 
 its appreciation by the public. 
 
 It is a pity that the introduction of machine 
 spinning and weaving should have had the effect 
 of almost entirely superseding the domestic loom 
 and its auxiliary the spinning-wheel. Spinning and 
 weaving are ideal domestic occupations, especially 
 in the country home. Since they ceased to be 
 universally practised, no home industry at all 
 approaching them in usefulness or interest has 
 taken their place. It is true that some branches 
 of the art, such as the weaving of fine silk into 
 elaborate damasks or brocades, require special 
 training and constant application in the worker. 
 This has always been so ; but the weaving of linen, 
 cotton, woollen, and the coarser silk threads, into 
 materials of strength and beauty for domestic use, 
 can quite well be carried on intermittently together 
 with other household occupations. 
 
 There can be no doubt of the superiority of well- 
 made hand-woven webs, whether they be of the 
 finest silk or of the coarsest wool. This is plainly 
 shown if the best hand-made and the best machine- 
 made productions be compared. 
 
 Hand-loom weaving, too, is superior to machine- 
 weaving if judged by the effect it is likely to have 
 
on the worker. The hand-weaver is employed in Author's 
 a pleasant, ingenious occupation which exercises all Preface 
 his faculties, while the attendant on a power-loom 
 is engaged in a monotonous toil, in which no 
 quality but intense watchfulness is required. 
 
 The object of the present volume is to inform 
 the student of hand-loom weaving of the best 
 methods of preparing warps, fitting up looms, 
 and making or selecting the various appliances 
 necessary for the work, as well as inventing, 
 planning, and weaving plain and ornamental webs. 
 The assistance of the domestic and the artistic 
 weaver has been particularly borne in mind in the 
 preparation of the book. 
 
 I hope that this volume will also prove of use 
 to all who are interested in textiles artistically, 
 commercially, or in any other way. The principles 
 of weaving, traced out from their origins, to their 
 greatest perfection in the eighteenth century, are 
 identical with those of the most highly developed 
 modern inventions inventions which have suc- 
 ceeded in accelerating the speed of weaving at more 
 or less cost to its artistic perfection. 
 
 For assistance in the preparation of the book my 
 thanks are due to the authorities of the Victoria 
 and Albert Museum, the National Art Library, 
 and to the authorities of the British Museum, for 
 facilities of research, and for permission to photograph 
 II 
 
Author's examples of choice textiles, &c., in their various 
 Preface collections ; to Miss Charlotte Brock and Mr. Noel 
 Rooke for valuable assistance in preparing the 
 illustrations, and to Mr. W. H. Abbott, M.A., and 
 other friends for much helpful advice and many 
 practical suggestions. 
 
 LUTHER HOOPER. 
 
 September 1910. 
 
 XII 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFATORY NOTE iv Contents 
 
 EDITOR'S PREFACE v 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE ix 
 
 PART I 
 PLAIN WEAVING 
 
 <yj CHAPTER I 
 THE RUDIMENTS OF SPINNING AND WEAVING 
 
 The Comparative Importance of the Weaver's Art 
 Scope of Hand-loom Weaving Weaving Uni- 
 versal The Construction of Plain Cloth The 
 Warp The Weft Relative Size of Warp and 
 Weft Preparation of Threads for Weaving Flax 
 and its Prehistoric use Retting and Scutching of 
 Flax Preparation of Cotton, Wool, and Silk 
 Carding, its Purpose and Method Fine Spinning 
 by Machinery Ancient Spinning with Distaff and 
 Spindle The Distaff The Spindle I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE INDISPENSABLE APPLIANCES FOR SIMPLE WEAVING 
 
 The Origin of the Loom Looms in Ancient Art and 
 Literature Egyptian and Greek Looms The 
 Essential Part of the Loom The Cross in the 
 xiii 
 
Contents PAGE 
 
 Warp The Simplest Practical Loom Demonstra- 
 tion of the Cross Special Need for the Cross in 
 Long Warps of many Threads Preparation of the 
 Warp Ancient Warping A Simple Method of 
 Warping for Domestic Looms 18 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE WARPING BOARD 
 
 The Warping Board The Necessity for Strength in all 
 Weaving Appliances The Warping Board in Use 
 Securing the Crosses in the Warp Warping 
 Several Threads at once The Reel- or Bobbin- 
 carrier, and its Use in connection with the Warping 
 Board The Portee Cross Taking off the Warp 
 ~The Hand-stick 28 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE WARPING MILL 
 
 The Warping Mill necessary for Long, Full Warps 
 Description of the Warping Mill for Silk-weaving 
 The Bobbin Frame The Heck-block Demon- 
 stration of spreading a Warp Regulating the 
 Length of Warps The Heck The Gatherer The 
 Count and Length of Warps; how calculated 
 Threading the Heck Beginning a Warp Taking 
 the Cross The Ratchet and Wheel of the Heck- 
 block Mending Threads 42 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 TURNING ON, OR BEAMING 
 
 Turning on, or Beaming The Raddle, or Vateau 
 Selection of a Raddle for a particular Warp The 
 xiv 
 
Cane Roller and Cane Sticks The Raddle Stand * Contents 
 
 for Small Warps To separate the Portees Dis- 
 tributing the Portees in the Raddle Turning on 
 in the Loom Position of the Cane Roller in the 
 Loom Means of turning the Roller Assistance 
 required in turning on Method of keeping the 
 Warp Hard on the Roller 60 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE BEAMING DRUM 
 
 The Essential Part of Beaming Machinery The Drum 
 and its Fittings Friction Brakes Ropes of the 
 Drum Space necessary for Beaming Importance 
 of Accuracy of Detail in Weaving Operations 
 Turning-on Posts Appliance for Beaming in Con- 
 fined Space Winding the Warp on the Drum 
 Beaming with the Drum 73 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE HAND-LOOM FOR AUTOMATIC WEAVING 
 
 Opening or shedding the Warp for Wefting Shedding 
 the Warp without Appliances Simplicity of Egyp- 
 tian and Greek Weaving The Headle-rod Ancient 
 Horizontal Looms and Automatic Sheds Indian 
 and Chinese Looms The Old English Hand-loom 
 The Loom Frame The Rollers The Ratchet 
 and Wheel Friction Brake for Cane Roller Com- 
 parison of Indian and English Looms Automatic 
 Method of opening the Shed The Long Comb or 
 Reed The Batten Position of the Harness and 
 Batten Preparations for entering the Warp in 
 Harness and Reed Gating the Loom 81 
 
 XV 
 
Content* CHAPTER VIII 
 
 J THE ACCESSORY APPLIANCES OF THE LOOM 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Hand-shuttleSuperiority of Hand-shuttle 
 Weaving The Fly-shuttle The Batten for the 
 Fly-shuttle The Raceboard The Shuttle-boxes 
 The Pickers The Picking Stick The Action of 
 of the Fly-shuttle Advantages of the Fly-shuttle 
 The Temple The Skein Reels The Doubler 
 The Quill-winder Other Tools Method of 
 Weaving with Hand-battens Method of Weaving 
 with Box-battens in 
 
 PART II 
 SIMPLE PATTERN-WEAVING 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 TAPESTRY-WEAVING 
 
 A Definition of Pattern-weaving Ancient Textile 
 Decoration The Origin of Tapestry-weaving 
 Tapestry a Variety of Plain Weaving The Effect 
 of tight and loose Wefting Tapestry-weaving 
 necessarily an Artistic Handicraft Tapestry akin 
 to Embroidery 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 THE SIMPLEST WARP AND WEFT EFFECTS OF PATTERN 
 
 Further Definition of Pattern-weaving Patterns 
 possible on the Loom with only Two Readies The 
 Striped Webs of India Ancient Use of Striped 
 Cotton Hangings Patterns resulting from striping 
 the Warp East African Woven Design Various 
 xvi 
 
PAGE Contents 
 
 Simple Warp Patterns Simple Weft Effects- 
 Tartan Patterns Inlaying or Brocading Primitive 
 Indian Brocading Usual Method of Brocading 
 Binders or Ties Brocading on Weaving Board 
 Extra Headle for Brocading Long and Short Eyes 
 of Readies Cashmere Shawl Weaving Origin of 
 Brocading 139 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 SINGLE-HARNESS PATTERNS 
 
 Ruled Paper and its Uses Sketches of Entering and 
 Tie-up Designs possible on a Loom with few 
 Readies The Position of Cloth in Weaving- 
 Tying up the Loom Plan of a Tie-up Simple 
 Twills The Broken Twill, its Importance Origin 
 and Peculiarity of Satin-weaving The Four-headle 
 Twill Method of drawing Designs for Simple 
 Looms Simple Pattern with Tabby Ground 
 throughout, its Advantages 160 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 THE SATINS AND DOUBLE CLOTH 
 
 Construction and Utility of Satin Tie Meaning of 
 the Term Satin Peculiar Quality of the Satin 
 Tie Various Satins and the Number of Headles 
 required for weaving them Reasons for weaving 
 Webs Face Downwards Exceptions The Selvages 
 of Satin and other Webs Separate Selvages and 
 their Fitting up When Separate Selvages are 
 necessary Contrast of Colours in Satin Webs and 
 its Limits Double Cloth, its Advantages Pre- 
 paring and entering the Warp for Double Cloth 
 Weaving Double Cloth 179 
 
 xvii b 
 
Contents CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SHEDDING MOTIONS 
 
 FAGS 
 
 The Simplest Shedding Motion Two Typical Shedding 
 Motions Differences between the Two Kinds of 
 Shedding Motions Choice of Shedding Motion 
 left to Weaver Suitable Design for Shedding 
 Motion No. 2 191 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DOUBLE-HARNESS PATTERN- WEAVING 
 
 Diaper-weaving Example Patterns in Double Cloth 
 Indian Example Use of the Figure Harness 
 Use of the Tabby Harness Importance of 
 the Two-harness Method of Weaving The 
 Weaving of Small Damask Patterns with Two 
 Harnesses Details of Weaving Figured Damask 
 Analysis of the Effect of the Two Harnesses 
 Shed- making for Damask Patterns All Modern 
 Weaving of Pattern based on Two-harness 
 Principles Weaving from Two Separate Warps 
 Velvet-weaving and its Methods Arrange- 
 ment of the Loom for Velvet-weaving Actual 
 Process of Velvet-weaving Principal Tool for 
 Velvet-weaving Terry Velvet Superiority of 
 Hand-loom Velvet Small Designs in Velvet 
 Tobine Weaving 199 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 AUTOMATIC MACHINES FOR SHEDDING MOTIONS 
 
 Automatic Shedding Motions and their Use Dis- 
 advantages of the Jacquard Machine for Home 
 Weaving Comparison of it with Simpler Machines 
 xviii 
 
The Jack-in-the-box Its Inventor Character 
 of Old Hand-loom Weavers Tie-up and Working 
 of the Jack-in-the-box The Drawboy Machine, 
 its Details and Use Examples of Pattern-weaving 
 with Drawboy 229 
 
 PART III 
 COMPLEX PATTERN- WEAVING 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 THE DRAW-LOOM AND THREAD MONTURE 
 
 Ancient Origin of the Draw-loom Its Importance in 
 Weaving Description of Draw-loom Building 
 the Monture The Two Kinds of Repeating 
 Patterns The Comber-board The Pulley-box 
 The Tail Cords The Simple and Guide Cords 
 The Term Cords in reference to Design 
 Rigidity of Lateral Repeats on a Loom Freedom 
 of Vertical Repeats The Drawboy The Draw- 
 boy's Fork The Most Perfect Loom The Thread 
 Monture Various Uses of the Thread Monture 
 Examples of Silk-weaving on Thread Monture 251 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE SHAFT MONTURE 
 
 Invention of the Split or Shaft Harness The Comber- 
 board for Shaft Harness Building a Shaft Har- 
 ness Description of Various Parts of the Harness 
 The Shaft Harness in Use Note on regulating 
 the Length of Designs Draughting Designs 
 Examples of Shaft-harness Weaving 276 
 
 xix 
 
Contents CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 BROCATELLE AND TISSUE WEAVING 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Technique of Brocatelle Webs Weaving Broca- 
 telles Draughting for Tissue weaving Two 
 Methods of mounting Binders Old Spitalfields 
 Tissue BrochS Tissues General Utility of Shaft 
 Harness Shaft Harness for Coarse Materials 
 Tissues of Wool, Linen, and Cotton on Shaft 
 Harness Examples of Modern Wool Tissues 
 Old Method of Tissue weaving without Split 
 Shaft Harness 285 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE COMPOUND MONTURE 
 
 Advantages of dividing the Monture Description of 
 the Compound Monture Examples of Compound 
 Monture Weaving Old English Brocade 
 Eighteenth-century Striped Brocade French Late 
 Seventeenth-century Brocade 306 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 FIGURED- VELVET WEAVING 
 
 Pile and Terry Figured Velvet The Draught The 
 Monture The Preparation of the Loom The 
 Bobbin Frame Italian and Spanish Velvets 320 
 
 CONCLUDING NOTE 322 
 
 GLOSSARY 325 
 
 INDEX 331 
 
 XX 
 

 LIST OF PLATES 
 
 I. East African Weaving, illustrating Primitive 
 
 Work British Museum, London i 
 
 II. Ancient Egyptian Weaving, B.C. 2000 and 
 later. The heavy comb shown was used 
 for beating the woof together 7 
 
 British Museum, London 
 
 III. Illustration of Warp and Weft intersected 10 
 
 IV. Fragments of Linen Cloth, woven by the Pre- 
 
 historic Lake-dwellers of Switzerland 16 
 
 British Museum, London 
 
 V. Figure of a Spinster. Vase Painting of Ancient 
 
 Greece, B.C. 500 British Museum, London 17 
 
 VI. Spindles, Whorls, and Loom Weights, Ancient 
 
 Greece British Museum, London 32 
 
 VII. Tapestry Ornaments. Fragment of a Robe 
 of Amenhetep II., found in the Tomb of 
 Thothmes IV. Amenhetep, whose Ka name 
 is woven in the design, reigned in Egypt, 
 B.C. 1500 Cairo Museum 129 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO PART II. 
 
 VIII. Copy (in progress) of a Portion of the East 
 
 African Web, illustrated by Plate I. 144 
 
 By the Author 
 xxi 
 
PLATE PAGE 
 
 IX. Piece of Eighteenth-century Silk- weaving, 
 
 illustrating Tobine Stripes 248 
 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 
 
 X. Fragment of Seventeenth-century French 
 Brocade, a most perfect specimen of the 
 Weaver's art Author's Collection 249 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO PART III. 
 
 XI. Example of French Silk-weaving, time of 
 
 Louis XIII. Size of design, 30" x 21 " 273 
 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 
 
 XII. Copy, by the Author, of Eighteenth-century 
 Fine French Silk. A portion of the design 
 only is shown. The part photographed is 
 the full size of the original 288 
 
 XIII. Copy, by the Author, of Sixteenth-century 
 Italian Brocatelle. A portion of the design 
 only is shown, about half the actual size 
 of the original 289 
 
 XIV. Spitalfields Tissue in Green and Gold Silk. 
 
 Date about 1900 The Author's Collection 291 
 This is shown as an example of skilful weaving, 
 not of fine design 
 
 XV, Wool Hanging designed, draughted, and 
 arranged for weaving by the Author for 
 St. Christopher's Church, Haslemere. The 
 colours are scarlet, blue, green, and white 302 
 
 XVI. Portion of Hanging of woven wool and coarse 
 silk. Designed, draughted, and arranged for 
 weaving by the Author 304 
 
 XVII. Brocade, probably Old English. The lower 
 portion of the photograph shows the method 
 of brocading with small shuttles at the 
 back A uthor's Collection 311 
 
 XVIII. Figured Velvet. The ornament is composed of 
 cut and terry pile. This specime is 
 beautifully designed and perfectly woven 314 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 
 
 xxii 
 
PART I 
 PLAIN WEAVING 
 
. 
 
Pfi 
 
 Plate I. East African Weaving, illustrating 
 Primitive Work. 
 
 See page 3, 
 
 British Museum, London 
 
PART I 
 
 PLAIN WEAVING 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE RUDIMENTS OF SPINNING 
 AND WEAVING 
 
 The Comparative Importance of the Weaver's Art- 
 Scope of Hand-loom Weaving Weaving Universal 
 The Construction of Plain Cloth The Warp- 
 The Weft Relative Size of Warp and Weft Pre- 
 paration of Threads for Weaving Flax and its Use 
 Prehistoric Retting and Skutching of Flax Pre- 
 paration of Cotton, Wool, and Silk Carding, its 
 Purpose and Method Fine Spinning by Machinery 
 Ancient Spinning with Distaff and Spindle The 
 Distaff The Spindle. 
 
 IT may be confidently affirmed that the art of The Scope 
 weaving occupies a place of importance and useful- and Value of 
 ness to mankind second only to that of agriculture, the Weaver's 
 We shall reach this conclusion whether we take Art 
 into consideration the number of persons engaged 
 in the various branches of the art, the universal 
 practice of weaving in ancient and modern times, or 
 the necessity and value of the productions of the 
 weaver's craft and industry to society in general. 
 
 A I 
 
The Scope If necessary it could be proved by statistics that at 
 
 and Value of least one-fifth of the working world is occupied 
 
 the Weaver's either with weaving and its allied trades, or in the 
 
 Art distribution of its finished materials. It would be 
 
 found also that a similar proportion of the general 
 
 expenditure is for woven goods of one kind or 
 
 another. 
 
 It is not only, however, from an economic point 
 of view that the art of weaving is of such interest 
 and importance, but also on account of the vast 
 amount of invention and ingenuity, both of a 
 mechanical and an artistic kind, that it has been 
 the means of calling forth. These qualities have 
 been shown during the course of its development 
 from the elementary and laborious attempts of 
 primitive tribes to the elaborately finished and 
 swiftly wrought, though complicated webs woven on 
 the modern power-loom. It is this aspect of the 
 subject viz., the development of textile art from 
 its earliest beginnings that the present volume 
 is intended to set forth. A clear account of the 
 principles and practice of the art of weaving, and 
 the possibilities and limitations of the loom and its 
 accessories, cannot fail to be of interest and value 
 to the antiquary and to the collector of ancient 
 textiles, as well as to the designer, the weaver, the 
 distributor, and the purchaser of the various kinds 
 of modern woven fabrics. 
 
 Possibilities It will not be necessary, nor, indeed, would it be 
 
 of Hand- possible within the compass of this handbook, to 
 
 loom follow the subject of weaving beyond the point 
 
 Weaving when it ceased to be a handicraft, owing to the 
 
 introduction of the Jacquard machine and the 
 
 application of steam-power to the loom, which 
 
events took place at the end of the eighteenth 
 century. These changes in the construction and 
 mechanism of the loom did not alter the principles 
 of weaving in the least, nor add any new effects of 
 combinations of threads to those previously in use. 
 The inventions only affected the exactness and 
 speed of the weaving, the motive power by means 
 of which the loom was driven, and rendered easy 
 a frequent change of pattern. No real advance 
 in weaving technique has taken place for a hun- 
 dred years, as nothing more perfect is possible in 
 the weaver's art than the sumptuous webs of 
 silk, of exquisite texture, which were deliberately 
 woven by hand on the perfected draw-looms of 
 Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth 
 centuries. 
 
 The first principles and practice of the art of 
 weaving, wherever they are found, are universally 
 similar. Primitive peoples of to-day follow the 
 same methods and use the same appliances as those 
 of ancient times. And as it is on these that all 
 later textile developments are based, it will be 
 necessary in the first place to define them clearly. 
 A visit to the ethnographical department of any of 
 our museums, and an examination of their contents, 
 will prove that there is scarcely a savage tribe, 
 however primitive, which has not some more or less 
 proficient acquaintance with the art of making 
 thread and of utilising it in the weaving of cloth 
 (see plate i). Also, the specimens of ancient handi- 
 craft, such as those shown in plate n, which 
 remain to us, as well as other less direct 
 evidence, will show decidedly that the people of 
 antiquity were familiar with the arts of spinning 
 
 3 
 
 Possibilities 
 of Hand- 
 loom 
 Weaving 
 
 Universality 
 of Weaving 
 
Universality and weaving, which they practised with a great 
 of Weaving deal of skill and carried to a high pitch of per- 
 fection. Indeed, so universal and so ancient are 
 the occupations of making thread and weaving 
 webs that they appear to be instincts as natural to 
 the human species as to the caterpillar and the 
 spider. 
 
 The If we look carefully at a piece of plain cloth we 
 
 Construction find it to consist of a number of longitudinal threads 
 of Plain placed side by side, and intersected, or interlaced, 
 Cloth by a continuous single thread. This thread passes 
 alternately before and behind the longitudinal ones, 
 and has been introduced between them from edge 
 to edge, by some means and in such a manner as 
 to bind them together and hold them in position. 
 When thus united the threads are woven into a 
 flat, orderly, and uniform-surfaced material, of more 
 or less durability, according to the strength of the 
 threads of which it is composed and the closeness 
 and evenness with which the crossing thread has 
 been>pressed down and beaten together. By means 
 of plate in the arrangement of the longitudinal 
 threads and the continuous thread crossing and 
 intersecting them should be made quite clear'. The 
 longitudinal threads of a woven material are always 
 The Warp called the warp, because, in order to allow of 
 their being intersected conveniently by the con- 
 tinuous crossing thread, they have to be warped 
 that is, tightly strained in their position on some 
 kind of frame prepared for the purpose. The 
 longitudinal threads are known as the warp and by 
 no other name, but the continuous crossing thread 
 has several technical names, the most usual being 
 The Weft weft, woof, or shoot sometimes spelt shute. 
 
 4 
 
In the magnified piece of plain cloth (plate in) the The Relative 
 ^ warp threads are seen at once to be much finer than Size of Warp 
 
 the weft thread. This is always the case, except and Weft 
 ' in the most elementary attempts at weaving. And 
 the threads differ not only in size, but in the manner 
 in which they are prepared for use. The warp 
 threads need to be hard, having thin strands strongly 
 twisted together. The weft thread is only slightly 
 twisted ; this makes it soft and yielding, and enables 
 the weaver to press it well down and to beat both 
 warp and weft together into firm, good material. 
 ^JThe selection of properly proportioned threads is 
 of the highest importance in weaving, for the good 
 appearance of the finished work depends almost 
 entirely upon it, as also does its durability. 
 
 The simple methods and appliances for making Various 
 thread and weaving adopted by different ancient Threads and 
 peoples and by primitive tribes of to-day are remark- their 
 ably similar in kind. But the raw materials used Preparation 
 and the manner of preparing them differ considerably, * r Weaving 
 and depend, of course, on the natural products with 
 which the particular people happen to be familiar, 
 and the inventive skill which they possess. The 
 most obvious and simple of all raw materials for 
 weaving were the Jong grasses and rushes, or other 
 plants, with which the weaver was acquainted, 
 which could be readily split into filaments or used 
 entire. But the rudest people readily become aware 
 that many animal and vegetable substances are 
 capable of being drawn out and twisted together into 
 a continuous thread, of more or less firmness and 
 strength, and they accordingly soon invent for them- 
 selves some simple appliances for performing this 
 operation. 
 
 5 
 
Flax and its Previous to the introduction of cotton from India 
 Preparation and the marvellous development of the cotton 
 Prehistoric industry in this country during the last century, the 
 most important of all the various kinds of thread 
 for weaving purposes was obtained from the stems 
 of the family of plants known as the Linum family, 
 of which the flax has always been the chief 
 member. Animal wool and silk the only natural 
 continuous thread have been chiefly used for orna- 
 mental fabrics, but flaxen or linen thread has always ' 
 been the most used and the most useful for ordi- 
 nary purposes. The earliest specimens of knitted 
 * and woven thread at present known are fragments 
 that were found amongst the remains of the lake- 
 dwellings in Switzerland, and which are attributed ; 
 by the most reliable authorities, to the age of stone. 
 These venerable relics are therefore prehistoric. 
 They consist of small bundles of flax fibre, both raw 
 and twisted into threads of various thickness. Some 
 are made into ropes and nets and others knitted or 
 woven into pieces of cloth (see plate iv). In Egypt, 
 in Greece and Rome, and, with one or two excep- 
 tions, in all the more or less civilised countries of the 
 ancient world, flax was used and preferred above all ' 
 other fibres for weaving purposes. It is remarkable 
 that the cultivation and preparation of flax, even at 
 the present day, is almost identical with that in use 
 in ancient Egypt four or five thousand years ago. 
 Probably the reason why cotton has, within the 
 last century, almost superseded the use of linen, is 
 because it is better adapted for preparation and 
 weaving by machinery and takes more kindly to all 
 sorts of abominable adulteration, so that it can be 
 more cheaply put upon the market. 
 6 
 
The valuable portions of 
 the flax plant are the dark 
 brown seeds, usually called 
 linseed, and the inner fibres 
 of the stems, which by a 
 severe course of treatment 
 become linen thread. After 
 the flax has been pulled up 
 by the roots the seeds are 
 first shaken out. The plants 
 are then made up into small 
 bundles and immersed in 
 water until they begin to 
 ferment. As soon as the 
 fermentation has begun they 
 are taken out of the water 
 and allowed to dry in the 
 open air. This process is 
 called retting, and when it 
 is complete the leaves and 
 outside membrane of the 
 stem are easily removed. 
 The roots and small stems 
 are next cut away, and the 
 main stems are then ready 
 for the next operation, called 
 s hutching. The purpose of 
 the skutching process is to 
 thoroughly clear away all 
 remains of the outer mem- 
 brane and the short, useless 
 veins of the leaves, and to 
 straighten out the inner 
 fibres and lay them all in 
 
 Flax and its 
 Preparation 
 
 FIG. i 
 
 Flax Plant 
 
Flax and its one direction ready for twisting into thread. Sharp 
 Preparation toothed combs of various sizes are used for this 
 
 FIG. 2. Stripping Hemp in Burgundy. 
 
 skutching, coarse ones at first and finer ones after- 
 wards. The fibres are finally made up into con- 
 venient bundles. By this process the filaments of 
 8 
 
the flax are thoroughly cleaned and separated, and Flax and its 
 converted into a fine, silky kind of tow. This, in Preparation 
 brief, is the manner in which the best flax is pre- 
 pared for the linen thread of to-day, and there is 
 evidence to show that it was in just such a manner 
 that the flax was prepared for the thread of the 
 state robe of "fine linen" given by Pharaoh to 
 Joseph in ancient Egypt as a mark of his royal 
 favour. 
 
 The down of the cotton plant and the fleece of the The 
 sheep need much less preparation than the fibre of the Preparation 
 flax. The former only have to be cleaned and the of Cotton 
 fibre cleared by the process of carding, which will and Wool 
 presently be explained, and the cotton or wool is 
 ready to be operated upon by the spinster who 
 makes it into thread. 
 
 Silk is produced ready spun by the silkworm in a Silk Thread 
 continuous double thread, and only requires to be produced 
 unwound from the cocoon, as the case is called which by the Silk- 
 the caterpillar twists and winds curiously around worm 
 itself when ready to change into the chrysalis form, ready spun 
 When unwound the cocoon is found to consist 
 of a continuous double thread of silk about one 
 thousand yards in length, but of such exceeding 
 fineness that it takes from ten to twelve hundred 
 cocoons to weigh one pound. So fine, indeed, is 
 the natural filament that twelve strands have to be 
 twisted together in order to make the finest thread 
 of silk that it is practically possible to use for 
 weaving. The twisting and cleaning of these 
 threads of silk is technically called silk-throwing, 
 and is a most delicate and elaborate process. 
 
 The operation of carding by hand requires the Carding 
 use of a pair of implements called cards (fig. 3A). 
 
 9 
 
Carding 
 
 Fie. 3. 
 
 FIG. A. Pair of Cards. 
 
Plate III. Illustration of Warp and Weft intersected. 
 
 See page 5* 
 
They are made of hard wood, and each has one of Carding 
 its flat surfaces covered with tough leather, into 
 which a large number of points of thin steel wire 
 have been very strongly and evenly fixed. A small 
 quantity of clean cotton down or fleecy wool is 
 spread as evenly as possible on the steel points of 
 one card. This card is then held by the handle, 
 with the points upward, in the left hand of the 
 operator, who sits to the work and rests the imple- 
 ment flat upon her knee. The other card is then 
 taken in the right hand, and its points pressed 
 firmly down upon the fibre to be carded. The 
 right-hand card is then drawn smartly over the left- 
 hand one in the direction shown in fig. 3, which 
 movement tears the fibres apart and straightens 
 them out. When this action has been repeated a 
 few times the straightened fibres will be found 
 lightly attached to one edge of the lower card. 
 They can then be transferred to the smooth back 
 of the other card, and with a few deft taps of 
 the back edge of the one from which they were 
 taken, may be made to assume the curled shape 
 shown at the foot of fig. 3A. When it has 
 been worked into this neatly curled form the 
 carding is ready to be drawn out and twisted into 
 thread. 
 
 Spinning, as its name denotes, is the process by Spinning 
 which the short filaments that have been separated 
 and combed into order by the carder or skutcher, 
 are drawn out and joined by being twisted or spun 
 together into a continuous thread, or yarn. This 
 yarn can be spun to an astonishing degree of fine- 
 ness. The finest ever known to be made was spun 
 by machinery and shown at the great Exhibition 
 
 II 
 
Spinning of 1851. It was a cotton yarn, and a single pound 
 of it, it was said, would measure one thousand and 
 twenty-six miles in length. This yarn was only 
 made for exhibition, and was of no practical use. 
 The finest cotton yarn used in weaving is spun by 
 machinery, and runs, as it is called, three hundred 
 miles to the pound weight. Needless to say, the 
 ancient method of spinning by hand could never 
 produce a thousand miles of thread from a single 
 pound of cotton, but the hand-spinners of India 
 spin, for use in the Dacca muslin industry, one pound 
 of cotton fibre into a length of thread which measures 
 two hundred miles. The Eastern spinners can 
 also spin wool or flax into yarn of a hundred miles 
 to the pound weight. These figures have been 
 approached if not quite reached by good spinsters of 
 Europe. 
 
 Spinning Yhe figure of a spinster (plate v) is copied from a 
 W1 jk Distaff p amt i n g on a Greek vase preserved in the British 
 and Spindle Museum< It gives a f airly goO( i general idea of the 
 method of spinning by the primitive means, viz., by 
 the use of the distaff and spindle. It is not wise, 
 however, to put much faith in the details of ancient 
 pictures of this kind, as we shall have occasion to 
 notice particularly when we come to consider the 
 representations of ancient looms. Artists and poets, 
 in ancient times, seem to have been content if 
 they succeeded in conveying a general impression 
 of a figure or scene they intended to repre- 
 sent, without much regard to accuracy of detail. 
 In this case the graceful figure is holding up a 
 stick, the distafF, on which a tightly wound ball 
 of thread is fixed ; and at the end of the thread, 
 which passes through the right hand of the figure, 
 12 
 
a spindle is turning. All 
 that we can learn from 
 this figure is that the 
 distaff and spindle were 
 used in ancient Greece 
 for the purpose of making 
 thread, but neither the 
 details of the process of 
 spinning are explained nor 
 is the position or action 
 of the figure suitable for 
 the work. When only the 
 distaff and spindle are used 
 for spinning, the distaff is 
 usually fixed under the 
 spinster's left arm, so that 
 the prepared flax, loosely 
 wound upon its end, may 
 project in front of her. 
 By this method of fixing 
 the distaff the hands of 
 the spinster are both left 
 free, the one to twist the 
 thread and the other to 
 keep the spindle duly 
 rotating. 
 
 The distaff (fig. 4} is 
 simply a round stick of 
 wood about fifteen or eigh- 
 teen inches in length, at 
 one end of which the flax, 
 or other raw material pre- 
 pared for spinning, is loosely 
 wound in such a way that 
 
 Spinning 
 with Distaff 
 and Spindle 
 
 The Distaff 
 
 FIG. 4 
 The Distaff 
 
The Distaff 
 
 , 5. Spinning with Distaff and Spindle. 
 
the fibres can be readily drawn out vM 
 and twisted together by the spinster. 
 The distaff is sometimes, although 
 not generally, used for cotton and 
 wool these are for the most part 
 spun from the cardings, which are 
 joined on as required ; but the distaff 
 is always used for the spinning of flax. 
 When the distaff is fitted up, or the 
 cardings ready to the spinster's hand, 
 she deftly draws out a few filaments, 
 sufficient, in her judgment, for the 
 thickness of the thread required, and 
 gradually twists them into an even 
 thread without detaching them from 
 the distaff or carding. When a 
 sufficient length of thread is thus 
 twisted it is attached to the spindle, 
 which is then made to revolve, and 
 'as it spins it assists in evenly twisting 
 the gradually drawn out thread. As 
 the length of thread increases, the 
 twisted yarn is wound upon the 
 spindle from time to time, until it is 
 conveniently full ; then the thread is 
 cut, and a fresh spindle attached in 
 place of the full one (fig. 5). 
 
 The spindle (fig. 6) is simply 
 a slender metal or hardwood rod, 
 from six to ten inches in length, 
 having at one end, or in the centre, 
 a round weight, and at the other end 
 a hook, or notch, for the purpose 
 of holding it in a vertical position 
 
 The Distaff 
 
 The Spindle 
 
The Spindle 
 
 FIG. 7. Spinning with Wheel. 
 

 Plate IV. Fragments of Linen Cloth, woven by the Pre- 
 historic Lake-dwellers of Switzerland. 
 
 See page 6, 
 
 British Museum, London. 
 

 
Plate V Figure of a Spinster. Vase Painting of Ancient 
 Greece, 500 B c - 
 
 British Museum, London. 
 
 See page 12. 
 
when the thread is attached to it. Spindles are of The Spindle 
 various weights and dimensions, according to the 
 size of the yarn for the spinning of which they are 
 used. Plate vi shows ancient spindles preserved in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 This method of spinning with these simple 
 appliances, the distaff and spindle, seems to have 
 been universal. It is still used by primitive peoples, 
 and the best, strongest, and most durable thread is 
 even now produced by its means. The method 
 ilso illustrates perfectly the essential principles of 
 :he making of all thread. The use of machinery 
 for spinning, whether it be only the simple, pic- 
 .uresque, mediaeval spinning wheel (see fig. 7), or 
 the elaborate machinery of the cotton-spinning in- 
 lustry of the nineteenth century, did not alter the 
 principles of the process in the least. These only 
 enabled the work to be carried out with increased 
 speed and with greater exactness of result. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE INDISPENSABLE APPLIANCES FOR 
 SIMPLE WEAVING 
 
 The Origin of the Loom Looms in Ancient Art 
 and Literature Egyptian and Greek Looms The 
 Essential Part of the Loom The Cross in the 
 Warp The Simplest Practical Loom Demonstra- 
 tion of the Cross Special Need for the Cross in 
 Long Warps of many Threads Preparation of the 
 Warp Ancient Warping A Simple Method of 
 Warping for Domestic Looms. 
 
 Origin of THE weaving of mats and baskets from natural 
 the Loom grasses and rushes can, of course, be manipulated 
 without the use of any special appliance for holding 
 or stretching the materials whilst in working. But 
 as soon as pliant thread has to be woven, and any 
 considerable length of web is required, it becomes 
 necessary to devise some kind of frame to hold and 
 stretch the warp threads upon, so that the weft may 
 be readily interlaced with them. The more or less 
 elaborate frame constructed for this purpose, with 
 the properly arranged warp mounted on it, together 
 with the various contrivances added from time to 
 time by the weaver's ingenuity, has by universal 
 consent been called a loom. 
 
 The representations of looms in ancient sculp- 
 18 
 
tures, paintings and drawings, are exceedingly scarce, 
 and what few there are, are for the most part so 
 incomplete, not to say incorrect, in detail, that it 
 is difficult for the most expert weaver to see how 
 they could have been used effectively. Textile art 
 seems to have been a more attractive and interesting 
 subject to the ancient poets than to the artists, as 
 their allusions to the loom, the needle and the 
 various operations of weaving and needlework are 
 frequent and interesting, and prove beyond doubt 
 that the weaver's and embroiderer's occupations were 
 held in very high estimation and were very extensively 
 practised in the ancient world. These literary allu- 
 sions to the loom and to textile art will be considered 
 in a subsequent chapter, but a reference to the avail- 
 able pictorial representations is necessary at this point. 
 The most ancient illustrations of looms and 
 weaving are to be found amongst the wall-paintings 
 in a tomb at Beni Hasan, in Egypt. Fig. 8 
 represents a warp apparently stretched on the 
 ground, and a figure in an impossible attitude 
 weaving what may be supposed to be a mat. Fig. 
 9 shows an upright frame having a few threads 
 fixed to it, at which two women are working. 
 One of the women may be presumed to be in- 
 troducing the weft between the warp threads, and 
 the other beating it together. A later Egyptian 
 painting represents a loom of more elaborate con- 
 struction (fig. 10). This painting is at Thebes, 
 and shows a weaver very actively at work at an 
 upright frame, on which he is evidently weaving 
 cloth by means of a stick having a hook at its end. 
 No threads, however, in this instance are shown, 
 either of warp or weft. These are all the instances 
 
 19 
 
 The Loom 
 
 in Ancient 
 
 Art and 
 
 Literature 
 
 , Egyptian 
 Looms 
 
Egyptian 
 Looms 
 
 Greek 
 Looms 
 
 at present discovered of representations of Egyptian 
 looms, except that there is a kind of hieroglyphic 
 on a sarcophagus of an early period which is sup- 
 posed to stand as a sign for a loom, or weaving. 
 The scarcity of these pictorial records is remarkable 
 when we consider that Egypt was the seat of a great 
 
 FIG. 8. Egyptian Loom. 
 
 linen-weaving industry, which not only supplied the 
 large domestic market with woven materials, but was 
 famous throughout the ancient world for the manu- 
 facture of " fine linen," and exported great quan- 
 tities of it to contemporary nations with whom the 
 Egyptians traded. 
 
 Although in ancient Greece and Rome weaving 
 was a common domestic occupation universally 
 practised, as we gather from many classic literary 
 allusions, drawings or other representations of looms 
 seem to be even more rare than are those of Egypt. 
 It appears that only in two Greek vase-paintings is 
 there anything of the kind to be found. One of 
 these (fig. Ii) represents the loom of Penelope, 
 and the other that of Circe (fig. 12). They are 
 
 20 
 
both upright looms, and differ from those of Egypt 
 in that the warp strings are stretched by means 
 of a weight being hung on each separate string, 
 instead of the threads being tightly stretched all / 
 together on the frame, as were those of Egypt.J 
 
 Greek 
 Looms 
 
 FIG. 9. Egyptian Loom. 
 
 There are a few other ancient drawings extant, 
 purporting to be of Roman looms, but these are 
 absolutely unreliable, as they are from Byzantine 
 and Eastern manuscripts of later periods, and only 
 show the kind of weaving appliances in use at the 
 time when, and in the places where the drawings 
 were made. In all these ancient pictures of looms 
 the artists have shown the stretched threads of 
 the warp, and suggest the insertion of the weft 
 thread. We can also gather that, owing to the 
 
 21 
 
What may different methods of stretching the warp peculiar to 
 be learned Egypt and Greece, the Egyptians beat the weft 
 from Ancient together down from above ^ whilst he Greeks beat 
 Pictures of 
 Looms 
 
 FIG. 10. Egyptian Loom. 
 
 theirs up from below. This is an important diffe- 
 rence, and was noticed by the Greek historian 
 Herodotus when he visited Egypt. Beyond these 
 meagre details we can learn nothing definitely from 
 the ancient pictures. We may conjecture and 
 22 
 
argue, as learned authors and antiquarians are What may 
 
 constantly doing, as to the methods by which the be learned 
 
 ancient weavers obtained the fine results which from Ancient 
 
 they certainly did, but the pictures are no help in Pictures of 
 
 the matter to anything beyond conjecture. It is Looms 
 
 FIG. ii. Greek Loom. 
 
 remarkable that all the artists have neglected to 
 observe and show one simple but universal and 
 indispensable contrivance used in weaving, the ONE 
 thing we know must have been there, and without 
 which no loom, however simple or complicated, 
 could be set to work or kept in order by the weaver. 
 
 By means of fig. 13 the nature and value of this The Essen- 
 simple but essential part of the loom can be readily tial Part of 
 explained. The figure represents a board, which may a Loom 
 
 2 3 
 
The Essen- be of any convenient size ; for the present purpose 
 
 tial Part of we will say it is four inches wide by sixteen 
 
 a Loom inches long. The construction is shown at no. I. 
 
 At the ends A, a and b, B a piece of beading, having 
 
 a rounded edge, is fixed. The headings are four 
 
 and a half inches long, so that when fixed on the 
 
 ends of the board they project slightly beyond its 
 
 edges. No. 2, is a section of the board, showing the 
 
 position of the rounded edges of the headings. This 
 
 The 
 
 Simplest 
 
 Loom 
 
 Practical 
 Demonstra- 
 tion of the 
 Cross in the 
 Warp 
 
 FIG. 12. Greek Loom. 
 
 board, when fitted up with a warp, is perhaps the 
 simplest possible form of loom. But notwithstanding 
 its simplicity many beautiful and ingenious narrow 
 webs suitable for braiding and other trimmings may 
 be made on it, as will be shown in a subsequent 
 chapter. At no. 3, the board has a string wound 
 upon it lengthwise. In this case it is wound so as to 
 make a warp of nine strings, but these may be of any 
 number possible to the width of the board. Before 
 the string is wound on to the board a loop is made 
 at its end, which is caught on to the projecting end 
 of the beading at A, no. 2. The string being looped 
 on to the beading, the winding proceeds, and when 
 the desired number of strings is complete the string 
 is carried down the back and tied to the other 
 24 
 
projecting end of the beading B. At no. 4, the strings Practical 
 
 on the board are shown intersected by the two rods C, Demonstra- 
 
 in such a way that alternate strings go over and under tlon of the 
 
 each rod. In the space between the rods, the alter- Cro fL m the 
 
 nate strings cross each other in regular succession. ar P 
 This cross is clearly shown in the diagram between 
 
 T> 
 
 FIG. 13. Cross in the Warp. 
 
 the points marked C, D. It will now be understood 
 that whilst the rods C, are kept in their position 
 in the warp, it is impossible for the threads to 
 get out of place or to get hopelessly entangled, as 
 they otherwise would certainly do. This cross in 
 the warp, sometimes called the lease' \s really the 
 one indispensable part of the loom. It is no doubt 
 prehistoric, and is universally used in weaving. All 
 other parts and appliances of the loom may vary, 
 
 25 
 
The Cross 
 in the Warp 
 
 Special Need 
 of Cross in 
 
 Long Warps 
 of many 
 Threads 
 
 Preparation 
 of the , 
 Warp 
 
 and be of either the most complicated and elaborate 
 or of the rudest possible description, but this simple 
 yet perfect contrivance for keeping the warped 
 threads in order cannot be dispensed with, and is 
 never likely to be superseded. 
 
 The difficulty of keeping the warp from getting 
 entangled when only a few threads are used in it, 
 and when the finished work is not required to be 
 longer than the loom itself, is not so very apparent. 
 But when in place of the fixed bars, or other limits 
 between which the warp is stretched, rollers are 
 used, and it is desired to make several yards of 
 material, and, added to this, the warp is to consist 
 of a great number of fine threads, the difficulty, it 
 is clear, will be considerably increased, and, but for 
 the contrivance of the crossing of the alternate 
 threads of the warp, as described above, would be 
 found to be insurmountable. This would especially 
 be the case with warps many yards in length, 
 consisting as they often do of several hundreds of 
 threads of fine linen, cotton, or wool, or, it may be, 
 of several thousands of threads of fine silk. 
 
 A length of warp much longer than the loom 
 itself cannot, of course, be prepared upon it, as a 
 short one may readily be. This being the case, 
 some contrivance has to be resorted to in order to 
 build up a series of threads of exactly the required 
 number, and of the length determined upon ; and 
 not only this, but to keep the threads as nearly as 
 possible at the same tension, so that when trans- 
 ferred to the loom and stretched between its front 
 and back rollers they shall give the weaver as little 
 trouble as possible with loose and uneven threads. 
 This process of preparing the threads for the loom 
 
 26 
 
is, obviously, called warping, and is a very impor- Preparation 
 tant one, requiring great exactness and care in the of the 
 doing as, indeed, may be said of all the operations Warp 
 connected with weaving, from beginning to end. 
 
 The ancient method of warping, a method that Ancient 
 is still practised in India, where weaving as a simple Warping 
 domestic art still survives, is as follows. A row of 
 sticks in pairs, fixed upright in the ground, is set out, 
 of the required length. The warper, holding two 
 reels of thread, in such a way that they will readily . 
 unwind, ties the thread to the first pair of sticks, and 
 then passes along the line from end to end, back- 
 wards and forwards, crossing the threads at each pair 
 of sticks, in order to keep the tension even. When 
 he has the required number of threads piled upon 
 the sticks, he inserts a cord in the place of the last 
 pair but one, at both ends of the row, tying it up 
 securely so that it cannot slip out of the cross. 
 Finally he binds the warp firmly together at both 
 ends, looses it from the sticks, and winds it upon a 
 hand-stick, or rolls it into a ball convenient for carry- 
 ing it to the loom and turning it on to the rollers. 
 
 A more compact and convenient, though similar, A Simple 
 method of warping to the ancient one, is by means Method of 
 of a board fitted up with a number of pegs, in place Warping 
 of the row of sticks planted in the ground. As this 
 is a very easy and effective way of warping a mode- 
 rate number of threads, such as would be required 
 for a domestic loom, and at the same time perfectly 
 illustrates the principles of warping, which it is 
 necessary for the student of weaving to understand 
 clearly and definitely once for all, it will be well in 
 the next chapter to carefully describe it and demon- 
 strate its use. 
 
 27 
 
CHAPTER III 
 THE WARPING BOARD 
 
 The Warping Board The Necessity for Strength 
 in all Weaving Appliances The Warping Board 
 in Use Securing the Crosses in the Warp Warp- 
 ing Several Threads at Once The Reel- or Bobbin- 
 carrier, and its Use in connection with the Warping 
 Board The Portee Cross Taking off the Warp 
 The Hand-stick. 
 
 The THE board with its arrangement of pegs for warp- 
 Warping ing is shown in fig. 14, nos. I, 2, and 3. It may 
 Board be of any convenient size, according to the place 
 where it is fitted up, but it should not be less than 
 six feet long by one foot broad, and it must hang 
 firmly on a wall at such a height from the ground 
 that the operator can reach to any part of it with- 
 out difficulty. On a board of the size indicated a 
 warp of ten yards in length, and of any reasonable 
 number of threads, can quite easily be warped. 
 A longer length may be warped either by in- 
 creasing the length of the board or by increasing 
 its width and adding to the number of pegs with 
 which it is furnished. One peg added below 
 each of the pegs 2, 3, and 4, will add four 
 yards to the length possible to be warped on the 
 board. The pegs, indicated by the letters and 
 28 
 
numerals, must not be less than six inches long, and The 
 not more than nine inches in projection from the Warping 
 surface of the board. The pegs must be made of Board 
 
 (2) c 
 
 ,..-.--... 
 
 - a o---^ 
 
 ._:7^-.-:$f. 
 
 :.v.-.a t -::v.-;u(8p 
 
 -T=- w 
 
 '~ 
 
 
 - ru^|f 
 
 -; ff 
 
 
 
 _ . 
 
 (D 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 " J^^ 
 
 z_ - 
 
 
 
 
 POHRY CROSS 
 
 TOfcTEE CROSS 
 
 FIG. 14.. ^Warping Board. 
 
 hard wood, not less than one inch in diameter, as 
 they have to bear a great strain when some hun- 
 dreds of threads are stretched upon them, and they 
 must be well made, be perfectly smooth and have 
 nicely rounded ends. The board itself must also 
 
 29 
 
The be strong and smoothly finished, and must not be 
 
 Warping less than one inch in thickness if six feet in length, 
 
 Board anc [ an inch and a half, if longer. It may be remarked 
 
 here and it cannot be with too much emphasis 
 
 Necessity that, EVERY APPLIANCE CONNECTED WITH THE LOOM 
 
 for Strength REQUIRES TO BE MUCH STRONGER THAN WOULD AT 
 in all FIRST APPEAR NECESSARY. THE WEIGHT OF THE 
 
 Weaving REPEATED BEATING OF THE WEFT TOGETHER, AND 
 Appliances THE MULTIPLIED STRAIN OF THE MANY THREADS 
 
 OF WARP, ARE MUCH GREATER THAN WOULD BE 
 
 SUPPOSED. The pegs marked A and E, and filled 
 in solid black, must be movable, but all the others 
 should be firmly fixed in the board. The space be- 
 tween the pegs A and B must not be less than one 
 foot, and the space between B and C six inches. 
 The space between pegs D and E should also be 
 one foot. 
 
 The Board The board being ready and fixed in its place on a 
 in Use wall, we may now proceed to use it. We will sup- 
 pose that we require quite a small warp, of say 
 twenty threads, ten yards long. We take a reel of 
 thread and, placing it on a short rod of thick wire, in 
 order that it may turn freely, we begin operations by 
 tying one end of the thread to the movable peg 
 A (no. 2, fig. 14). Now, holding the wire with 
 the reel on it in our left hand, with our right 
 hand we guide the thread under peg B and over 
 peg C. Then, following the dotted line shown, 
 we carefully guide the thread outside pegs i, 2, 
 and 3 back to peg 4, then to pegs 5, 6, and 7 in 
 succession until it reaches peg D, which it goes 
 under. The thread must now be carried over and 
 under peg E, and thus begin its return. Before 
 returning, however, it will be well to compare the 
 30 
 
thread on the board with the dotted line of the The Board 
 drawing, in order to make sure that we have in Use 
 exactly followed in its course. Having ascertained 
 that all is well, we may now carry the thread over 
 D on to peg 7, and so back in the same course 
 till we again reach peg I. Having carried the thread 
 over peg I, it must be taken below C over B and 
 arrive below A ; this will complete one course. 
 We have now warped two threads, and the warp- 
 ing board should be as represented at no. 3, with 
 the threads crossed between pegs B and C, and D 
 and E. Taking into consideration the size of the 
 board, it is clear that we have warped two threads 
 of a length of ten yards between the two crosses. - 
 The second thread being carried round and over 
 peg A, goes under B, following exactly the course 
 of the first thread, and duly arrives at E ; then, 
 following the second thread back, it reaches A, 
 goes under and over the peg, and four threads, out 
 of the twenty required, are warped. By the time 
 ten forward and ten backward journeys are made 
 our sample warp of twenty threads will be finished, 
 and may be removed from the board as soon as 
 the crosses we have taken so much trouble to make 
 are secured. This important matter of securing Securing the 
 the crosses is easily done, but if forgotten, and Crosses 
 the warp be removed from the board, it will be irre- 
 trievably spoiled, especially if it consists of a great 
 number of fine threads. Not only the labour, 
 but the thread itself will be wasted. Fig. 15 will 
 make clear the method of operation. The letters 
 A, B, C, D, and E, are the pegs of the warp- 
 ing board. The thick lines are the threads of a 
 warp, which may be of any number, large or small. 
 
 3 1 
 
Between C and B, and D and 
 E, are the two important 
 crossing places of the alter- 
 nate threads. The thin lines 
 represent two pieces of strong, 
 pliable cord, each about two 
 yards long, which have been 
 inserted from the front in the 
 openings of the warp made 
 by the pegs C and E. These 
 cords have then been passed 
 between the first thread 
 and the board, and brought 
 through from the back in the 
 openings made by the pegs B 
 and D. The ends of the 
 cords have been firmly tied 
 together, and by their means 
 the cross is perfectly secured, 
 whatever may happen to the 
 warp. It will be noticed 
 that there is another cross in 
 the warp between pegs B and 
 A, but this is not so impor- 
 tant. It is useful, however, 
 to pass a short cord through 
 the loop at peg A and tie the 
 threads all together. If our 
 small warp of twenty threads 
 were now taken off the 
 board and the cords which 
 secure the crosses stretched 
 out, the two ends of the 
 warp would be represented 
 by fig. 1 6. 
 
Plate VI. Spindles, Whorls, and Loom Weights, Ancient Greece. 
 See page 13. British Museum, London. 
 
'' 
 
 Section. 
 
 Securing 
 the Crosses 
 in the Warp 
 
 o 
 Y 
 
 FIG. 1 6. The Warp displayed. 
 c 
 
To warp It would be a very tedious proceeding to warp 
 several a great number of threads, one at a time, and it was 
 Threads at on ly suggested as advisable to do so in order that 
 the principle ot warping might be made clear. 
 Eight threads can quite easily be warped together, 
 so that when the warper has carried them once 
 from the peg A to peg E and back again, sixteen 
 
 once. 
 
 FIG. 17. Bobbin-carrier. 
 
 threads will be placed in order. To effect this saving 
 
 of time and labour we must use a reel- or bobbin- 
 
 The carrier (fig. 17). The bobbin-carrier is an oblong 
 
 Bobbin- frame, in which there is room for eight bobbins to 
 
 carrier. stand and turn, when they are fitted up with wires 
 
 for the purpose. A convenient handle for holding 
 
 the frame is firmly fixed to it at the bottom. 
 
 The top of the frame is pierced with eight holes, 
 
 and in the bottom, corresponding holes are drilled 
 
 about half through the thickness of the wood, so as 
 
 to fix the eight wires and not allow them to fall 
 
 through. The wires are passed through the top 
 
 34 
 
edge of the frame, through the bobbins, and are then 
 caught and fixed by the holes in the bottom edge. 
 As the frame is held upright, the weight of the bobbins 
 standing in the frame will be found to give the 
 tension to the thread which is required for warping. 
 When placing the reels in the carrier care must be 
 taken so to fix them that the threads all unwind on 
 
 FIG. 18. Two Positions of Bobbin-carrier. 
 
 the same side, and cause all the reels to revolve in 
 the same direction. 
 
 Having got the bobbins properly set up, the 
 ends of the threads must be gathered together and 
 tied in a convenient way for fixing on to peg 
 A of the warping board (fig. 14). The threads 
 being fixed to the peg A, no. I, fig. 18, and the 
 carrier held in the left hand of the warper, in an 
 upright position, it must be taken past the pegs B 
 and C and held there a little above their level, 
 so that the threads are well separated and taut. 
 Then with the first finger and thumb of the right 
 
 35 
 
 The 
 
 Bobbin- 
 carrier 
 
The hand the warper must pick out and draw down- 
 Bobbin- wards the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth threads, 
 carrier as numbered in no. I, fig. 18, and place them 
 below peg B in the same position as the first thread 
 in the warp of ten was placed. This will leave 
 threads I, 3, 5 and 7, above the peg. Again 
 tightening the threads by a slight further movement 
 of the carrier, taking care that they do not slip off 
 peg B, the first, third, fifth, and seventh threads 
 must be picked out and pulled downwards so as to 
 place them below peg C, leaving threads 2, 4, 
 6, and 8 above it. It will now be found that 
 we have a crossing of alternate threads between 
 pegs B and C. After making quite sure that the 
 crossing is correct, the eight threads must be grasped 
 by the right hand of the warper and carried steadily 
 round the seven pegs in exactly the same course 
 as the single thread was carried when guided by 
 the dotted line, no. 2, fig. 14. After having 
 traversed the seven pegs the carrier arrives at the 
 peg D. It is not necessary to take a cross of single 
 threads here, as at B, C, but altogether, the eight 
 threads must be taken below peg D, over and under 
 peg E, then over peg D, and so back again the 
 whole round to peg I. When arriving at peg I the 
 carrier must be transferred to the right hand, with- 
 out twisting the threads, so as to leave the left 
 hand free to manipulate the return cross between 
 pegs C and B. The position of the carrier and 
 threads is now represented at no. 2, fig. 18, 
 and the threads marked I, 3, 5, and 7 must be 
 pulled down and placed below peg C, leaving 
 threads 2, 4, 6, and 8 above it. Again with a slight 
 movement, the threads must be tightened, and 
 
 36 
 
threads 2, 4, 6, and 8 placed below peg B, leaving 
 threads I, 3, 5, and 7 above it. The crosses are now 
 complete, and it only remains to take the group of 
 eight threads bdow and over peg A in order to finish 
 the first PORTEE, as such a collection of threads 
 warped in one round is called. The use of the 
 portee cross (no. 3, fig. 14) will be explained later 
 Before beginning the second round it will be 
 
 on. 
 
 well to examine the threads between pegs C and B 
 in order to make sure that the sixteen threads are 
 all "in the cross" in proper succession, as they 
 will certainly be found to be if the above direc- 
 tions have been accurately followed. After a little 
 careful practice it will be found that, the portee of 
 eight threads can be warped in the same time as 
 that taken for warping one thread. As soon as 
 a few portees have been warped it will be found 
 difficult to remember how many threads are gathered 
 together on the pegs, so it becomes necessary to use 
 some contrivance for readily counting them, in order 
 that we may know exactly when the warp is 
 finished. This account can be quite easily kept if 
 half a yard of narrow tape or coloured cord be attached 
 to the top edge of the warping board above the 
 portee cross (no. 3, fig. 14). The tape has to be 
 turned back until five portees have been made ; 
 then it must be allowed to hang over the front until 
 five more have been built up, and so on, forward or 
 backward, after every fifth portee. By this means 
 the number of portees can at any time be counted. 
 Thus, five portees of sixteen threads contain eighty 
 threads, and these multiplied by the number of fives 
 warped will give the total number of threads reached. 
 The warp, of any required number of portees, being 
 
 37 
 
 The 
 Bobbin- 
 carrier 
 
 The Portee 
 Cross 
 
 Keeping 
 
 Account of 
 
 l ^ Q Number 
 
 of Threads 
 
 warped 
 
Taking off finished and the crosses secured, as directed at 
 the Warp p. 32, it may be taken off the board and wound 
 on to a stick, for convenience in transferring it 
 to the loom. For reasons which will afterwards 
 be explained, it is necessary in winding on to a 
 handstick, to begin at the beginning of the warp, 
 peg A, fig. 14; this will leave* the portee cross 
 
 FIG. 19. Taking off the Warp. 
 
 outside when the warp is all wound on to the 
 stick. The handstick should be a short round 
 stick, smoothly finished and with rounded ends, in 
 size about an inch and a half in diameter by eighteen 
 inches long. This being ready, the warp must be 
 firmly held by the left hand of the warper at the 
 point shown in fig. 19. The peg A is then to be 
 removed and the loop of warp taken in the right 
 hand, the nngers being thrust through it. The 
 loop being securely held, the left hand is free to 
 remove the warp from pegs C and B and from 
 peg I. The cross having been previously secured, 
 the loop between A and B may be made of a 
 
 38 
 
convenient length for the next operation, which a Taking off 
 careful study of figs. 21 and 2IA will make quite the Warp 
 clear, so that it needs no verbal description. It 
 may be remarked that the loop shown in this 
 figure is a most useful one, and is much used in 
 the fitting up of looms ; it should therefore be well 
 mastered once for all. The loop having been 
 formed, the handstick must be inserted and the loop 
 tightened as indicated in the bottom compartment 
 
 FIG. 20. Handstick and Warp off Pegs A, B, C, 
 and i, 2 of Warping Board. 
 
 of fig. 2 1 A. The warp looped on to the handstick 
 ready for winding off the pegs is shown at fig. 2O. 
 It may be found advisable to enlist the help of 
 an assistant in taking off the warp, especially to 
 hold it at the pegs and prevent its coming off too 
 freely. The warp may now be gradually and 
 firmly wound upon the stick, care being taken to 
 start the winding in the direction of the arrow, 
 bottom compartment, fig. 21 A. If wound in this 
 direction the warp will not slip round the stick or 
 come loose. When the portee cross is reached 
 the warp may be taken off the pegs D and E, 
 carried away and kept quite safely till the loom is 
 ready to receive it. 
 
 39 
 
FIG. 21. Making the Weaver's most useful Loop. 
 
FIG. 2IA. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE WARPING MILL 
 
 The Warping Mill necessary for Long, Full Warps 
 Description of the Warping Mill for Silk-weav- 
 ing The Bobbin Frame The Heck-block 
 Demonstration of spreading a Warp Regulating 
 the Length of Warps The Heck The Gatherer 
 The Count and Length of Warps ; how calcu- 
 lated Threading the Heck Beginning a Warp 
 Taking the Cross The Rachet and Wheel of the 
 Heck- block Mending Threads. 
 
 rhe Warp- ALTHOUGH the warping board described in the last 
 
 ing Mill chapter is very useful for small warps of moderate 
 
 iccessary for l en gth, such as would be used in a domestic loom, 
 
 w* ** wou ^ not ke convenient for very long warps, or 
 
 Warps accurate enough for warping several thousands of 
 
 fine silk threads. For such warps as these a warping 
 
 mill is necessary, on which, if need be, as many as 
 
 twenty thousand threads can be made into a warp 
 
 of a hundred yards in length. 
 
 Description The warping mill now to be described is of the 
 )f the Warp- kind used in conjunction with the silk- weaving 
 ing Mill for draw-looms of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and part 
 of the nineteenth centuries. It is perfectly adapted 
 to its purpose, and, like the draw-loom itself, was the 
 result of centuries of gradual development. 
 
 The warping mill, fig. 22, is made entirely of hard, 
 42 
 
tough wood, perfectly smooth and strongly fitted The 
 together. Its chief feature is a large skeleton reel, Warping 
 A A A A, generally five yards in circumference, though Mill 
 sometimes seven and a half yards, and about two 
 yards long. The reel has an axle, B, which has a 
 long iron pin at each end, shown plainly at no. 2. A 
 strong frame, consisting of two uprights, C, C, and 
 two cross-pieces, D, D, is very firmly fixed up, and in 
 the centre of the bottom cross-piece there is a socket 
 to receive the iron pin, E, of the axle when the reel is 
 set on end in its place, as in the diagram. The 
 reel is kept in an upright position by the pin F, 
 which passes through the upper cross-piece and ter- 
 minates about ten inches above it. This arrange- 
 ment allows the skeleton reel to turn freely on its axle. 
 A grooved wheel, G, is strongly screwed to the end 
 of the axle where the pin E enters it, and another 
 wheel, H, also grooved, is attached to a handle which 
 can be turned by the warper, who sits on the seat I. 
 The seat I is movable, and may be placed in any 
 convenient position, being kept there by heavy 
 weights, J. The grooved wheels G and H are 
 connected by a continuous cord, as indicated in 
 the ground-plan, no, 3. It is now obvious that 
 the warping reel may be turned at any required 
 speed, and in either direction, by means of the 
 handle K. 
 
 The front upright of the frame, C, is divided into 
 two for the greater part of its length, and a solid 
 block of wood, L, is fitted to it, so that it can slide 
 up and down the frame opposite to any part of 
 the reel. Fig. 23, which is an enlargement of 
 the sliding block, will explain this mechanism. 
 Between the uprights a pulley, M, is attached 
 
 43 
 
to the top of the block. At the top of the frame The 
 (fig. 22, no. i) is another pulley, N, and a strong Warping 
 
 Mill 
 
 FIG. 23.-- The Heck-block. 
 
 staple, O. The axle-pin F, no. 2, terminates in a 
 small cylinder, P, which fits over it and is fixed 
 
 45 
 
The 
 
 Warping 
 Mill 
 
 The Bobbin 
 Frame 
 
 The 
 
 Heck-block 
 
 so that it will revolve with the reel. A hole is 
 made in the cylinder near one end, a strong, smooth 
 cord being passed through it, and a knot tied to 
 prevent its slipping out. This cord is next passed 
 over the pulley N, down to the pulley M in the 
 block, then up again to the staple O, and tied 
 there. 
 
 The side elevation of a frame made to hold a 
 large number of bobbins of silk or other thread, is 
 shown at QQ, no. I, fig. 22. A front view of the 
 frame is given in fig. 24. The wires on which the 
 reels are placed are fitted into holes drilled half 
 through the sides of the uprights of the frame. 
 On one side a groove of the same depth as the 
 hole is cut, of the shape indicated at RR, so that 
 the wire can be removed by lifting it at one end 
 and drawing it backwards. This is necessary for 
 changing the bobbins as they become empty. The 
 position of the frame, in regard to the warping 
 mill, is clearly shown in the drawing. S, fig. 22, is a 
 strong staple screwed to the mill frame, from which 
 a cord passes to a similar staple fixed in the centre 
 of the bobbin frame, fig. 24, S. This cord keeps 
 the frame from falling backwards, and at the same 
 time allows it to be readily adjusted. The frame 
 stands freely on the ground, inclining backwards, 
 and the weight of the bobbins of silk, added to that 
 of the frame itself, gives just sufficient tension to 
 the threads when in process of warping. Before 
 going into further details, the action of the warping 
 mill, in so far as it has been described, must now be 
 noticed. 
 
 In the block L, figs. 22 and 23, centres the 
 whole mechanism of the warping mill. On it the 
 
 46 
 
appliance for taking the cross is fastened. It is The 
 also the means of spreading the warp truly and Heck-block 
 
 01 
 
 I 
 
 FIG. 24. Bobbin Frame. 
 
 evenly upon the large reel of the mill. The 
 apparatus for taking the cross will require careful 
 
 47 
 
Demonstra- explanation of further details, but everything for 
 tionof spreading and regulating the warp has been de- 
 spreading a scribed and is ready for demonstration. For this 
 purpose a single reel of stout thread must be placed 
 on the reel frame, fig. 24, at about the centre, T 
 (see also no. I, fig. 22). The dotted line passing 
 from the reel at T, fig. 22, indicates the course of the 
 thread. At the point in the block marked U (no. 4) 
 a temporary screw-eye is fixed. Through this the 
 thread is passed, and tied to one of the staves of the 
 mill reel at V. By the turning of the handle K 
 the mill reel will be made to revolve, winding the 
 thread upon itself. The thread will not be wound 
 horizontally, but rather diagonally, and will gradually 
 rise on the reel, until it will be found, on the comple- 
 tion of one revolution, that the second round of thread 
 will begin a little space above the starting point of 
 the first, V. This is owing to the cord on which 
 the block is suspended by the pulley M (fig. 22, 
 no. 4) having been shortened by being wound upon 
 the cylinder, P, at the top of the axle. The 
 shortening of the cord has gradually raised the block 
 L, and if the cord and cylinder are properly adjusted 
 the block will have risen an equal distance at each 
 revolution. Consequently the thread will be exactly 
 distributed over the mill. Now, if the thread be 
 fixed at the top of the reel and the handle turned 
 backwards, the reel will revolve in the opposite 
 direction, the cord unwind from the cylinder, the 
 heavy block descend, and the second thread will 
 follow exactly the same course as the first until it 
 reaches the bottom. In the same manner, if a 
 hundred bobbins were placed in the frame and all 
 the threads drawn through the eye in the block and 
 
tied together to the mill reel they would be laid and Demonstra- 
 spread as easily and evenly as the single thread. tion of 
 
 Again, any length of warp desired, from two spreading a 
 yards to a hundred, can be measured and determined Warp 
 at the beginning, by the revolutions of the mill reel. Determining 
 For instance, we will suppose the block, carrying the Length 
 the warp, is wound to the top of the mill. This is of a Warp 
 always its position on starting. Let the warp be 
 tied to one of the pegs on the top of the reel at X, 
 no. I, and the handle K turned so that the block 
 descends. The mill being five yards round, at the end 
 of one revolution there must be five yards of warp 
 on it. It follows that we have only to count the con- 
 volutions on the vertical line from the starting point 
 and multiply them by five to ascertain the length 
 wound upon the mill reel. For instance, if twenty- 
 five yards of warp are required, five revolutions of the 
 reel must be completed in each direction. In order 
 to make different lengths of warp at will, there 
 must be provided some means of holding the threads 
 at the beginning and end of the length required. 
 The first and last of the pegs, five in number, 
 shown in fig. 22, no. I, at Y, W, and X, answer 
 this purpose. The three pegs at the top of the 
 mill, Y and X, are fixed in that position, as the 
 warp always begins at the same place. The 
 board in which pegs W are inserted, is movable, 
 and is so made that it can be fixed by a wedge 
 at any height on the reel between any two of the 
 staves. The threads are first looped on to peg Y, 
 and the mill caused to revolve in the direction 
 of the arrow Z. When a place on the mill is 
 reached where it is wished to terminate the warp, 
 the peg board W is moved to the spot, the 
 D 49 
 
Determining threads are looped round the right-hand peg, and 
 
 the Length the motion of the reel reversed. As the block 
 
 of a Warp continues to fall and rise between the top of the 
 
 mill and peg W, the threads of the warp will all be 
 
 laid of an equal length. 
 
 The spaces between the rounds of thread formed 
 
 by each revolution can be regulated by altering 
 
 the size of the cylinder P, no. I, fig. 22. An 
 
 increase in the size of the cylinder causes the 
 
 block to rise quicker. This lays the thread in a 
 
 steeper diagonal and increases the space between 
 
 each round. A smaller cylinder, of course, has the 
 
 Use of the reverse effect. The pegs X, no. I, fig. 22, corre- 
 
 Fixed and spond with the pegs B and C in the diagram or 
 
 Movable the warping board, fig. 14, and the pegs W 
 
 Pegs with the pegs D and E of that appliance. The 
 
 former are for use in building the cross of alternate 
 
 threads at the beginning of a warp, and the latter 
 
 for making and preserving the portee cross at its 
 
 end. 
 
 The Heck The next detail of the warping mill to be 
 described is the important fitting which gives the 
 name to the block L, fig. 23, by means of which the 
 cross in the warp is made quite easily, however 
 many threads are used. Fig. 25 is a representa- 
 tion of the HECK, which is the name given to 
 this useful appliance. There are variously con- 
 structed hecks in use, but they are all made on 
 the same principle. The drawing shows one of the 
 simplest both to make and keep in repair. It con- 
 sists of a strong, hardwood frame of an oblong shape, 
 having an attachment, at the bottom, pierced with a 
 hole, by means of which it is firmly fastened with a 
 thumb-screw to the heck-block, as at N, fig. 23. On 
 
 5 
 
the inside, at both ends, the heck frame is grooved The Heck 
 (B, fig. 25), and two smaller frames are fitted 
 into the grooves loosely enough to be easily moved 
 up and down in them separately or together. Tied 
 
 FIG. 25. The Heck. 
 
 at regular intervals on the two small frames, are a 
 number of loops of fine, strong thread, as in no. 2, 
 which shows one frame detached. The loops are for 
 the purpose of holding a row of eyes in the centre of 
 the frame. These may be either smaller loops of 
 string, as in no. 4, or smooth glass beads, or mails, as 
 they are called in weaving (no. 3). These can be 
 obtained perforated with three holes, one large for 
 
 51 
 
The Heck the thread to pass through and two smaller ones 
 for attaching them to the loops (no. 3). For the 
 sake of clearness, only seven loops are shown on the 
 frame in the illustration. Any number, however, 
 may be used, but each frame must have at least half 
 as many loops as there are reels of thread on the 
 bobbin-carrier. Thus, if eighty bobbins are to be used 
 in making a warp there must be forty eyes on each 
 frame. The position of the eyes and loops on the 
 second frame is shown by the dotted lines in no. 2. 
 The The next appendage to the heck-block to be 
 
 Gatherer described is placed at the back of it, opposite the 
 centre of the heck frame. It is shown screwed 
 to the block in fig. 26, no. I, A. No. 2 is 
 an enlargement of it. It will be seen to consist 
 of a block of wood (it should be boxwood), very 
 smoothly finished, about five inches by three inches, 
 and an inch and a half thick. Projecting from 
 the top edge are two strong steel points, about 
 three inches long, and two inches apart. Upon 
 . these points two round, hollow, boxwood pegs are 
 made to fit. In the drawing one of these, B, is 
 represented in its place on the point, but the other 
 is shown separately at C. The pegs are not fixed 
 on the points, but are fitted so that they will easily 
 revolve on them. The reason for these pegs being 
 loose, is to prevent friction when a large number of 
 threads gathered together is passing quickly between 
 them, from the reel frame, through the heck, to be 
 spread upon the revolving mill. 
 
 The Regu- In the centre of the heck- block shown in fig. 23 
 
 later of the at O a ratchet and wheel will be observed. This 
 
 Heck-block is to enable the warper to regulate to a greater 
 
 nicety the spreading of the warp on the mill reel. 
 
 52 
 
The section, no. 2, will explain its construction. The Regu- 
 The pulley M is attached to the axle of the ratchet lator of the 
 wheel by a piece of strong catgut, which on the Heck-block 
 
 FIG. 26. The Gatherer. 
 
 wheel being turned ever so slightly winds the cord 
 on to the axle and brings the pulley nearer to the 
 block. This has the effect of raising the block a 
 little, and prevents the accumulating threads of the 
 
 53 
 
The Regu- 
 lator of the 
 Heck-block 
 
 The Count 
 
 and Length 
 
 of Warp 
 
 Calculations 
 
 necessary in 
 
 Warping 
 
 warp from piling up in one place on the mill, as 
 they would otherwise do. 
 
 The description of the warping mill is now 
 complete, and it only remains to demonstrate its 
 use in the preparation of a large warp of fine silk, 
 say of twenty thousand threads fifty yards long. 
 In warping, the first thing to determine is the 
 number of bobbins of silk to be used, and to arrange 
 them on the bobbin frame, fig. 24. The frame must 
 be fixed in the position shown at QQ, fig. 22, 
 no. i, and all the other fittings of the mill must 
 be in working order. Fifty bobbins will be a 
 convenient number, as twenty thousand divides 
 equally by fifty. This number of bobbins will make 
 each portee consist of one hundred threads (see 
 pp. 3437). It must next be calculated how many 
 portees of one hundred threads each, will make up 
 the number required for the whole warp. 
 
 2O,OOO -r IOO = 20O. 
 
 Two hundred portees, then, will be needed. In 
 order to build this number up on the warping mill 
 the heck-block must be caused to travel down and 
 up the mill frame two hundred times, a cross 
 being taken at the beginning and the end of each 
 journey. 
 
 Order of The bobbins of silk must next be arranged on the 
 
 Bobbins on frame, which is shown to be capable of'holding a 
 
 the Frame hundred, so that the fifty we propose to use will just 
 
 fill the upper half of it. It must also be noted 
 
 that the reels are counted in rows, beginning 
 
 at the top of the left-hand row. This order 
 
 must be maintained in threading them through the 
 
 54 
 
heck. When placing the bobbins on the wires care 
 must also be taken that they will all unwind in the 
 same direction (see p. 35). 
 
 The bobbins being ready on the frame the warper 
 must stand between it and the mill with the right 
 hand to the bobbin frame. The end of silk hang- 
 ing from the first reel must be taken and threaded 
 through the first eye of the heck, which will be 
 seen by reference to fig. 25, no. I, to be on the 
 front frame of that appliance. The thread must 
 be drawn well through the eye, taken between the 
 revolving boxwood pegs, and left hanging there. 
 In like manner the second thread must be passed 
 through the second eye of the heck, which will 
 be found on the back frame. The silk from the 
 third bobbin must then go through the third eye, 
 which is on the front frame, and this order of 
 alternate threading must continue until all the 
 threads pass in regular order from the frame 
 through the heck, and hang all together between 
 the boxwood pegs. 
 
 The heck-block, which has been standing at any 
 convenient height for threading the silk, must now 
 be worked gently up to the level of the pegs at 
 the top edge of the mill, and all the loose ends of 
 silk, hanging from the heck, being tied together, 
 must be looped on to the peg Y, fig. 22, no. I. 
 On the mill being now moved a few inches in 
 the direction of the arrow Z all the threads will 
 be tightened, and the heck must be examined in 
 order to see that they all pass in regular alternation 
 through the eyes of its front and back frames. 
 Any error in the threading will be at once detected 
 if the frames are lifted in succession so as to raise 
 
 55 
 
 Order of 
 
 Bobbins on 
 the Frame 
 
 Position of 
 
 Warper 
 
 when 
 
 threading 
 
 the Heck 
 
 Position of 
 the Heck- 
 block at 
 Beginning 
 of a Warp 
 
Position of first one half and then the other of the fifty 
 
 the Heck- threads. This being found correct, the collection 
 
 block at of threads which passes between the frame and the 
 
 Beginning h^k must also be examined. They should come 
 
 of a Warp o ff fa & bobbins in five distinct vertical rows, so that 
 
 the warper may be able to see at any moment that 
 
 the reels are all revolving properly, and detect at once 
 
 threads that require mending or any other attention. 
 
 It will next be necessary to remove the silk 
 
 from between the revolving pegs of the heck-block, 
 
 gently turn the mill by hand until the peg Y stands 
 
 about two feet to the left of the heck, and then all 
 
 Taking the will be ready for the important operation of taking 
 
 Cross the cross which is done in the following manner. 
 
 Care being taken to keep the threads all taut, the 
 
 front frame of the heck must be first raised. This will 
 
 lift half of the threads and make an opening through 
 
 which a short glass rod or the finger and thumb 
 
 of the warper's left hand must be passed. The 
 
 opening thus made can then easily be moved along 
 
 the threads and transferred to the first peg X, which 
 
 is nearest to Y. By another slight movement of 
 
 the mill the silk must again be tightened, the back 
 
 frame of the heck raised, and the rod inserted in the 
 
 opening, which is then to be transferred in like 
 
 manner to the second peg X. The cross should 
 
 now be complete and perfect, and as soon as it is 
 
 seen to be so the silk must be replaced between the 
 
 revolving pegs of the heck, and the warping may 
 
 proceed. The length of warp is next to be arranged 
 
 for and spread as described at p. 48. The fifty yards 
 
 will need ten revolutions of the mill to spread, and 
 
 these are to be made by turning the handle K, 
 
 no. I, fig. 22. Great care must be exercised 
 
 56 
 
in order to turn the mill steadily and firmly and Laying the 
 keep an unrelaxed tension on the threads of silk. First Portee 
 When the ten revolutions are complete the movable 
 board holding the pegs W must be wedged 
 between the staves of the mill just below the 
 termination of the tenth round of the warp. Here, 
 as previously explained (p. 37), only the portee 
 cross is required. Accordingly the fifty threads, 
 taken all together, will pass above the first peg W, 
 below the last one, then round it, and under the 
 first, which completes the portee cross. The revo- 
 lution of the mill must now be reversed, the silk 
 being wound upwards in the same course until the 
 heck-block again reaches the pegs at the top, and 
 the mill is stopped gently for taking the return 
 cross. This time, as the first opening has to be 
 transferred to the second peg, the back heck frame 
 must be the first raised for the insertion of the glass , 
 
 rod. When this has been done the front frame 
 will be lifted, the opening transferred to the first 
 peg X, and when the warp has been looped round 
 peg Y the first portee will be finished, and a 
 hundred and ninety-nine others will have to be 
 done in exactly the same manner. An excellent 
 way of keeping account of the portees as they are 
 warped is shown at fig. 27. A stroke is made for 
 every portee completed until nine are reached, and 
 at the tenth one the nine are crossed out. 
 
 On arriving at peg Y, fig. 22, after the last 
 portee has been warped the half-portee must be 
 divided and the threads cut from the heck and tied 
 in such a manner as to loop over the peg. 
 
 As the warping proceeds it will be found 
 necessary to make use of the ratchet and wheel 
 
 57 
 
The Ratchet marked O in fig. 23. Without the help of this 
 
 and Wheel extra means of regulating the length of the cord by 
 
 of the Heck- which the block is suspended the threads would be 
 
 block piled up in one place in an unmanageable heap, and 
 
 when stretched out in the loom would be of various 
 
 lengths and cause great inconvenience to the weaver. 
 
 After a few portees have been laid on the mill, 
 
 therefore, the cogged wheel has to be turned so that 
 
 the ratchet may catch the next tooth. This will 
 
 Mending 
 Threads 
 
 FIG. 27. Method of Counting Portees. 
 
 obviously raise the block a little and cause the next 
 round of warp to be laid a trifle higher on the mill. 
 As this movement of the ratchet wheel is repeated 
 from time to time the warp will gradually fill in the 
 space between the rounds and lie flat in a spiral 
 band on the mill. This filling of the space needs 
 to be done judiciously, and must never be carried 
 so far as to merge one round into the next. Warps 
 of a high count naturally require greater space 
 between the rounds. This is regulated, as has been 
 described (see p. 50), by the size of the cylinder P, 
 fig. 22, no. I. 
 
 However great the care taken by the warper may 
 be, it is impossible to prevent threads occasionally 
 breaking. These must be most carefully watched, and 
 if possible detected before the broken thread has passed 
 away through the heck. To find and mend threads 
 
 58 
 
between the bobbin frame and the heck is an easy Mending 
 
 matter if done in the right way. The warper must Threads 
 
 reach down from the top between the vertical row 
 
 of threads in which the broken one should be and 
 
 the row nearer to him, bring both ends up, seeing 
 
 that they come direct from the bobbin on the frame 
 
 and from the heck, and tie them together. If this 
 
 has been rightly done the thread will find its proper 
 
 place as soon as the mill begins to revolve again. 
 
 Should the thread have passed the heck it is more 
 
 difficult to find and mend. In this case the end 
 
 must be brought from the bobbin and threaded through 
 
 the vacant eye in the heck. If the end to be joined 
 
 has disappeared, as will be most likely the case, the 
 
 half-portee must be unwound with the greatest care 
 
 and searched for the missing end. As the silk is 
 
 unwound from the mill the warper temporarily 
 
 winds it upon his hand until the missing thread is 
 
 discovered. When found, it is tied to the loose end 
 
 from the reel, and the half-portee replaced gently 
 
 and accurately in its proper position as the mill is 
 
 turned by hand, until the heck is again reached, and 
 
 the warping proceeds. This is rather a difficult and 
 
 tiresome process, and needs to be avoided as much 
 
 as possible by watchful care. Immediately on the 
 
 warp being finished the crosses must be secured in 
 
 the manner described at p. 32, the greatest care 
 
 being taken that the cords pass clearly through the 
 
 openings kept by the pegs. 
 
 There are, of course, numberless points with 
 regard to warping which only experience will 
 teach, but enough has been advanced to explain the 
 method itself and to indicate the uses of the various 
 parts of the warping mill. 
 
 59 
 
Turning 
 
 on, or 
 Beaming 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 TURNING ON, OR BEAMING 
 
 Turning on, or Beaming The Raddle, or Vateau 
 Selection of a Raddle for a particular Warp- 
 The Cane Roller and Cane Sticks The Raddle 
 Stand for Small Warps To separate the Portees 
 Distributing the Portees in the Raddle Turning on 
 in the Loom Position of the Cane Roller in the 
 Loom Means of turning the Roller Assistance 
 required in turning on Method of keeping the 
 Warp hard on the Roller. 
 
 IN order that the warp may be stretched in the 
 loom ready for the weaver to make into cloth, it has 
 to be attached to a roller and spread out and wound 
 evenly and tightly upon it. This roller fits into the 
 back or top of the loom frame, and when spread out 
 upon it the warp has to be a little wider than the 
 web is intended to measure when finished. This 
 process is called turning on or beaming beaming y 
 because beam is the old name for the roller of a 
 loom. When we read in history or poetry of a 
 " weaver's beam " we may know that the roller is 
 the part of the loom referred to. 
 
 In Chapter III. the use of the warping board 
 was demonstrated, and a finished warp, with the 
 crosses properly secured, was described as left wound 
 
 60 v 
 
upon a hand-stick, with the portee cross exposed, Turning 
 and ready for beaming (p, 39). on, or 
 
 For the demonstration of turning on we will Beaming 
 suppose that the width of material to be woven is 
 twenty-two inches, that the warp contains nine 
 hundred and sixty threads, and that this number 
 is made up of sixty portees having sixteen threads 
 in each. 
 
 We have first to spread the warp out evenly to The Raddle, 
 a width of a little more than twenty-two inches, or Vateau 
 
 This must be done by means of an appliance called t ^ 
 
 a raddle, or vateau (fig. 28, nos. I and 2). The 
 raddle is simply a comb with a movable cap 
 to cover the ends of the teeth (no. i). The 
 frame is made of wood, but the teeth are of hard 
 brass wire. The cap has holes in it, near the 
 ends, through which the sides of the frame pass 
 in order to fix it on, as shown at no. 2. Metal 
 pins or small wedges passing through the project- 
 ing ends secure the cap in its place. The cap 
 also is deeply grooved above the range of teeth, and 
 when fixed on the comb effectually separates all the 
 divisions of the raddle. The teeth of the raddle are . 
 accurately spaced and marked, so many to the inch. 
 A warper has to be provided with a set of raddles, so 
 as to be able to deal conveniently with warps made 
 up of different numbers of portees and various thick- 
 nesses of yarn. 
 
 In order to determine the proper raddle required Selection of 
 for a warp, the number of portees it contains must the Raddle 
 be divided by the number of inches it is to occupy f r a Warp 
 on the roller. Thus, the warp with which we 
 are dealing contains sixty portees, and as it is to j^ 
 make cloth twenty-two inches wide, it should be 
 
 61 
 
Selection of 
 the Raddle 
 for a Warp 
 
 
 
spread out to at least twenty-four inches in the Selection of 
 raddle. the Raddle 
 
 60 -r 24 = 2j. for a Warp 
 
 We find then that every inch of the raddle must 
 have two portees and a half distributed on it. A 
 raddle having five spaces to an inch will accord- 
 ingly suit our purpose, and in every space we 
 
 The Cane 
 Roller and 
 
 FIG. 29. The Cane Roller. 
 
 must place half a portee. This can be quite readily 
 done, as each portee is divided into two at the 
 cross. 
 
 Fig. 29 represents the back or top roller of a 
 loom such as the warp is to be spread and wound 
 upon. It is called the cane roller, to distinguish itfrom Cane Sticks 
 the breast roller, in front of the loom, on which the 
 woven" cloth is wound. It has a groove ploughed 
 in it from end to end deep enough for two smooth, 
 wood or metal sticks to be placed easily one above 
 the other in it. One of these rods we shall require 
 to use at once in spreading the warp. 
 
 63 
 
The Cane The warp is shown on the hand-stick in 
 
 Roller and fig. 30. Into the opening at A the cane stick 
 
 Cane Sticks must be inserted, and through the opening B, 
 
 another cord, a little longer than the cane stick, has 
 
 FIG. 30. Portee Cross in Use. 
 
 to be passed and tied securely to the ends of the stick. 
 
 As soon as this is done the first cord may be cut away. 
 
 The portee cross will now be safely kept by means 
 
 Raddle of the cane stick and the cord as at no. 2. Two 
 
 Stands little supports for the raddle will now be required in 
 
 order to fix it in an upright position on a table, as 
 
 shown in fig. 31. Fig. 32 shows the warp in the 
 
 proper position for distribution in the raddle. A 
 
 64 
 
Riddle 
 
 Stands 
 
 (2 
 .s 
 
 tt> 
 
 c 
 
 f 
 
Raddle 
 Stands 
 
 To separate 
 the Portees 
 
 Distributing 
 
 the Portees 
 
 in the 
 
 Raddle 
 
 heavy weight of some kind, B, is placed on the warp 
 three or four feet from the raddle, and the portee 
 cross, secured by the cane stick and cord, is on the 
 opposite side. A piece of card folded as at A and 
 placed on top of the teeth of the raddle, makes a 
 handy rest for the warp while the portees are being 
 picked out and placed in order. It will now be 
 found that on taking the cane stick in hand and 
 gently pulling the warp tight the portees can readily 
 be separated and entered in regular succession along 
 it. By this means the warper is enabled to distribute 
 the portees at will in the raddle spaces. 
 
 The raddle will probably be more than twenty- 
 four inches long, but that is quite immaterial. We 
 must first find the central space and count off twelve 
 inches to the right of it, marking it as the starting 
 place of the distribution. The folded card may be 
 moved to within a few inches of the mark, with the 
 warp resting upon it. The first portee must now be 
 separated from the bulk of the warp and divided, the 
 first half of it, which will come out of the cross natu- 
 rally, being placed in the first space, and the second 
 half in the second space. The second portee, in like 
 manner, will fill the third and fourth spaces, and so 
 each portee will follow in succession, until all are 
 distributed. It will be found necessary, during the 
 distribution, to keep the cane stick as much below 
 the level of the raddle as possible. If this be not 
 done, the distributed portees are apt to escape from 
 their appointed spaces, and the work of distribution 
 has all to be done again. As soon as the whole 
 warp is in the raddle the cap must be fixed securely 
 in its place, and then all will be safe and ready for 
 the actual turning on. 
 
 66 
 
Such a warp as the one we are dealing with, 
 made on the warping board, is just suitable for a 
 domestic loom, so we will suppose it has to be 
 turned on, in the loom, with the roller, on 
 which the warp has been wound, fixed in its place. 
 This can readily be done, but an important silk 
 warp, such as the one described as made on the 
 warping mill, requires the use of a special turning- 
 on machine, with facilities for very heavy weight- 
 ing and a means of keeping a steady and even 
 tension on the multitude of fine silk threads. 
 
 This is not the place to explain the method of 
 fixing the roller to the loom, that will be done when 
 the whole construction of the loom itself is treated 
 of. We must therefore, for our present purpose, 
 imagine it bracketed to the loom-posts as shown 
 " 33> * n wmcn A, A are the back posts 
 
 Turning 
 
 on in the 
 
 Loom 
 
 The Position 
 
 of the Cane 
 
 Roller in 
 
 the Loom 
 
 in 
 
 of the loom, B the cane roller, and C the groove 
 in the roller into which the cane sticks fit. Two 
 assistants will now be required, one to turn the 
 roUer and the other to hold on to the hand- 
 stick, on which the warp is at present wound. 
 Before we can actually begin the turning on, how- 
 ever, some means of turning the roller must be 
 devised. 
 
 Into the roller at the place marked D, fig. 33, 
 a very strong, short screw or nail must be driven, 
 deep enough to take firm hold but at the same time 
 to leave the head about an inch out of the wood. 
 About six feet of strong cord will also be wanted ; 
 this must be tied together at the ends so as to form 
 a long loop. One end of the loop must be caught 
 on to the screw-head, and the double cord wound 
 round the roller two or three times, crossing itself 
 
 Means of 
 
 turning the 
 
 Roller 
 
Roller 
 
 Turning on 
 
 Means of as it winds. It must be wound in the direction 
 turning the shown at fig. 33A, leaving the loop E for the insertion 
 
 of the stick as at F, 
 fig- 33 B - ^7 means 
 of this stick and cord, 
 the assistant will be 
 enabled to turn the 
 roller, hand over hand, 
 and wind the warp 
 upon it quite easily, 
 although a good deal of 
 strength be exerted at 
 the other end in order 
 to pull the warp tight 
 on the roller. 
 
 The actual process 
 of turning on will be 
 readily explained with 
 the assistance of figs. 34 
 and 35. At fig. 34, no. 
 i, the warp is shown 
 with the raddle, GG, 
 and the cane stick, HH, 
 in their proper places 
 in the warp. One assis- 
 tant, we will suppose, 
 is holding the hand- 
 stick, with the bulk of 
 the warp upon it, at 
 some little distance off 
 
 in the direction ot the arrow. The other assistant is 
 holding the raddle, GG, and the cane stick, HH, in 
 the relative position, with regard to the loom-posts, 
 shown in the drawing. The warper must now 
 68 
 
 FIG. 33. Loom Posts 
 with Roller. 
 

 stand behind the loom-posts, and, reaching between Turning on 
 
 them, take from the assistant the cane stick, HH, to 
 
 which the warp is attached by the portee loops. 
 
 This he must slip into the groove in the cane roll. 
 
 To fix the cane stick in the groove, another stick 
 
 must be passed underneath the roller and the warp, 
 
 into the groove, as shown at no. 2, fig. 34. The 
 
 FIG. 333. 
 
 jj"* * j 
 
 Loop and Stick for turning Roller. 
 
 raddle must now be brought close to the roller by 
 being slipped along the warp, and the roller itself 
 must be turned once round. This will fix the 
 warp securely in its place, and at the same time spread 
 it evenly upon the roller. When placing the cane 
 stick in the groove care must be taken to leave 
 equal spaces, or whatever proportion of space may be 
 necessary for the working of the loom, at each end of 
 the roller. 
 
 The warper and the assistant holding the raddle 
 will now have to change places, but before doing so 
 the roller must be fixed so that it will not turn 
 
 6, 
 
 
Assistance back although the tension be kept on it. This may 
 required be done at any time, by placing the turning stick, F, 
 in the position shown in fig. 35. This drawing 
 (fig. 35) represents the stage of the operation now 
 arrived at. The warper must take the raddle in 
 hand and see that all the portees are in their proper 
 
 FIG. 34. Warp ready for fixing in Cane Roller. 
 
 places, and that the raddle can be moved easily and 
 without obstruction along the threads. All being 
 in order, the turning on may now proceed. The 
 warper must guide the warp, as it is turned on, by 
 means of the raddle, gently shifting it about so as to 
 lay the threads on the roller as evenly as possible round 
 by round. All the time of turning he must look out for 
 broken or tangled threads, being careful to place any 
 that have to be mended in the portee to which they 
 belong. If all goes well and the warp is turned on 
 easily, it will prove that the warping has been properly 
 done. All this time, from the first turning of the roller, 
 70 
 
the assistant holding the hand-stick with the warp 
 upon it must have been pulling with all his force 
 and steadiness against the turning. If, indeed, the 
 warp is of any considerable size, the services of 
 two or three people are necessary in order to give 
 sufficient tension to it. When a few turns have 
 
 Assistance 
 required 
 
 <> n the 
 
 FIG. 35. Warp ready for turning on. 
 
 been given, it may be well to place a sheet of very For keeping 
 thick paper or tough card underneath the warp, the Warp 
 between it and the roller. This being wound on, 
 will prevent any threads sinking in and giving 
 future trouble, as they would otherwise be apt to 
 do. A long warp may require several of these pro- 
 tecting cards to be wound in with it, but the need 
 for them will depend very much upon the weight 
 and evenness of the tension kept during the turning 
 on. If the warp on the roll begins to feel soft and 
 flabby, it may be known that a card is required. 
 As soon as the important cross is exposed on the 
 hand-stick, the warper must call a halt, leave the 
 
 7' 
 
Placing raddle, and spread the crossing threads out on the 
 Rods in securing cords. This will not be found difficult to 
 the Cross do if the weight be kept well on. When the cross \ 
 is spread out clearly, two smoothly polished, round, 
 wooden rods, pointed at one end, about an inch 
 thick and six inches longer than the width of the 
 warp, must be put into it, in the openings made 
 by the securing cords, and left there together with 
 them. When the rods are safely in place, the 
 turning must proceed and continue as before, until 
 the rods are close up to the raddle. As soon as 
 they are in this position the cap must be taken off 
 the raddle and the raddle itself removed, its work 
 being done. One or two more turns will wind the 
 cross and the rods on to the roller. The hand-stick 
 may then be, detached from the warp, and the 
 turning on, or beaming, will be completed, the 
 warp being quite ready to be entered in the loom. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE BEAMING DRUM 
 
 The Essential Part of Beaming Machinery The 
 Drum and its Fittings Friction Brakes Ropes 
 of the Drum Space necessary for Beaming Im- 
 portance of Accuracy of Detail in Weaving Opera- 
 tions Turning-on Posts Appliance for Beaming 
 in Confined Space Winding the Warp on the 
 Drum Beaming with the Drum. 
 
 THE beaming of such a warp as that described in 
 Chapter IV. necessitates the use of some mechanical 
 appliance in order to give to the threads a great and 
 unintermittent tension during the whole operation. 
 This want is met by the essential part of any 
 turning machinery, the beaming drum. 
 
 This drum is a strongly, solidly made, large 
 reel, with an iron axle, on to which the warp to be 
 beamed has to be wound instead of being turned on 
 directly from the hand-stick, as was done in the case 
 of the small warp described in the last chapter. 
 The drum, furnished with all its fittings and 
 fixed in position, is represented by figs. 36, 36A, 
 and 366. It should be in size at least two feet in 
 diameter and two feet six inches to three feet in 
 length. It must be perfectly smooth and well 
 joined, so that there may be no danger of the finest 
 
 73 
 
 The 
 
 Essential 
 
 Part of 
 
 Beaming 
 
 Machinery 
 
 The 
 
 Beaming 
 
 Drum and its 
 
 Fittings 
 
The 
 
 Beaming 
 Drum and 
 its Fittings 
 
 silk thread being caught or broken on any part of it. 
 The two stands on which it revolves must be firmly 
 bolted to the floor of the workshop as the strain 
 they have to bear is very heavy and continuous, and 
 they must be carefully adjusted in order that the 
 
 FIG. 36. The Beaming Drum. 
 
 revolutions of the drum may be level and true. 
 
 The Fric- The drum itself must be provided with two friction 
 
 tion Brakes brakes (figs. 36A and 363, B, B). Each of these brakes 
 
 consists of a strap of tough leather, about two inches in 
 
 width, and long enough to reach from the ground at 
 
 the back of the drum where they are fixed by strong 
 
 staples (C, C, fig. 36A) to the bar DD at the front 
 
 (fig. 366). It is by means of these straps that the 
 
 tension is given to the warp as it is being turned on. 
 
 74 
 
Weights are hung on the bar, and the tension The Fric- 
 given to the warp can be regulated to a nicety by tion Brakes 
 their means. 
 
 The drum must also be furnished with two well- Ropes of the 
 made ropes capable of bearing a heavy strain, and Drum 
 long enough to reach from the drum, after going 
 once round it, to the frame on which the roller 
 
 FIG. 36A. The Drum : Back View. 
 
 for turning on is fixed. These ropes must be 
 permanently fastened, at one end, to the drum, Jis 
 near as possible to the straps of the friction brakes, 
 but not so near as to interfere with them when 
 working. The ropes are wound on to the drum, 
 care being taken to avoid crossing them, as shown at 
 E, E, figs. 36A and 36s. The free ends of the ropes 
 must be looped in order that a thick, round stick, 
 almost as long as the width of space between 
 the straps, may rest in them (F, fig. 363). To 
 
 75 
 
Ropes of the 
 
 Drum 
 Length of 
 
 Space 
 
 necessary for 
 Beaming 
 
 this stick one end of the warp to be turned on is 
 attached as shown at fig. 36. 
 
 The next necessity for good beaming is a long 
 workshop, in which a clear space of thirty or forty 
 feet is available. Where such a space can be had, 
 the drum, fitted up in the manner described, is the 
 
 FIG. 366. The Drum : Front* View. 
 
 only apparatus that is required, with the exception 
 of two posts, answering to the back posts of the 
 loom, on which the cane roller is placed for beam- 
 ing the warp, as described on p. 68 and shown in 
 fig. 33. The posts specially made for turning 
 on must be fitted up exactly opposite to the 
 drum, and as far from it as convenient. They 
 must be adjustable that is to say, whatever width 
 apart they may have to be in order to accommodate 
 different lengths of rollers, the centre of the space 
 between them must be exactly opposite to the 
 
centre of the drum. ALL THESE MATTERS OF DETAIL 
 
 ARE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE IN WEAVING. IN 
 THIS CASE, FOR INSTANCE, A LITTLE INACCURACY IN 
 ADJUSTING THE POSTS WILL CAUSE THE DISTANCE OF 
 THE DRUM FROM THE ROLLER TO BE GREATER ON 
 ONE EDGE OF THE WARP THAN THE OTHER. THIS 
 
 DIFFERENCE WOULD BE __. 
 
 MULTIPLIED SEVERAL 
 TIMES IF THE WARP 
 WERE A VERY LONG ONE. 
 IN CONSEQUENCE OF THIS, 
 WHEN IT WAS IN THE 
 LOOM THE WEAVER 
 WOULD DISCOVER THAT 
 ONE SIDE OF HIS WARP 
 WAS LOOSER THAN THE 
 OTHER, AND HE WOULD 
 HAVE TO WASTE A GOOD 
 DEAL OF TIME IN 
 CONTRIVANCES FOR RE- 
 
 FIG. 37. Turning-on 
 Post fitted 
 
 MEDYING THE DEFECT. 
 
 The posts may be made 
 adjustable in the manner 
 indicated by fig. 37. A strong cross-beam about eight 
 feet long, a section of which is shown at A, must be 
 fixed to the roof of the workshop, as far from the drum 
 as possible and exactly parallel with it. As stated 
 above, the space between the beam and the drum 
 should be at least thirty feet. At the same time 
 the beam must not be less than four feet from 
 the wall indicated in the diagram by the line B, 
 for in this space the assistant stands to turn the 
 roller. A permanent mark should be made on the 
 beam A exactly opposite the centre of the drum, 
 
 77 
 
 Necessity for 
 
 Accuracy of 
 
 Detail in 
 
 Weaving 
 
 Turning-on 
 Posts 
 
Turning-on and a line may be painted on the floor also marking 
 Posts the centre of the space from the drum to the beam. 
 This line and mark will make the nice adjustment 
 of the posts, when they are fixed up, quite easy. 
 The two posts need to be very strong, and should be 
 about six inches wide by three inches thick. Their 
 length will, of course, depend on the height of the 
 workshop, as they must reach from the roof to the 
 floor. It will be seen from the diagram that the 
 posts do not stand quite upright, but lean against the 
 beam in the direction of the drum, so that although 
 when not in use they can easily be removed, when 
 the tension is on the warp they are firmly fixed 
 in their places. In order to make the posts stand 
 firm when the weight is not on, their ends are 
 accurately cut to the angles of the beam and roof 
 and of the floor, so that when in position a tap with 
 a mallet at the place marked C, fig. 37, will at once 
 fix them. It will also be seen that the roller simply 
 rests upon brackets fitted to the posts at a convenient 
 height for the turner-on to work at. 
 Beaming in If a space of thirty feet is not available for the 
 
 a Smaller beaming it is possible to do it in a much smaller one 
 Space by means of rollers fitted in a frame. The frame 
 with rollers is fixed to the wall, or placed opposite the 
 turning-on posts, as far away from them as possible. 
 The drum, with its front facing the rollers, stands 
 between them and the posts, as near the latter as 
 convenience will allow. This arrangement of the 
 beaming machinery is shown at fig. 38* The warp 
 in this case unwinds from the drum A, passes under 
 the roller B, over C, and then, turning back, escapes 
 the top of the drum and is turned on at the oppo- 
 site posts. The simpler arrangement without rollers 
 
 8 
 
is better for several reasons, the principal one being Beaming in 
 that when the silk goes direct from the drum a Smaller 
 to the cane roller there is much less friction and Space 
 strain on it. 
 
 The process of beaming when the drum is used 
 is exactly the same as that described in the last 
 chapter, except for the management of the drum 
 itself, which takes the place of the assistant who 
 holds the hand-stick and pulls, in order to give the 
 
 FIG. 38. Beaming in a Smaller Space. 
 
 necessary tension to the threads. It will only be 
 needful, therefore, to give instructions for the 
 management of the drum and refer to the previous 
 explanation for the rest. 
 
 In taking the warp off the warping mill on to the 
 hand-stick, when a beaming drum is to be used, the 
 portee cross end of the warp must be looped first to 
 the hand-stick, so that when it is all wound on the 
 porrey cross (see fig. 14) will be left outside. This 
 is the reverse of the former direction (p. 38), and is 
 necessary because the warp has to be rewound on 
 to the drum. When this has been done the warp 
 will be found in the same position on the drum as 
 regards the crosses, as it was in the former case upon 
 the hand-stick. In order to wind the warp on to the 
 
 79 
 
Winding the 
 
 Warp on the 
 
 Drum 
 
 Beaming 
 
 with the 
 
 Drum 
 
 drum, the stick C, fig. 36, must be detached from 
 the ropes E, E and placed in the opening made 
 by peg Y, fig. 22, no. I. The stick must then 
 be reattached ! to the ropes, and the drum turned so 
 as to wind the warp tightly and evenly upon it. 
 Of course while this is being done the weight must 
 be taken off the bar of the friction brakes ; the straps 
 themselves may even have to be removed. As soon as 
 the warp is all wound on the drum, the friction brake 
 must be replaced and a light weight put on the bar. 
 The warper must then take in hand the portee end 
 of the warp and carry it over to the cane roller posts, 
 where the raddle is for the present fixed, in a con- 
 venient manner, in the place that the cane roll will 
 eventually occupy. He will then proceed to insert 
 the cane stick in the warp, distribute the portees in the 
 raddle, and fix the cap on. Then the roller will take 
 the place of the raddle and the cane stick be dropped 
 into its groove. One turn given to the roller will 
 fix the cane stick, and the necessary weight being 
 put on the drum, the beaming may proceed. 
 
 When the warp is all off the drum, and the stick, 
 to which it is looped, is in the position shown at 
 fig. 36, the weight must again be taken off the brakes, 
 in order to allow of the spreading and straightening 
 out of the cross and the cords securing it. When 
 this is done and the two rods inserted as directed at 
 p. 72, the weight must be again put on and the 
 beaming can be completed, the tension being kept 
 even by means of the unwinding ropes. 
 
 The directions for finishing off the beaming, which 
 are the same in large or small warps, are also given 
 at p. 72. 
 
 80 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE HAND-LOOM FOR AUTOMATIC 
 WEAVING 
 
 Opening or shedding the Warp for Wefting 
 Shedding the Warp without Appliances Simplicity 
 of Egyptian and Greek Weaving The Headle-rod 
 Ancient Horizontal Looms and Automatic Sheds 
 Indian and Chinese Looms The Old EnglishHand- x 
 loom The Loom Frame The Rollers The 
 Ratchet and Wheel Friction Brake for Cane 
 Roller Comparison of Indian and English Looms 
 Automatic Method of opening the Shed The 
 Long Comb or Reed The Batten Position of 
 the Harness and Batten Preparations for entering 
 the Warp in Harness and Reed Gating the Loom. 
 
 THE warp, its special characteristics and the Opening or 
 manner of preparing it, have been carefully and shedding 
 minutely explained ; this will therefore need no tne Warp 
 further consideration. The method of opening the 
 warp for the intersection of the weft thread next 
 claims attention, for in this consists the whole art 
 and mystery of weaving. Thus briefly stated, 
 weaving may appear to be a very simple matter, but 
 it will be found, as the subject is developed, that the 
 warp may be intersected by the weft in an infinite 
 variety of ways, and that the contrivances for doing 
 this are numerous, and many of them most elaborate. 
 F 81 
 
Opening or 
 shedding 
 the Warp 
 
 To secure 
 the Cross- 
 rods 
 
 Opening or 
 
 shedding 
 
 the Warp 
 
 without 
 
 Appliances 
 
 So much is this the case that, instead of being altogether 
 a simple art, weaving, in its highest perfection, is per- 
 haps the most complicated of all the arts of life. , 
 
 In order to explain the method of opening the 
 warp for inserting the weft, it will be necessary to turn 
 back to fig. 13, no. I. In this drawing, as was inti- 
 mated at p. 24, is represented the simplest possible 
 form of loom. The method of weaving plain cloth 
 is all that must concern us at present, the weaving 
 of patterns being left for later consideration. The 
 tools required are as simple as the loom itself, being 
 only the spindle, with the weft wound upon it as 
 it was spun (see pp. 14 and 15), and a flat stick to be 
 used for keeping the openings wide and clear for the 
 passing of the weft, and for beating the weft itself 
 together. 
 
 The loom for the demonstration of weaving being 
 prepared as directed at p. 25, the cross-rods must 
 first be secured in their place at the top of the 
 loom. This may be done by attaching loops of 
 string to the projecting ends of the beading, and 
 twisting it round the two rods as shown in the end 
 view of the rods, fig. 39. The flat rod E must 
 next be placed in the opening made by the lower 
 cross-rod, brought a little way down and turned 
 edgeways, as shown in the section of the loom, 
 fig. 39A. This flat rod is usually called the shed-stick 
 because it is used for widening the shed, shed being 
 the technical name for any opening made for the 
 passing of the weft. Through the opening F, 
 fig. 39A, the spindle, G, with the weft upon it, must 
 now be passed, after sufficient thread has been un- 
 wound to reach across the warp, and leave the end 
 of it projecting at H. All the warp threads at the 
 
 82 
 

 back of the shed will now be covered by the weft, Opening or 
 whilst those in front are still exposed. The latter shedding 
 must now be covered by the return of the spindle ^ Warp 
 and weft. For this pur- without 
 
 pose a different opening . 1 _ Appliances 
 
 or shed must be made as 
 shown at I, fig. 398. 
 This is effected by 
 pressing back the front 
 threads with the top joint 
 of the forefinger of the 
 left hand, and hooking 
 each back string on to it 
 in succession. To do 
 this quickly requires a 
 good deal of practice; it is 
 well, therefore, to begin 
 by raising and passing 
 the weft through only a 
 very few threads at a 
 time. For example, let 
 the warp consist of 
 seventeen threads, nine 
 being in front. Be- 
 ginning at the first 
 thread on the left-hand 
 side, and pressing it 
 back, the back thread 
 
 can easily be caught on to the finger, which 
 must next press in the same manner the second 
 front thread and catch up the second back one. 
 Next the third front and the third back, and lastly 
 the fourth front and the fourth back threads must 
 be taken up. It will now be found that four 
 
 83 
 
 FIG. 39. Primitive Loom 
 and Shed-sticks. 
 
Opening or of the back threads nearest the left-hand side of the 
 
 shedding loom are on the ringer, and if the shed-stick be 
 
 the Warp placed flat in its original position, E, fig. 39, they 
 
 without can easily be raised sufficiently 
 
 Appliances . ^^ high for the weft spindle to be 
 
 passed through the opening. 
 When this is done and the 
 shed-stick again placed edge- 
 ways, the remaining four back 
 threads have to be raised in 
 the same manner, and the 
 weft passed through. After 
 the weft has been drawn 
 straight, the shed-stick being 
 again in a flat position, its edge 
 may be brought down smartly 
 upon the whole weft in order 
 to beat it together. The two 
 shoots of weft will now appear 
 as drawn between H and J, 
 fig. 39, and the shed-stick being 
 returned to its position at F, 
 fig. 39A, the opening for the 
 
 third shoot will be ready. The 
 fourth opening fe m ; de by 
 
 picking up, in the same way 
 as the second, and so shoot by shoot the weaving 
 may be regularly continued. After a little practice 
 the picking up of the back threads for every second 
 shoot will become quite easy, and may be very 
 quickly done. It will also be found that if the cross- 
 rods are of a good size the shed-stick may be dis- 
 pensed with. The weft, too, may be wound in 
 convenient balls or skeins, small enough to pass 
 
 39*. 
 
through the opening, so that the only tool actually Opening or 
 requisite for this simple weaving is a heavy fork or Shedding 
 comb to press the weft and beat it together from the Warp 
 time to time (see plate Ii). without 
 
 The above may be taken as typical of all primitive Appliances 
 weaving, both ancient and modern. There is no Egyptian 
 evidence to show that the " fine linen " of Egypt and Greek 
 or the famous textiles of Greece and Rome were Weaving 
 woven in a less simple manner. Frames of various Simple in 
 sizes for stretching the warp upon were certainly Method 
 used, and the warps often consisted of a great 
 number of fine threads. Rollers also were added to 
 the loom, enabling the weaver to make long lengths ^ 
 of cloth, but the actual methods of weaving appear 
 to have been as stated. 
 
 There is, in use amongst some primitive tribes of The Headle- 
 to-day, a contrivance for bringing forward the back rod 
 threads of the warp all together or in sections, 
 instead of picking them up separately on the fingers / 
 as above described. This is sometimes called a 
 headle-rod. It is a rather obvious improvement, 
 and, where the threads are very fine and numerous, 
 would save a great deal of time. It may have been 
 used in ancient Egypt and Greece, but there is no 
 evidence to prove it. This appliance is a strong 
 rod, a little longer than the warp is wide. It is 
 suspended in front of the loom a little below the 
 cross-rods. Each back thread of the warp is enclosed 
 by a loop which passes between the front threads 
 and is fastened to the rod (fig. 40). When this 
 appliance is fitted to a loom the first opening is made 
 by means of the shed-stick as already described. 
 The second opening is made by the weaver giving 
 the headle-rod a vigorous pull forward, and into the 
 
 85 
 
 
TheHeadle- opening thus made the flat shed-stick is carefully 
 rod thrust. When quite through the warp it is turned 
 edgeways, and effectually clears the opening for the 
 passing of the weft. 
 
 Horizontal It is impossible to say how early in the his- 
 Looms and tory of weaving two most important steps in its 
 Automatic 
 Sheds 
 
 FIG. 40. Headle Rod. 
 
 development were made. These steps were 
 (i) placing the warp horizontally ; (2) arranging an 
 automatic motion by which both the necessary 
 openings or sheds can be made with equal speed 
 and certainty. There is little doubt that it was 
 in China that these improvements were first made. 
 From that country they spread to India and the East 
 generally. There are in existence very ancient 
 86 
 
representations of Chinese and Indian horizontal 
 looms with such automatic arrangements. Moreover, 
 the fine silk webs of China and India, so much 
 valued in ancient Greece and Rome, could hardly 
 have been made in the simple manner described above. 
 
 1 
 
 fl 
 
 Horizontal 
 
 Looms and 
 
 Automatic 
 
 Sheds 
 
 FIG. 41. Indian Loom. 
 
 Fig. 41 is a drawing of an Indian loom made for Indian and 
 the weaving of fine muslin. Such looms as this Chinese 
 have without doubt been commonly used in India 
 from a time long anterior to the Christian era. The 
 framework is of bamboo, and the warp is stretched 
 between bamboo rollers. There are many details 
 lacking, as we have seen is usual in these ancient 
 drawings, but the automatic motion for opening the 
 
 Looms 
 
Indian and shed, just referred to, is quite clearly shown. 
 Chinese Altogether in its general arrangement the Indian 
 Looms loom bears a close resemblance to the hand-loom 
 of old English pattern (fig. 42) and the domestic 
 loom in the old French woodcut of the frontispiece. 
 The stuffs carefully made by hand on such looms 
 as fig. 42 cannot be equalled either in appearance 
 or durability by the productions of the power- 
 loom, notwithstanding all its claims to perfection 
 of mechanism. 
 
 Old English A careful study of this old English loom in all its 
 Hand-looms parts will now be both useful and interesting. 
 
 The hand-loom, like the warping mill, was the 
 result of the experience of many generations of 
 craftsmen. Simple as it may appear, it is perfectly 
 adapted for use either in the weaving of the finest silk, 
 or of the coarsest linen, woollen, or cotton materials. 
 The parts already described will be at once recog- 
 nised viz., the back or cane roller, the warp with 
 its cross or lease, and the cross-sticks protecting it ; 
 but the new features, the loom frame and its other 
 fittings, now claim attention. 
 
 The Loom Strength and rigidity are the chief qualities 
 Frame requisite in the loom frame, in order to enable it 
 to withstand the continual heavy beating down of the 
 weft, on which the making of good cloth so largely 
 depends. The four posts must be made of sound 
 wood, and be about six inches wide by three inches 
 thick and not less than six feet in height. The posts 
 must be joined together in pairs by being mortised 
 into the long side-pieces of wood D, D, which 
 should measure in length not less than eight feet. 
 The cross-pieces, E, E, need not be mortised, but 
 may be simply fixed in their places by screws, in 
 88 
 
The Loom the way shown in the drawing. The length of the 
 Frame cross-pieces will depend on that of the rollers, and 
 the length of these depends on the width of the web 
 to be made. For a twenty-three-inch warp the rollers 
 should be thirty-six inches long. There is no 
 necessity for cross-pieces to join the posts together 
 at the bottom. These would, in fact, be rather in 
 the way of the weaver, who should be able to get 
 conveniently to any part of the warp. In order 
 to fix the frame solidly in its place and prevent 
 the posts from shifting, four little blocks can be 
 nailed to the floor at the foot of each post, as shown 
 in the plan F, fig. 42. In erecting the loom frame 
 care must be taken to fix it exactly square (see 
 Note I at end of chapter), so that the front and 
 back rollers are perfectly parallel to one another. 
 Stays also should be fixed between the top-pieces, 
 from the ends marked with a cross, and the nearest 
 solid beam or wall above or behind the weaver, who 
 sits to work facing the front roller. Constructed 
 in this manner, of well-seasoned wood, the loom 
 frame will be found to resist any amount of strain 
 it may have to bear. 
 
 The Rollers The back, or cane roller, A, has already been 
 
 described (p. 63), and the front or breast roller, B, 
 
 is exactly like it, having a groove in which two 
 
 cane-sticks are put, in order to fix the warp. 
 
 The Ratchet The breast roller has in addition a ratchet and 
 
 and Wheel wheel attachment (C, fig. 42), which allows it 
 to be turned only in the direction indicated by 
 the arrow. The back roller is not so rigidly fixed, 
 but is weighted by a friction brake at each end, 
 the arrangement of which fig. 43, nos. I and 2, 
 will readily explain. A is the roller, with the rope 
 90 
 
wound three times round it at each end. B is a 
 box suspended between the twg ropes, into which 
 any amount of weight, 
 that may be required, 
 can be put. C is a 
 small weight just heavy 
 enough to prevent the _ -_. 
 rope slipping too freely 
 when the box is heavily 
 weighted and set in the 
 position shown. The 
 warp being placed in 
 the loom, is first suffi- 
 ciently unwound for 
 its end to reach to the 
 front roller, where it 
 is fixed, in the same 
 .manner as in the cane 
 roller, by two rods. It 
 will now be obvious 
 that the warp will be 
 
 FIG. 43. Cane Roller and 
 Weighting. 
 
 stretched in proportion to the amount of weight put 
 into the box suspended from the back roller. 
 
 Tapestry looms and some other simple looms for 
 coarse weaving are made with a ratchet and wheel 
 on the back roller, instead of the friction weight. 
 This arrangement would not do for the weaving of 
 fine threads, especially if they be silk, as the tension 
 obtained by two ratchet wheels is rigid, instead of 
 being elastic. When the friction brake is used, no 
 matter how heavy the box may be made, the 
 weight will give slightly at every blow of the 
 beating down. This kindly giving prevents the 
 breaking of the slender threads. The friction brake 
 
 9* 
 
 Method of 
 
 weighting 
 
 the Cane 
 
 Roller 
 
 Advantages 
 
 of the 
 
 Friction 
 
 Brake on the 
 
 Cane Roller 
 
Advantages 
 
 of the 
 
 Friction 
 
 Brake on the 
 
 Cane Roller 
 
 Comparison 
 
 of the 
 
 Indian and 
 
 English 
 
 Looms 
 
 Method of 
 
 opening 
 
 the Shed 
 
 also admits of a nice adjustment of the tension to 
 the requirements of the weaving, and has also many 
 minor advantages unnecessary to mention here. 
 
 If the Indian loom, fig. 41, be compared with the 
 English one, fig. 42, it will be at once noticed that 
 they are both alike in two most important 
 particulars. Both have the warp arranged in a 
 horizontal position, and the contrivance used for 
 making the opening or shed in the warp is the 
 same in each. 
 
 The horizontal position of the warp in the loom 
 was no doubt originally adopted because, in the 
 first place, it enables the weaver to throw the weft 
 swiftly through the opening by means of a shuttle, 
 instead of slowly passing the ball or spindle across 
 the warp ; and, in the second place, because it is 
 easier to arrange for the automatic opening of 
 the alternate sheds. In fact, if the interlacements 
 of the warp and weft required are at all com- 
 plicated, it would be practically impossible to 
 arrange mechanically for the necessary succession 
 of openings on an upright loom. 
 
 In fig. 41 and at letter G, fig. 42, the simplest 
 possible automatic arrangement for opening the sheds 
 is represented. It consists of four laths of wood, H, H, 
 H, H, fig. 42, joined together in pairs by threads 
 passing from those above the warp to those below it. 
 Each pair of laths thus joined together is called a 
 headle, or heddle. The threads joining the laths 
 together are not simply single ones, but are made up 
 in the same manner, although on a larger scale, as the 
 loops of the part of the warping mill called the heck, 
 shown at fig. 25, nos. 3 and 4. These compound 
 loops are known as leashes, and any number of 
 
 92 
 
them mounted on the two laths is called a headle* Method of 
 
 The front headle of the English loom will be seen opening 
 
 to have ten leashes, and the back one nine, thus the Shed 
 
 allowing all the threads of the warp to pass 
 
 through the eye of a leash. The first, third, 
 
 fifth and all the odd-numbered warp threads pass 
 
 through the eyes of the front headle, and the second, 
 
 fourth, sixth, eighth and all the even-numbered 
 
 threads occupy the eyes of the back headle. Only 
 
 nineteen threads are represented in the drawing of 
 
 the warp, for the sake of clearness, but it might, of 
 
 course, consist of any number in reason, and the 
 
 effect would be the same. It will now be seen that 
 
 if the headles are raised successively, by some means, 
 
 the alternate threads of the warp will be raised with 
 
 them, and the necessary sheds opened for weaving. 
 
 There are various devices in use for the purpose 
 of governing the headles in order to make the shed. 
 These will be described later on, but the opening 
 made by means of the arrangement of cords, pulleys, 
 and treadles shown in figs. 41 and 42, as well as in 
 the French loom of the frontispiece, is most simple 
 and effective. By its use the pulling down of 
 one headle causes the other to rise, so that while 
 one half of the warp is rising the other is falling, 
 and the clear opening required is consequently 
 made in half the time it would otherwise take. 
 Fig. 44, in which a longitudinal section of the 
 loom is given, will explain the action of this con- 
 trivance. A and B are the rollers of the loom, C, C 
 are the cross-sticks, and D is one of the two pulleys 
 suspended from the centre cross-piece at the top of 
 
 * Sometimes the loop itself is called a heudk or hook, 
 and the collection of them a leaf or lam. 
 
 93 
 
Method of the loom frame, just above the ends of the two 
 
 opening headles. A cord passes from the front headle over 
 
 the Shed the pulley, and is tied to the top lath of the back 
 
 headle. The cord^ls made just long enough to 
 
 allow the whole warp, when the headles are at rest, 
 
 FIG. 44. Section of Opened Warp. 
 
 to lie flat, as shown in fig. 42 and represented by 
 the dotted line in fig. 44. At E are the treadles of 
 the loom, tied separately to each of the lower laths 
 of the headles. 
 
 The opening F shown in fig. 44 is obtained by 
 pressing down the right-hand treadle and allowing 
 the left-hand one to rise. The falling treadle 
 draws down the front headle with all the threads 
 of warp carried by it, and at the same time, by 
 means of the pulley D, draws up the back headle 
 
 94 
 
with all its threads, the result being a clear open 
 shed as depicted. In like manner the second shed 
 is made by releasing the right-hand treadle and 
 pressing down the left. 
 
 It is impossible to say at what period the im- 
 portant improvement in the apparatus of the loom 
 was made, which consists in lengthening the short, 
 heavy, independent comb, by which the weft had 
 hitherto been beaten together, and attaching it to 
 the loom itself, enclosed in a heavy swinging frame. 
 It may be that at first the long comb was only 
 fixed in the loom, near the front roller, in order to 
 keep the warp threads from gathering together in 
 places, as they are so apt to do. It is still used, for 
 this purpose only, in looms built for the making 
 of tapestry. When the long comb is fixed in this 
 manner the short comb has to be used as well for 
 beating down the weft. It led, however, to a great 
 advance in the weaving process, when the idea 
 occurred of hanging the long comb loose in the 
 loom, in order that it might be used, not only for 
 keeping the warp threads evenly distributed, but also 
 for beating the weft together. 
 
 By the adoption of the long swinging comb, 
 needless to say, much time is saved. But more 
 important than this, the blow of the comb is by this 
 means evenly distributed across the whole width of 
 the warp, and is so equalised that even the most 
 delicate threads of silk or cotton, composing the 
 warp, are not unduly strained, although a surprising 
 amount of force may be used, after each shoot of 
 weft, to beat the cloth together. 
 
 The name given to the long comb by weavers is 
 the reed) because the divisions were originally made 
 
 95 
 
 Method of 
 opening 
 the Shed 
 
 Origin o 
 
 the Long 
 
 Comb 
 
 t 
 
 Advantage 
 
 of the Long 
 
 Comb 
 
Signification of fine strips of cane or reed, most carefully pre- 
 
 of the Name pared and fixed between four half-round laths, in the 
 
 Reed 
 
 FIG. 45, Method of Reed-making. 
 
 manner shown at fig. 45. A, A, no. I, are the ends 
 of four half-round laths, shown also in the section 
 no. 2, bound together in pairs by a fine waxed cord, 
 one end of which appears loose at B. 
 
 9 6 
 
In order to make the reed, the laths had to be 
 fixed in pairs about four inches apart, and, starting 
 at one end, a rather thick strip of cane shown 
 at C, no. I, and B, no. 2, fig. 45 was placed 
 between the laths and bound in with the cord as 
 there represented. This thick strip of cane was for 
 the protection of the finer strips which followed after 
 about a quarter of an inch of the binding cord had 
 been wound about the laths. The fine strips were 
 put in, one to each round of cord, the spaces be- 
 tween them being regulated by the thickness of the 
 cord itself. The whole length of reed being thus 
 built up, the end was finished off in the same way as 
 the beginning. The bound laths were finally steeped 
 in melted resin in order to fix everything securely. 
 
 The spaces in the completed reed between the 
 strips of cane were called dents, and for fine silk- 
 weaving there were often as many as a hundred 
 and twenty to the inch. Often several threads of 
 fine silk were passed, or entered, as it is called, in each 
 dent of the reed. These combs still retain the name 
 of reeds, although, since the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, metal has taken the place of cane for the 
 strips. The best metal reeds are still made by hand 
 in the same way as the old cane ones, but they are 
 now for the most part made by machinery. 
 
 The heavy swinging frame in which the reed is 
 fixed is called the batten, and the method of 
 hanging it is clearly shown in the drawing of the 
 old English loom (fig. 42). Fig. 46 represents a 
 batten for use with a hand-shuttle. It is con- 
 structed as follows. A is a heavy block of hard 
 wood called the race-block, having a groove cut in 
 the top, at the back edge, the same length as the 
 G 97 
 
 Method of 
 
 making the 
 
 Reed 
 
 The Batten 
 
FIG. 46. Hand-batten, 
 
reed, and of the shape shown in the section at B. The Batten 
 It also has a piece of polished beading along the top 
 front edge. This is for the shuttle to run on (letter 
 C in section) as it is thrown through the shed of 
 warp, which is so regulated that the threads held 
 down by the treadle press upon the beading and allow 
 the shuttle to pass over them. D, D are called the 
 swords of the batten, and are mortised into the race- 
 block. E is a grooved cap, also shown in the section ; 
 it is movable, and its use is to fix the reed in its place? 
 F is the rocker by means of which the batten is hung 
 in the loom as shown in fig. 42. When the batten 
 is attached to the rocker by a double cord, as indicated 
 in the side view G, its height can be nicely regulated 
 by means of the peg at the back, which shortens, or 
 lengthens the cord, by twisting, or untwisting it. 
 
 In order to complete the description of the old Position of 
 English loom, it only remains to point out that the the Readies 
 cross-piece, from which the headles are suspended, is 
 movable, and may be fixed at any distance from the 
 front of the loom necessary for the regulation of the 
 shed. The nearer to the reed the headles are hung, 
 the clearer and wider the opening in the warp will be. 
 
 The position of the batten can be regulated by Position of 
 moving the rocker backward or forward in the the Batten 
 brackets on which it rests (fig. 42, 1). When the right 
 place for it has been determined it is fixed there by 
 means of small screws being partially driven into the 
 bracket at the front and back of the rocker pins. 
 
 All the essential parts of the loom for plain To enter the 
 weaving are now described, and it is next necessary Warp in the 
 to explain the method of entering the threads of the Harness and 
 warp in the harness, as a collection of two or more Reed 
 headles is called, and the reed. Entering has to be 
 
 * See Addenda, page 340. 0,9 
 
To enter the 
 
 Warp in the 
 
 Harness and 
 
 Reed 
 
 Fixing the 
 
 Cross-rods 
 
 for Entering 
 
 Fixing the 
 
 Readies for 
 
 Entering 
 
 done with great care and accuracy, as one mistake 
 will throw out the whole succession of remaining 
 threads. It is also very difficult to rectify mistakes 
 when the entering is finished. In some cases the 
 whole of the warp, beyond the faulty place, has to 
 be drawn out and re-entered. 
 
 Fig. 47 shows a warp in the loom prepared for 
 entering. At p. 72 the turner-on is described as 
 finishing his work by winding the cross-rods with the 
 warp on to the cane roller. If not turned on in 
 the loom itself, the roller, with the warp on it, was 
 brought to the loom and placed on the brackets 
 of the back loom-posts. Two strong, side cords, 
 A, C, C, C, were then firmly attached to the front 
 posts of the loom, and, being carried over the ends 
 of the back roller, were rather heavily weighted. 
 The warp was then gently unwound, and the ends 
 of the cross-rods were allowed to rest on the side 
 cords at A. The unwinding was continued until 
 the rods rested at B. The side cords were then 
 twisted once round the ends of the rods, as shown 
 in the drawing, and by this means they were 
 securely fixed at that point, but at the same time 
 could be readily moved backward or forward on the 
 side cord weights being lifted. The warp can now 
 be regulated so that the loops hanging below B 
 will reach to the front of the loom. 
 
 The headles had next to be specially fixed for 
 entering, and for this the short pieces of wood D 
 were provided. These were tied, as indicated in the 
 drawing, to the top of the loom frame and to tem- 
 porary staples driven into the floor. The ends of 
 the top shafts of the harness rest upon the upper pieces 
 of wood, and the bottom shafts are tightly held down 
 
 100 
 
Fixing the by the lower pieces, which are attached by slip-loops 
 Readies for to the staples in order to regulate them. By this 
 
 Entering means the leashes of the headles are rendered quite 
 taut and the eyes can be readily selected in due 
 succession by the enterer. To make them still more 
 secure, which is necessary in the case of a rich, full 
 harness of many headles, little blocks of wood may 
 be placed between the ends of the shafts and the 
 latter may be bound together with cords. 
 
 Entering Nos. 2 and 3 are the hooks necessary for enter- 
 Hooks ing. No. 2 must be slender enough to pass easily 
 through the eyes of the leashes, and the flat hook 
 No. 3 must be thin enough to go through the fine 
 dents of the reed. 
 Note about It may be noted here that entering only needs to 
 
 Entering be done when the loom, or at any rate the harness, 
 is new. After a length of cloth has been woven, 
 sufficient of the old warp is left in the loom, with 
 the cross-rods in it, to allow of a new one being tied 
 on to it thread by thread. When the threads are 
 all joined the old piece of warp is drawn forward, 
 and of course the new threads follow the old ones 
 through the headle-eyes. 
 
 Method of These preparations all being made, the entering 
 entering the can proceed. The enterer's assistant sits in the 
 
 Harness space D, between the warp and the harness. Be- 
 ginning at one edge, he takes up a small bunch 
 of the looped threads, and first cuts off the looped 
 end ; he gives it two or three sharp, firm pulls, 
 which clear the cross between the rods and make it 
 quite easy to select and separate the first thread. 
 When this is done the thread is held ready to be 
 hitched on to the enterer's hook as soon as it is 
 pushed through the first eye in the harness. 
 102 
 
The enterer himself sits in the loom in front of the Method of 
 harness, with the slender hook, no. 2, ready for use. entering the 
 He selects the first eye in the front or back headle Harness 
 and pushes the hook through it.* The assistant places 
 the first thread on the hook, which, as it is drawn 
 back, takes the thread with it. The enterer holds 
 the thread in his left hand and repeats the operation 
 with the hook, only selecting the first eye on the 
 next headle, and draws through the second thread, 
 which his assistant has picked out at the cross and 
 placed on the hook. However many headles there 
 may be in the harness, the first hook in each is filled 
 before the first headle is returned to for the be- 
 ginning of the second course. The keeping of this 
 regular course all through the harness is of the 
 utmost importance. As the entering proceeds, the 
 entered threads are loosely tied together in small 
 bunches, in order to prevent their slipping back 
 again through the eyes. 
 
 Another pair of slings, marked E in the drawing, Entering 
 is placed in front of the harness. To these the reed the Reed 
 is tied as shown at No. 4. The assistant now 
 sits in front of the harness, and the enterer stands 
 over him. The enterer thrusts the reed-hook No. 3 
 down through the first dent of the reed. The assis- 
 tant holds the first bunch of threads in one hand, 
 after having untied the knot. He traces out the 
 thread coming through the first eye in the harness 
 and places it upon the hook, which is then drawn 
 up and treated in the same manner as when drawn 
 through the harness. The first thread in each 
 headle is taken in succession, and then the second, 
 
 * In England usually the back headle is first ; on the 
 Continent it is the front. 
 
 103 
 
Gating the and so on to the end. When the reed is all entered 
 
 Loom and the bunches of threads safely knotted, the loom 
 
 will be all ready for the weaver to gate, as the 
 
 adjustment of the parts of the loom for actual 
 
 weaving is called. 
 
 The gating of the loom is always done by the 
 person who is to weave the material upon it, as 
 every weaver has his, or her own ideas as to the best 
 way of adjusting the various parts for the work. It 
 will therefore only be possible on this point to state 
 the principal matters that have to be attended to. 
 In the first place, cords must be attached to the top 
 laths of the headles, preferably the back one, and 
 passed over the pulleys of the centre cross-piece, in 
 order to meet and be joined to short strings coming 
 from the other headle. It is necessary that these, 
 and, in fact, all the cords of a loom, should be 
 so tied as to be easily adjusted to a nicety as regards 
 length ; the manner of doing this is, once for all, 
 explained in Note 2 at the end of this chapter. 
 When the headles have been securely connected by 
 the cord, the slings at D, fig. 47, must be removed 
 as well as those on which the reed is resting. The 
 reed itself may, for the moment, be allowed to hang 
 loosely from the harness, suspended by the knotted 
 warp. The space in front of the headles being 
 thus cleared, the batten must next be hung on its 
 rocker in the position and manner shown at 
 fig. 42. The cap of the batten, E, fig. 46, being 
 removed, the reed can be fitted into the groove at the 
 back of the race-block. This groove must be deep 
 enough for the round edge of the reed to be com- 
 pletely buried, so that the silk or other threads of the 
 warp may press on the smooth shuttle-race, and not 
 
 104 
 
fray against the lower edge of the reed as the batten is Gating the 
 moved backward and forward. The top edge of the Loom 
 reed is next to be caught in the groove of the reed- 
 cap and the latter screwed by wing-nuts to the 
 swords of the batten. The harness must then be 
 brought to its proper place, by moving forward 
 the cross-piece from which it hangs. The nearer 
 it can be allowed to be to the reed the better, 
 so long as it does not interfere with the swing of 
 the batten. The greater the space between the 
 batten and the harness, the larger the opening has to 
 be made in order to be effective in front of the reed 
 where the weft has to be shot. A large opening 
 has the disadvantage of increasing the strain on the 
 warp threads. The harness and the treadles will 
 now be ready to be connected. A long cord must 
 be tied, at both ends, to the bottom laths of each 
 headle, as in fig. 42, and from the separate treadles, 
 exactly underneath these cords, a double cord must 
 be brought up, and joined to them by the adjustable 
 slip-knot described in Note 2. It now only remains 
 to arrange the friction brake on the cane roller as 
 in figs. 42 and 43, to remove the side-cords and 
 weights, A, C, C, C, fig. 47, to gently clear and 
 separate the warp threads and move the rods as far 
 back as possible, in order to finish the preparation, 
 or gating, of the loom for actual weaving. (See end.) 
 
 NOTE i , p. 90. -It is very important that the loom-posts Notes 
 should be set up exactly square, in order that the two 
 rollers may be parallel to one another. Before they are 
 permanently fixed they may be tested by a diagonal 
 measurement being taken from the back left-hand post 
 to the front right-hand one. If the distance between 
 the back right-hand post and the front left-hand one 
 
 105 
 
Notes proves to be the same as that between the two others, 
 the loom will be found perfectly square. The posts 
 should be tested with a plumb-line for uprightness, and 
 the rollers and all horizontal parts with a spirit-level. 
 
 NOTE 2. In order to nicely adjust the length of the 
 various cords for tying up the loom, a very simple slip- 
 knot is used. A reference to figs. 2 1 and 2 1 A, pp. 40 and 
 41, will be of use in describing it, as the first loop of the 
 slip-knot is there illustrated, It is usual to tie up 
 with double cords, as these always terminate either in a 
 loop or two ends, both of which are necessary for the 
 adjustable slip-knot. The cords to be thus joined are 
 shown at A, fig. 48. The loop for the slip-knot is made 
 at the end of the looped cord in the manner shown at 
 figs. 21 and 2 1 A. Through the loop thus made the two 
 ends of the cord are passed as at B, fig. 48, and tied 
 together in a single knot, after the loop has been drawn 
 close round them, as at C. By pulling the two ends of 
 the single knot the latter is drawn close to the loop, and 
 it will be found, that, whatever weight is hung on the 
 cords at D, the knot will not give way in the least. If, 
 however, the ends of the cord are pulled up> it can be 
 shortened at will, and if the knot is loosened the cord 
 may be adjusted with great accuracy. 
 
 NOTE 3. A large number of cords of exactly the same 
 length are often required in tying up a loom. A simple 
 way of measuring the lengths off, is to drive two nails 
 into a board, or wall at the necessary distance apart, and to 
 wind the cord on to them. If double cords are wanted the 
 skein so made can be cut through at one end only, but if 
 single cords are required both ends will have to be cut. 
 
 NOTE 4. The weaver must know how to make the 
 leashes for the headles of the harness, as well as the smaller 
 ones for the heck of the warping mill (fig. 25, No. 4), 
 as they often break and have to be renewed. For use 
 with coarse warps of linen, woollen, or cotton threads 
 
 1 06 
 

 the leashes act quite as well if made separately and 
 simply slipped, or tied on to the headles. When such 
 
 Notes 
 
 FIG. 48. Knots. 
 
 a warp is entered the action of the loom in working is 
 sufficient to keep the leashes in their proper places on 
 
 107 
 
 
Notes the headles. When the leashes are thus separate and 
 movable the harness can be adapted for different counts 
 and widths of warp, so that, when practicable, it is as 
 well to have them so. But in the case of fine silk or 
 cotton warps, of a great number of thread*, the leashes 
 must be fixed, and carefully spaced and knitted together 
 on the headles. The appliance for making the separate 
 
 FIG. 49. Headle or Leash Gauge. 
 
 leashes is shown at fig. 49. It is simply a board about 
 fourteen inches long, one inch thick, and six inches 
 deep. On the top edge are four smooth metal, or strong 
 wooden pegs, arranged as in the drawing. The short 
 loop A is made first, on the pegs 2 and I. The thread 
 is passed through it, and the centre loop, B, is tied 
 round pegs 2 and 3, being double-knotted to prevent its 
 slipping. The leash is finished off by the ends of the 
 thread being tied together round peg 4. The size of 
 the small loop or eye B, is regulated by the position of 
 the pegs 2 and 3. When a large number of leashes are 
 wanted, time may be saved by tying several A loops 
 1 08 
 
before turning the board to tie the double loops B, C. 
 The board may either be held between the knees of 
 the worker or be fixed on a table in such a way as to be 
 easily turned. 
 
 NOTE 5. The knitted and spaced leashes for fine 
 weaving have to be made on a frame prepared for the 
 purpose (fig. 50). It is constructed as follows : Two 
 
 Notes 
 
 FIG. 50. Headle Frame. 
 
 strong laths, A, A, four inches wide by half an inch 
 thick, and at least three feet long, are neatly mortised 
 into two thick end-pieces, B, B, so as to form an oblong 
 frame not less than fourteen inches wide. The corners 
 are not permanently fixed, but are held together by 
 movable pegs. A wooden lath or brass rod crosses the 
 frame, from end to end, passing through the end-pieces 
 rather nearer to one lath than the other. The diameter 
 of the rod or lath is determined by the size of the eyes the 
 leashes are required to have. Both laths, A, A, are marked 
 out in inches from one end to the other. This is for 
 the spacing of the leashes, so many to the inch. The 
 harness thread, which is made specially strong for the 
 
 109 
 
Notes purpose, is wound upon a small mesh, such as is used for 
 the making of string nets. 
 
 The leashes are knotted to a strong, thin cord, which 
 is tied and wound several times round one end of each 
 lath and tightly stretched along the outer edge of the 
 frame to the other end, where it is also wound and tied. 
 As in the case of the separate leashes, the small loops of 
 the continuous leashes are made first. The thread must 
 be double-knotted to the cord by means of the mesh at 
 the place where the headle is to begin. The mesh must 
 then be passed round the brass rod, underneath the lath, 
 and the thread again tied to the cord. Another loop is 
 made in the same manner without severing the thread, 
 and so on until the right number are made to the first 
 inch. These being adjusted, the second inch can be made 
 in the same way, and so on till the complete number re- 
 quired has been reached. In the drawing the loops are 
 shown loose in order that their interlacement may be 
 indicated, but they must actually be just tight enough 
 to lie straight on the frame without bending the rod. 
 The thread for the double loops must be tied at the be- 
 ginning to the opposite lath in the same way as for the 
 single ones. The mesh must then be passed under the 
 frame and brought up through the opposite loop, over the 
 rod, and, usually, double-knotted close by it ; then, being 
 brought over the lath, it must be knotted at the place 
 it started from. The first leash will now be complete, 
 and all the others must be finished in the same way. 
 The eyes of the leashes for silk- weaving are not always 
 double-knotted ; many weavers prefer single knots as 
 being less bulky. Single knots are, however, especially 
 when the harness is new, very apt to slip out of place 
 and give trouble. When finished the centre rod is drawn 
 out of the frame, the pegs removed from the corners, and 
 the collection of leashes thus freed is tied, by the cord to 
 which they are knotted, to the laths of the headle. 
 
 IIO 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE ACCESSORY APPLIANCES OF 
 THE LOOM 
 
 The Hand-shuttle Superiority of Hand-shuttle 
 Weaving The Fly-shuttle The Batten for the 
 Fly-shuttle The Raceboard The Shuttle-boxes 
 
 The Pickers The Picking Stick The Action 
 
 of the Fly-shuttle Advantages of the Fly-shuttle 
 The Temple The Skein Reels The Doubler 
 The Quill-winder Other Tools Method of 
 Weaving with Hand-battens Method of Weaving 
 with Box-battens. 
 
 THERE can be no doubt that as long as the upright The Hand- 
 loom only was used, the weft was passed through the shuttle 
 opening in the warp in little skeins wound on the 
 hand, or on the long spindles on which it had been 
 spun. But as soon as the horizontal position of the 
 warp was adopted, especially for plain weaving, it is 
 certain that some kind of shuttle for carrying the 
 weft came into use. The advantage given by the 
 invention of the shuttle, was, that it could be 
 thrown swiftly by the weaver through the opening, 
 from edge to edge of the cloth. The ease and 
 speed of the work would thus be considerably 
 increased. 
 
 The hand-shuttle now used for silk-weaving is a 
 
 in 
 
The Hand- very different tool from the shuttle of the ancients, 
 
 shuttle if we may judge from the few specimens preserved 
 
 in the British and other museums. The general 
 
 Qualities shape of it is, however, very similar. The chief 
 
 required in qualities required in the shuttle are slenderness com- 
 
 the Hand- bined with a capacity for carrying a great length of 
 shuttle thread, weight, in order to steady it in its rapid 
 movement, and perfect smoothness of finish, so 
 that it may run from side to side over the most 
 delicate threads without catching up or fraying 
 them. 
 
 Description The best hand-shuttles are made of good, hard, 
 of the Hand- boxwood. They are about eight inches long and 
 shuttle one inch wide by three-quarters of an inch deep. 
 The general shape and section are shown in fig. 51. 
 The front edge, lower line, no. I, is straight, and the 
 back edge, which, when the shuttle is thrown, is 
 towards the reed, is curved near the ends. At the 
 ends, which are sharp and smooth, slips of metal are 
 inserted in order to protect the points from damage 
 should the shuttle fly out and fall. The curved 
 shape of the ends is beautifully adapted for delicate 
 throwing and catching. The top of the shuttle is 
 flat, with rounded edges, but the bottom has the 
 edges not only rounded, but slightly raised, in order to 
 present less surface for friction with the threads over 
 which it slides. The shape of the bottom is shown 
 by the section at no. 2. In the centre of the top of the 
 shuttle an oblong hollow is carved, as deep as it is 
 wide. This is for the reception of the quill^ as it is 
 called, on which the weft thread is wound. At each 
 end of the hollow a small, flat hole is made, and into 
 one of these a minute, spiral spring is fixed. By means 
 of this spring a piece of thin, hard steel wire, bent 
 
 112 
 
in the form shown at no. 3, is kept in position, after Description 
 it has been inserted by pressing one end against the of the Hand- 
 spring and allowing the other end to be pushed by shuttle 
 it into the opposite hole. The bent wire is for the 
 purpose of holding the quill in the hollow of the 
 shuttle, and it is bent to the shape shown in the 
 drawing in order that it may act as a gentle brake 
 to prevent the quill being unwound too freely. By 
 
 
 FIG. 51. Hand-shuttle. 
 
 means of closing up or extending the ends of the 
 bent wire the tension of the thread on the quill can 
 be regulated to a nicety. At no. 4, the quill, 
 with weft wound on it, is shown on the wire ; it 
 may also be seen in its place in the hollow of the 
 shuttle in no. I. The quills are now mostly made 
 of paper, but occasionally a weaver will prefer a quill 
 made of a small piece of hollow reed. Originally, 
 no doubt, feather quills were used, as the name 
 denotes. As the shuttle is thrown from side to side, 
 the weft is unwound through the small hole shown 
 in the centre of no. 5, into which a porcelain 
 or glass eye is fixed. The quill must be short 
 enough to move longitudinally as the weft is un- 
 wound, or the latter will be apt to break, how- 
 
 H II 3 
 
The Hand ever skilfully it may have been put on to the 
 Shuttle in use quill. 
 
 Fig. 52 represents the hand-shuttle in use. It is 
 lightly held in the right hand of the weaver, partly 
 within the open shed, and resting on the race-board, 
 ready to be thrown by a slight, quick wrist move- 
 ment. The throw causes it to glide along the 
 beading, over the lower warp threads, to the opposite 
 edge, where it is caught by the fingers of the left 
 hand and guided into the palm. As soon as it is 
 out of the shed the hand is withdrawn from the 
 batten. This allows the reed, fixed in the batten, 
 which has been held off by the thumb of the left 
 hand, to fall against the weft and press it home. In 
 the meantime the right-hand thumb is prepared, as 
 soon as the blow has been given, to push the batten 
 away for the next throw of the shuttle from left 
 to right. In gating the loom the batten is so hung, 
 that when at rest, the reed is just at the place where 
 the weft is to lie. THE QUALITY OF THE WORK 
 
 DEPENDS VERY MUCH UPON THE WAY IN WHICH THE 
 SHUTTLE IS CAUGHT AND THE THREAD DRAWN 
 THROUGH THE SHED. IN FACT, IT IS THE DELICATE 
 MANNER IN WHICH THIS CAN BE DONE WHICH 
 MAKES GOOD, HAND-SHUTTLE WEAVING SUPERIOR 
 TO ALL OTHER KINDS WHATEVER. 
 
 The Fly- The simple invention of the fly-shuttle, in the 
 shuttle eighteenth century, was an extremely important 
 event in the history and development of weaving. 
 Its effect will be referred to later on, but it will be 
 best to describe its construction in the present 
 chapter, in which the weaver's tools are especially 
 being dealt with. 
 
 The fly-shuttle differs from the hand-shuttle 
 
FIG. 52. Method of handling One, or Two, Shuttles. 
 
 If more than two shuttles are used they are 
 laid in order on the web. 
 
The Fly- 
 shuttle 
 
 both in form and in the manner in which it is 
 thrown and caught. The shuttle itself is repre- 
 sented in fig. 53. The difference in its form will 
 be at once perceived. The fly-shuttle has both 
 sides curved exactly alike, and the metal points are 
 set exactly in the centre of the ends ; they are also 
 heavier than those of the hand-shuttle. The shuttle 
 itself is longer, and deeper and broader in proportion 
 
 FIG. 53. Fly-shuttle. 
 
 to its length. The weight of a fly-shuttle for silk- 
 weaving is from three to four ounces, but for heavy 
 work and power-loom weaving it is made much 
 heavier. The oblong hollow for the reception of 
 the quill, or spool, is in the same position as in the 
 hand-shuttle, but differs in that it is cut right 
 through. The opening at the bottom, however, is 
 not so large as at the top. It is shown in the 
 section between the runners b, b, and also in no. 2. 
 In the hollow at no. I, instead of the bent wire 
 on which the quill is fixed, a thin metal spike is 
 securely fastened. This spike is hinged at the end 
 near where it joins the shuttle, so that it can be 
 116 
 
turned up into the position shown in the side The Fly- 
 view, no. 3. For use, in this shuttle, the weft shuttle 
 
 FIG. 54. Fly-shuttle" Batten. 
 
 is wound on to small hollow boxwood plugs 
 (no. 4). When filled, these are pressed on to 
 the spike, which is then turned down into the 
 hollow. The weft, which is put on the plug in 
 
 117 
 
The Fly- such a manner that it unwinds uninterruptedly from 
 shuttle the end, is threaded through the endmost hole, 
 no. 3, and in and out of the other holes, according 
 to the degree of tension desired by the weaver. In 
 order to increase the weight of the boxwood, both 
 the fly- and hand-shuttles often have holes drilled 
 into them, which are filled with plugs of lead. The 
 ingenuity of the fly-shuttle invention does not, how- 
 ever, lie in the shuttle itself, but in the contrivances 
 for throwing and catching it. These consist of the 
 shuttle-box, the picker or propeller, and the picking 
 stick. 
 The Fly- The shuttle-box is constructed on the race-block, 
 
 shuttle Race extended, for the purpose, to about fourteen inches 
 beyond the swords, on both sides of the batten 
 (fig. 54). The shuttle race in a box-batten, instead 
 of being merely a small rounded beading as in the 
 hand-batten, is a perfectly even strip of hard wood, 
 not less than two and a half inches wide, and long 
 enough to reach from A to A, fig. 54. It is slightly 
 bevelled, and when glued firmly to the race-block 
 the surface gently slopes toward the reed. It is 
 bevelled at such an angle that when the batten is 
 pushed back, the race cannot slope outwards and 
 cause the shuttle to fly off", as it passes along. The 
 shuttle race has to be most truly and evenly made, 
 as the least irregularity on its surface is fatal to the 
 action of the shuttle. No. 2 is a section of the race- 
 block, the race itself being indicated by solid black. 
 
 The Shuttle- The shuttle-box is shown in section at no. 3. 
 
 box It will be seen that it has a high back and a 
 
 low front, C and B. Also that a groove is cut in 
 
 the race. This groove extends from the end of 
 
 the box to the edge of the sword D, no. I. 
 
 118 
 
Immediately over the groove, and a trifle longer TheShuttle- 
 than the groove itself, a thin metal rod, having box 
 
 a small flat head, is fixed. It is passed through 
 a screw staple which projects from the sword to a 
 hole in the end of the shuttle-box, where it is fastened 
 by a screw and wing-nut, E. 
 
 The picker is represented at no. 4. It is The Pickers 
 usually made of buffalo-hide, which is very tough 
 and hard, qualities most necessary for the purpose. 
 Two pieces of hide cut to the shape of G, no. 4, 
 are joined together by a piece of hard wood, 
 strengthened with twisted wire, as at F. The 
 tongues at the bottom of the pickers fit easily into 
 the grooves in the bottom of the shuttle-boxes. 
 The iron rod E, no. I, passes through the hole 
 at the top of the picker indicated by the dotted 
 line (no. 3). No. I shows both boxes fitted up, 
 each being furnished with a picker. The pickers 
 have to move freely and firmly from end to end 
 of the shuttle-box to the fullest extent allowed by 
 the iron rod. 
 
 The picking stick is represented at f^fio. I. The Picking 
 It is simply a convenient handle attacjj^to the Stick 
 centre of a strong cord, which is long enoilgh to 
 join the two pickers together loosely as in the 
 drawing. It will now be readily understood that 
 
 IF THE PICKING STICK BE PULLED WITH A SLIGHT Action of the 
 JERK TO THE LEFT, THE SHUTTLE IN THE RIGHT- Fly-shuttle 
 HAND BOX WILL BE DRIVEN OUT BY THE PICKER, 
 ACROSS THE RACE, INTO THE OPPOSITE BOX. IT 
 WILL THERE BE CAUGHT BY THE OTHER PICKER, 
 AND ANOTHER JERK FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WILL 
 
 BRING IT BACK AGAIN. This, roughly speaking, is 
 the method of using the fly-shuttle. 
 
 119 
 
Advantages The advantages of the use of the fly-shuttle are, 
 of the Fly- mainly, two: (i) The weaving can be done with 
 shuttle increased speed. One hand only is required to 
 work the picking stick, the other being left free to 
 manipulate the batten, the beat of which may con- 
 sequently be made much more rapid. (2) Webs 
 of great width, which would be impossible to weave 
 with a hand-shuttle, can, by means of the fly-shuttle, 
 be as quickly woven as narrow ones. It is very 
 rare to find any woven stuff, more than thirty inches 
 wide, made before the invention of the fly-shuttle. 
 If ever such wide work were attempted, two weavers 
 were em ployed, one to throw, and the other to catch 
 the shuttle. 
 
 It should also be noted, that, the invention of the 
 fly-shuttle rendered that of the power-loom possible, 
 the throwing of the shuttle being the chief difficulty 
 which the inventors, who attempted to apply steam- 
 power to the loom, had to overcome. 
 
 The Temple The temple is an appliance that should not often 
 be required in hand-loom weaving. If the warp and 
 weft are properly proportioned one to another, the 
 cloth, as it is woven, will not " draw in " narrower 
 than the entering of the warp in the reed, to any 
 appreciable extent. When, however, it is found 
 that this " drawing in " takes place, it may be 
 readily corrected by the use of the temple. 
 
 The temple for hand-loom weaving is quite 
 simple in construction. Two pieces of hard wood 
 are cut to the shape shown in fig. 55, no. I. 
 At the broad end of each of these a row of fine 
 points is set. These, when joined together, are for 
 the purpose of holding out the edges, of the material 
 being woven, to the required width. The means 
 
 120 
 
of adjusting the length of the temple are shown at The Temple 
 
 A and B, nos. I and 2. A is a loose metal band 
 
 fitting closely to the two parts of the implement. 
 
 B is a long pin, which may be put through any 
 
 of the holes in the two members, in order to join 
 
 them together. The pin is first inserted, and the 
 
 temple placed on the cloth a few inches from the 
 
 reed, with the end points catching the edges of the 
 
 FIG. 55. Temple. 
 
 material. This position is shown at no. 3. When 
 placed thus, if the temple be pressed down it will 
 slightly force out the edges of the web. The metal 
 band A will keep it flat if slipped on as at no. 2. 
 
 When the weft is supplied to the weaver in skeins, 
 a pair of reels, mounted on a stand in such a manner 
 that the distance between them can be regulated, will 
 be required (fig. 56). The upright of the stand has a 
 slot cut in it for the greater part of its length. The 
 reels revolve on elongated axles, and may be fixed in 
 the slot, at any height, by means of a screw and 
 collar. This is for the purpose of adjusting them 
 to different-sized skeins. The weft is usually wound 
 
 121 
 
 The Skein 
 Reels 
 
The Skein first on to bobbins, and from the bobbins on to the 
 Reels quills or plugs ready for filling the shuttle. 
 The Several threads of weft often have to be slightly 
 
 Doubler & twisted together in 
 
 order to make up the 
 required thickness for 
 each shoot. It is 
 seldom, indeed, that a 
 weft is made up of less 
 than two ends. The 
 little contrivance 
 generally used for 
 this doubling, as it is 
 called, is shown in 
 fig. 57. It has a 
 solid square stand> A, 
 and an upright, B, 
 from the top of which 
 a short arm extends, 
 having a smooth 
 hook, C, at the end of 
 it. About afoot above 
 the stand there is a 
 shelf, D, in the centre 
 of which a thin tube 
 of glass, or metal, is 
 fitted into a hole. 
 The tube is small 
 enough to go through 
 the hole in a bobbin 
 
 when one is stood over it in the centre of the 
 shelf. For example, let it be supposed that four 
 threads of weft have to be wound together on a quill. 
 Three bobbins must be placed on end, near together, 
 122 
 
 FIG. 56. Skein-winder. 
 
on the stand, in such a position that the silk upon 
 
 them all unwinds in the same direction. The three 
 
 ends of thread from these bobbins have to be carried 
 
 up through the 
 
 tube in the shelf 
 
 D, on which the 
 
 full bobbin, E, has 
 
 previously been 
 
 placed, as shown 
 
 in the drawing. 
 
 The ends of the 
 
 threads from the 
 
 four bobbins are 
 
 then taken over 
 
 the hook C, and 
 
 as the silk is 
 
 drawn off the 
 
 bobbins, that from 
 
 E gently winds 
 
 round the other 
 
 three threads and 
 
 loosely unites 
 
 them. No. 2 
 
 shows the shape 
 
 of the rimless 
 
 bobbins used for 
 
 weft. 
 
 The quill- 
 
 The 
 Doubler 
 
 FIG. 57. Doubling Stand. 
 
 winder is a very important adjunct to the loom, as 
 good winding is very necessary for successful weaving. 
 This is especially the case when several threads are 
 wound together on the quills. A drawing of the 
 most useful kind of winder is given in fig. 58. 
 A small, low table, about two feet long, has two, 
 
 123 
 
 The Quill- 
 winder 
 
The Quill- firm uprights fixed near the right-hand end. Between 
 
 winder these a small, heavy wheel, having a broad, shallow 
 
 groove on its edge, is truly poised on an axle, which 
 
 terminates in a small handle. By means of this 
 
 handle, the wheel can easily be made to revolve with 
 
 FIG. 58. Quill- or Plug-winder. 
 
 great rapidity. At the opposite end of the table a 
 slot, A, is cut, and into this a shaped block is 
 made to fit. The large screw C, which, after passing 
 through the edge of the stand into the slot, runs into 
 the block, not only secures it firmly in position, but 
 is used to regulate the distance between the block 
 and the wheel. D, D is a pair of thick leather 
 bearings, in which a metal spindle, having a pulley in 
 its centre, is carefully fitted. The pulley is connected 
 by a cord to the large wheel, and the latter being 
 turned causes the spindle to revolve with great rapidity. 
 The elongated end of the spindle E is tapered, so that 
 the hollow plugs or quills can be fixed on it, and on 
 these the weft is wound very carefully as the spindle 
 124 
 
revolves, and with perfect evenness (see Note I at 
 end of chapter, p. 127). 
 
 Fig. 59 represents the weaver's shears, the picker 
 and nipper, and 
 the rubber 
 The shears and 
 nipper are in 
 constant requi- 
 sition, but need 
 no explanation. 
 The rubber is 
 made of sheet 
 steel, with a 
 wooden handle, 
 and is used for 
 rubbing the 
 surface of the 
 woven material 
 after it has been 
 cleared of knots 
 and ends. Its 
 
 FIG. 59. Shears, Picker and Nipper, 
 and Rubber. 
 
 use is particularly needed in plain silk-weaving, the 
 evenness and beauty of which it much enhances. 
 
 The hand-loom for plain weaving and all its 
 appliances, as well as the necessary preparations 
 for the work itself, having been described, the actual 
 process of making cloth, both by hand-shuttle and fly- 
 shuttle, will only require a very brief explanation. 
 For this purpose reference must again be made to 
 fig. 42, which fairly represents a gated loom, except 
 in respect to the harness, which is placed too far 
 from the batten. This was purposely done in order 
 to show the headles quite clearly. 
 
 The weaver takes his seat in the loom, his feet 
 
 125 
 
 The Quill- 
 winder 
 
 The Shears, 
 
 Nipper and 
 
 Rubber 
 
 Method of 
 Weaving 
 
Method of lightly resting on the treadles. He begins by 
 Weaving pressing with his left foot the treadle on which 
 it rests. This immediately raises the back headle 
 and depresses the front one. The result of this 
 action is the first open shed. On pushing back the 
 batten a few inches, by pressing the thumb of his 
 left hand against it, a part of the shed appears in 
 front of the reed, and if the loom be properly gated, 
 the opening will be found large enough for the 
 insertion of the shuttle. The method of throwing 
 the hand-shuttle has already been fully described at 
 p. 114, and should here be referred to, together with 
 fig- 5 2 > which shows the hand-shuttle in use. It 
 must be added, however, that as soon as the shed 
 is free from the shuttle after every shoot, and the 
 batten is released in order to beat the weft into 
 place, the opposite treadle must simultaneously be 
 used and the shed changed. This prevents the 
 newly laid weft from springing out of position, and 
 makes all ready for the following shoot. It must 
 also be emphasized, that, when catching the shuttle 
 after the second and following shoots, the weaver 
 gives a slight pull to it, which causes the weft to lie 
 straight in the warp, and brings it exactly to the edge, 
 where it turns in, at the opposite side. Unless this 
 is properly done the selvage will be disfigured either 
 by a pucker or a loose loop. 
 
 As the weaving progresses the breast roller has to 
 be turned from time to time, in order to roll the 
 newly made cloth upon it. This is done by means 
 of a short, strong stick which fits into the holes in 
 the roller, one of which is shown near C, fig. 42. 
 (See take-up motion, note 2, at end of chapter). 
 
 With regard to the friction brake on the cane 
 
 126 
 
roller, both the heavy and light weights must be 
 kept suspended. Neither must be allowed to 
 approach too near either to the roller or the floor, 
 or their effect will be marred. 
 
 When the box-batten and fly-shuttle are used, 
 the left hand of the weaver is kept on the cap of 
 the reed (fig. 54), near to its centre, and the right 
 hand holds the picking stick. The way the box- 
 batten is balanced in the loom is rather different 
 from that of the hand-batten. Instead of the weaver 
 merely allowing the batten to fall against the weft 
 to beat it together, in this case, he pulls the batten 
 towards him with his left hand, with whatever 
 force is required for the blow. The box-batten, 
 therefore, is not hung so near to the front of the 
 loom as the hand-batten. The quality of the work, 
 when the fly-shuttle is used, depends, of course, 
 mostly upon the way in which the picking stick is 
 manipulated. The shuttle has not only to be 
 driven by a jerk of the hand, but to be caught on 
 the picker at the other edge in such a way as to 
 cause it gently to slide into the shuttle-box without 
 any rebound. The knack of doing this, as it should 
 be done, by a simple drop of the hand, is only to be 
 acquired after a great deal of practice. The even- 
 ness of the selvages of the web, which is the final 
 test of good weaving, depends almost entirely upon 
 the manner in which the shuttle is caught in the box. 
 
 NOTE i . The winding of the plugs or quills for the 
 shuttle is most important. If it be badly done it is im- 
 possible to do good weaving. This is particularly the case 
 with regard to winding for the fly-shuttle. Loose, uneven 
 shoots, knots, loops, and all sorts of disfigurements in the 
 web, arc the result of careless winding ; to say nothing 
 
 127 
 
 Method of 
 Weaving 
 
 Weaving 
 with Box- 
 battens and 
 Fly-Shuttle 
 
 Notes 
 
Notes of breaking threads and the flying out of the shuttle 
 from the loom. Fig. 59A will show the proper method 
 of winding the weft. No. I is the correct shape of a 
 wound quill. No. 2 shows the way it should be started. 
 The thread must first be wound from A to B, and each 
 layer should gradually dimmish in length until the shape 
 of No. I is attained, and is finished off in the centre. 
 
 FIG. 59A. Quills and Plugs. 
 
 The plug for the fly-shuttle (no. 3) must be so wound, 
 that it will run off clearly from the point. It must be 
 filled up at the thick end, to its full size, and the shape 
 of no. 4 must be retained until it is finished off at the 
 thin end. A well- wound plug will run off quite freely 
 from the fixed plug, in a single thread, from beginning 
 to end. A badly wound, soft quill or plug will come off 
 in lumps, get entangled, and give much trouble to the 
 weaver. 
 
 NOTE 2. What is called a take-up motion is some- 
 times fitted to a hand-loom. This is an arrangement of 
 cog-wheels, or worm and wheel, which causes the cloth to 
 wind on to the breast roller automatically as it is woven. 
 That this is not necessary is proved by the fact that weavers 
 usually wind the motion by hand, instead of connecting 
 it to their treadles or Jacquard machine, as is intended. 
 
 128 
 
Plate VII. Tapestry Ornaments. Fragment of a Robe of Amenhetep II., 
 
 found in the Tomb of Thothmes IV. Amenhetep, whose Ka name 
 
 is woven in the design, reigned in Egypt, B.C. 1500. 
 
 See page 133. 
 
 FRONTISPIECE TO PART II. 
 
 Cairo Museum. 
 
PART II 
 SIMPLE PATTERN-WEAVING 
 
PART II 
 SIMPLE PATTERN-WEAVING 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 TA PESTRY-WE AVING 
 
 A Definition of Pattern-weaving Ancient Textile 
 Decoration The Origin of Tapestry-weaving 
 Tapestry a Variety of Plain Weaving The Effect 
 of tight and loose Wefting Tapestry-weaving 
 necessarily an Artistic Handicraft Tapestry akin 
 to Embroidery. 
 
 THE art of pattern-weaving consists in the 
 mechanical repetition of a simple or a complex 
 ornamental design, wrought in as the fabric is 
 being woven, and occurring at regular intervals in 
 more or less obvious geometrical shapes and spaces. 
 With this kind of pattern-weaving there is no 
 evidence to prove that the ancients, with the 
 exception, perhaps, of the Chinese, had any ac- 
 quaintance. The webs of Egypt were famous 
 throughout the ancient world, and the Egyptians 
 exchanged the productions of their looms for the 
 manufactures and other merchandise of neighbour- 
 ing, and even far-distant, nations ; but amongst all 
 the examples of Egyptian webs, so many of which 
 
 Definition 
 of Pattern- 
 weaving 
 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 Unknown to 
 the Ancients 
 
Pattern- have been preserved to the present time, there have 
 weaving been found no specimens of mechanical pattern- 
 CJnknown to weaving. It is true that a few trifling attempts seem 
 the Ancients to have been made to vary the texture and appear- 
 ance of these ancient weavings, by means of the use, 
 both in warp and weft, of different-sized and different- 
 coloured threads, but even these are extremely rare, 
 and in some cases may even be accidental. 
 
 The Kind of Although the mechanical weaving of design does 
 Textile not seem to have been practised by the ancient 
 Decoration Egyptians, it must not be supposed that the plain, 
 practised by fi ne we bs made by them remained undecorated, for, 
 the Ancients on ^g contrary, many of them were highly orna- 
 mented. Such ornamentation, however, was not 
 produced in the loom automatically or in the actual 
 texture of the fabric. It was added to the 
 material either when in progress or after it was 
 finished, and was done by means of painting, 
 dyeing, stencilling, stamping, printing, or em- 
 broidery, with or without a needle. The designs 
 thus applied to these ancient textiles consisted, for 
 the most part, of bands of ornament and detached 
 spots powdered over the ground. 
 
 Origin of Towards the middle of the dynastic period in 
 Tapestry- Egypt (B.C. 2000) the fine linen mummy-cloths, 
 weaving which had hitherto been quite plain, are found to 
 have stripes of different-coloured weft, occasionally 
 shot across them. They also often have short 
 spaces of warp left unwoven, forming bands across 
 the material. It may well be assumed that the idea 
 of darning in a pattern on these bare spaces of warp, 
 in imitation of the applied borders of ordinary needle- 
 work, would occur to some enterprising embroiderer, 
 and, being carried out, would be the beginning of a 
 I 3 2 
 
new form of textile decoration. This in turn might 
 lead to the cutting away of the weft in spots and 
 spaces, as in drawn-thread work, and to these being 
 filled in with darning in a similar manner. At any 
 rate, whatever may have been its origin, there is 
 now evidence that such work was done in great 
 perfection as early as B.C. 1500. It was practised 
 as a traditional method for the ornamentation of 
 woven materials in Egypt until the Ptolemaic period 
 (B.C. 305), was continued through the Roman period 
 and during the early centuries of the Christian 
 era. The British Museum and the Victoria and 
 Albert Museum at South Kensington are par- 
 ticularly rich in specimens of the Egypto-Roman 
 work, but at present there are only three samples 
 of ancient Egyptian weaving of this kind known to 
 exist. These are in the museum at Cairo. They 
 were found in 1893, in the tomb of Thothmes IV., 
 who reigned in Egypt B.C. 1450. The smallest 
 and oldest piece or the three has, worked into 
 it, the cartouch of Amenhetep II., who reigned 
 fifty years earlier than Thothmes IV. They 
 are fine, delicate pieces of workmanship, and must 
 be typical of the best textiles of that period 
 (plate vn).* 
 
 With regard not only to Egyptian, but to almost 
 all ancient, ornamental textiles of earlier date than 
 A.D. 600, it may safely be said, that, however 
 elaborate they may seem to be, they exhibit only 
 two sorts of simple, plain weaving, and that these 
 two sorts of weaving only differ in the manner in 
 which the weft is laid in the warp. 
 
 * For a full and interesting description of these precious 
 fragments see Mr. W. G. Thomson's " History of Tapestry." 
 
 133 
 
 Origin of 
 Tapestry- 
 weaving 
 
 Ancient 
 
 Ornamental 
 
 Textiles 
 
 consist of 
 
 only Two 
 
 Sorts of 
 
 Plain 
 
 Weaving 
 
Ancient 
 Ornamental 
 
 Textiles 
 consist of 
 only Two 
 
 Sorts of 
 Plain 
 
 Weaving 
 
 Example of 
 
 Tight and 
 
 Loose 
 
 Wefting 
 
 In the plain ground of these ancient webs, the 
 weft is passed across in the shed with sufficient 
 tension to pull it straight, as has been fully ex- 
 plained in Part I., on plain weaving. The effect 
 of this is, that the warp and weft show in almost 
 equal proportion in the finished material. For the 
 ornamental parts, however, the weft is placed quite 
 slackly in the shed, with the result, that, when it is 
 pressed down, the warp is completely covered up 
 and hidden by it. For example, if a white warp be 
 shot with white weft in the ordinary way, white 
 cloth will, of course, be made. But if the weft be 
 changed to black for, say, twelve shoots, a grey stripe 
 or band, across the material, will be made by the 
 mixture of the black weft with the white warp, 
 each showing equally. If, instead of the black 
 weft being shot in the usual way, it be put in quite 
 loosely, the first shoot, when pressed down, will cover 
 the first, third, and all the odd-numbered threads in 
 the front, and the second and all the even-numbered 
 ones at the back. The next shoot will cover the 
 even-numbered threads in the front and the odd- 
 numbered ones at the back, so that, the two shoots 
 together will make a continuous line of black weft 
 right across the cloth. If the loose wefting be 
 continued for twenty-four shoots, the result will be 
 a band of solid black, of about the same measure- 
 ment as the grey band obtained by the ordinary 
 manner of weaving. 
 
 In fig. 60, a piece of cloth worked, in the above 
 manner, in two sorts of tabby weaving is shown. 
 At A, A, A, A the white warp and weft are inter- 
 laced in the usual manner. At B, the white warp 
 is shot in the same way, but with a black weft, thus 
 
 134 
 
FIG. 60. Bands of Tabby and Tapestry- 
 Weaving. 
 
Loose 
 Wefting 
 
 Example of forming a grey band. At C the white warp is 
 Tight and shot loosely with black weft, so that the warp is 
 entirely hidden. At D the loose weft, instead 
 of being carried right across, is worked up in 
 pyramidal shapes, from their bases on nine threads 
 to their point on one thread. Into the spaces 
 between these pyramids, diamond shapes, in some 
 other colour are fitted, still with loose weft. They 
 begin on a single thread, and, after filling the 
 space, are diminished again to a point. The 
 triangular shapes now remaining, are filled in with 
 black, until a line is reached at which the ordinary 
 white ta by weaving again begins. 
 
 This is precisely the method in which all the 
 beautiful textiles of ancient production, that re- 
 main to us, were woven. Figs. 6 1 and 6iA are 
 examples copied from the borders of a Coptic textile 
 in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The exquisite 
 designs of these tapestry-woven ornaments in plain 
 linen webs, have often been commented on, but the 
 technique of the work has seldom, if ever, been 
 described. The spaces for the patterns were either 
 left unwoven, or the weft was cut away, in the desired 
 shapes, after the length of fabric was taken out of 
 the loom, as in drawn-thread work. On the warp 
 threads thus laid bare, the pattern, in two or more 
 colours, was darned by means of a needle, or worked 
 in with the fingers, the loose weft being passed 
 backward and forward between alternate threads in 
 the manner above described. 
 
 There are no examples remaining from classic 
 times of tapestry hangings of any considerable size, 
 but it may be assumed that the famous picture 
 tapestries, so often referred to in Greek and Roman 
 
 136 
 
Example of 
 Tight and 
 
 Loose 
 Wefting 
 
 FIG. 61. Coptic Border. 
 
 history and poetry, were made in the same manner 
 as the textile 'ornaments of these Egypto-Roman 
 and Coptic webs that is, they were a mosaic of many 
 coloured pieces of simple weaving with a loose weft, 
 the plain ground between the ornaments probably 
 being entirely dispensed with. Whatever may have 
 been the technique of these ancient works, there is 
 no doubt that this was the simple method used in 
 weaving the wonderful Mediaeval, Renaissance, and 
 later tapestries with which our museums and private j 
 collections abound. It is an interesting fact, that, \V 
 the loose weft cannot be put in by machinery, or 
 
 FIG. 6 1 A. Coptic Border. 
 
 '37 
 
Tapestry- 
 weaving 
 necessarily a 
 Purely 
 Artistic 
 Handicraft 
 
 Tapestry 
 
 akin to 
 
 Embroidery 
 
 thrown swiftly across the web in a shuttle. As this 
 must always be done with judgment, tapestry- 
 weaving is likely to remain a purely artistic handi- 
 craft as it has ever been. 
 
 Tapestry-weaving is really, as has been pointed 
 out, akin to embroidery, and only differs from it, in 
 that it is freely darned or woven in the simplest 
 manner on a bare warp, instead of being wrought 
 upon an already woven material. It was therefore 
 quite appropriate, that it should have been treated 
 of in the volume of the present series devoted to 
 needlework. To that book any reader desirous of 
 following out the subject in detail must be referred.* 
 It was necessary, however, to give some little 
 attention to the matter here, in order that the 
 automatic weaving of repeated pattern might be 
 clearly distinguished from tapestry-weaving. 
 
 * "Embroidery and Tapestry-weaving," by Mr. 
 A. H. Christie. Artistic Crafts Series of Handbooks 
 (John Hogg, publisher). 
 
 138 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SIMPLEST WARP AND WEFT 
 EFFECTS OF PATTERN 
 
 Further Definition of Pattern-weaving Patterns 
 possible on the Loom with only Two Readies The 
 Striped Webs of India Ancient Use of Striped 
 Cotton Hangings Patterns resulting from striping 
 the Warp East African Woven Design Various 
 Simple Warp Patterns Simple Weft Effects- 
 Tartan Patterns Inlaying or Brocading Primitive 
 Indian Brocading Usual Method of Brocading 
 Binders or Ties Brocading on Weaving Board 
 Extra Headle for Brocading Long and Short Eyes 
 of Headles Cashmere Shawl Weaving Origin of 
 Brocading. 
 
 WE have seen how entirely dependent, in tapestry- Further 
 weaving, is the working out.of any ornamental design, Definition of 
 on the artistic skill and taste of the weaver. We have Pattern- 
 seen also, that as the technique of tapestry is so weaving 
 simple, scarcely any tools or mechanical appliances 
 are necessary in order to weave it. Ordinary pattern- 
 weaving, on the contrary, whether simple or complex, 
 is done by means of certain devices and appliances 
 which have been invented from time to time in the 
 course of ages. By their use the loom is set up 
 or tied up under the direction of the designer, 
 in such a way, that, when the weaver begins his 
 
 139 
 
Further shuttling, the design will be woven and repeated 
 Definition automatically, in the loom, as the work proceeds, 
 of Pattern- This being so, the weaver's whole attention can be 
 
 weaving given to the keeping his loom and all its fittings in 
 order, and his threads of fine silk, or other material, 
 mended and even, both in warp and weft. In a 
 fine silk loom, of thirty or forty thousand threads 
 in the width, this is quite sufficient occupation for 
 one man or woman. 
 
 Needless to say, the mechanism by means of 
 which the pattern is worked out, which is often a 
 marvel of ingenuity, was not all invented at one 
 time. In fact, every weaver is continually devising 
 little helps and dodges for his own use. But the 
 most important contrivances were invented very early 
 in the history of the loom, and succeeding genera- 
 tions of craftsmen have only extended and developed 
 them. It must never be forgotten, however, that 
 
 EACH STEP TOWARDS THE MECHANICAL PERFECTION 
 \l OF THE LOOM, IN COMMON WITH ALL MACHINERY, 
 IN ITS DEGREE, LESSENS THE FREEDOM OF THE 
 WEAVER, AND HIS CONTROL OF THE DESIGN IN 
 WORKING. 
 
 Patterns We must now return to consider the old English 
 
 possible on loom, fitted up as represented in fig. 42, and inquire as 
 the Loom to the possibility of designing patterns which can be 
 with Two woven automatically upon it patterns, that is, which 
 Readies only w {\\ WO rk out, as the weaver proceeds, shoot by shoot, 
 as if he were making plain cloth. It is obvious that 
 such designs must be very simple in character, and 
 must depend entirely on some arrangement, or 
 diversity of the threads, in warping. It is interest- 
 ing to find that a great variety of patterns can be 
 designed to work out in this simple way. 
 140 
 
The Indian weavers of fine cotton fabrics have\ 
 always been famous for warp pattern effects. They 
 were perhaps the first to make use of broad and 
 narrow stripes of contrasting colours in their webs. 
 This is of course the simplest of all pattern effects 
 to be obtained. Many of these Indian fabrics, by 
 reason of their finely contrasted colours and the 
 pleasant proportion of their stripes, are very beautiful 
 in effect, and can be used with great advantage in 
 personal and architectural decoration. 
 
 The garden court of the palace of Shushan, where 
 the little drama of Esther and Ahasuerus began, 
 was hung, no doubt, with material decorated with 
 coloured stripes. The hangings are described as 
 of "white, green, and blue, fastened with cords 
 of fine linen and purple, by silver rings, to pillars 
 of marble" (Book of Esther, ch. i. v. 6). This 
 account of an ancient decorative scheme, furnishes us 
 with another evidence of the frequently remarked 
 unchangeableness of the East, for just such striped 
 and coloured webs, are being made by the Indian 
 weaver of to-day on his simple hand-loom, a 
 counterpart of the ancient loom, on which, the 
 hangings for the Persian palace court were woven 
 so long ago. 
 
 By means of striping the warp, in quite a different 
 manner from the above, a large range of small 
 patterns can be made which are very interesting. 
 As these are constructed on the same principle as 
 that on which suitings and homespun cloths are 
 designed, it will be well to devote some little space 
 to their particular consideration. 
 
 A delicate and pretty example of this simple 
 kind of pattern-weaving may be seen in a case of 
 
 141 
 
 The Striped 
 
 Webs of 
 
 India 
 
 Ancient Use 
 of Striped 
 
 Cotton 
 Hangings 
 
 Patterns 
 resulting 
 
 from 
 striping 
 the Warp 
 
East African " personal ornaments " made by the natives of East 
 Woven Africa, exhibited in the ethnographical galleries of 
 Design tne British Museum (see plate i). The pattern is 
 in very dark blue (almost black) and bright red, on 
 a white ground. This design, in common with 
 those just referred to, is made by taking advantage 
 of the fact that in plain, or " tabby," weaving, 
 one shoot of weft has all the odd-numbered warp 
 threads above it and the even ones below, while 
 in the next shoot the order is reversed, the even 
 threads being above and the odd ones below. 
 Copy of The collotype illustration plate vin is taken from 
 
 East African a woven copy of the edge of the East African web 
 Woven just mentioned. It is shown in process of making. 
 Design The loom is simply a small board with a warp 
 stretched on it. The sheds are opened by a shed- 
 stick and leashes as described at p. 85. The actual 
 width of the web is an inch and a quarter, in which 
 space there are sixty threads, eighteen being black 
 and forty-two white. 
 
 It certainly appears curious that if white and 
 black threads are warped alternately rather close 
 together, so as to well cover up the weft, the effect 
 of black and white lines running, as might be 
 expectecl, in the direction of the warp, will not 
 result when the web is woven. Instead of running 
 longitudinally, the black and white lines will be 
 across the web, as in no. I, fig. 62. In this 
 diagram the black vertical lines represent the odd 
 threads of a warp, and the white lines the even 
 ones. If a shed be made by raising the odd threads 
 and depressing the even ones, it is manifest that 
 only the black portion of the warp will show on 
 the front of the material. The next shed being 
 142 
 
made, the position of the threads will all be reversed, Copy of 
 and the white portion of the warp now being above East African 
 the weft, no black will be visible at all. If, as is Woven 
 necessary for this kind of pattern, the warp be full Design 
 enough to well cover up the weft, the latter will 
 interfere very little with the colour of the latitudinal 
 stripes. 
 
 No. 2 shows the warping of an even and odd, and 
 an odd and even black thread, warped alternately at 
 regular intervals in the whole width, the result of 
 this warping being, when the stuff is woven, two 
 vertical zigzag lines with opposing curves. 
 
 By warping the black and white threads in the 
 order shown at no. 3 the latitudinal lines given by 
 the warping of no. I are cut up into alternate 
 squares, and form a common checker pattern. 
 
 The warping of no. 4, weaves into detached 
 squares, and no. 5 forms quite an elaborate pattern, 
 with border. 
 
 The warping represented by no. 6 is that of the 
 border of the East African web, a copy of which is 
 shown in plate vin. 
 
 These diagrams give only a few of the designs 
 which can be made for this simple form of pattern- 
 weaving. The number possible is infinite, especially 
 if threads of various colours are used in addition to 
 the black and white ones. 
 
 By striping the weft an additional number of Simple 
 simple patterns can be made. But weft effects Weft Effects 
 cannot be rendered automatic except by the aid of 
 much more complicated machinery than the loom, 
 as at present described, is furnished with. For 
 weft effects, the weaver would have to count his 
 shoots, or measure off spaces, in order to keep any 
 
 *43 
 

 t 
 
 vS 
 
Simple Weft 
 effects 
 
 The 
 
 Principle of 
 Tartan 
 Patterns 
 
 Example of 
 Tartan 
 Striping 
 
 Other 
 
 Methods of 
 ornamenting 
 Simple Webs 
 
 uniformity or proportion in the stripes. As already 
 noticed, by striping the weft, the Egyptians first 
 began to ornament their plain weaving. It is quite 
 probable that the stripes of red, blue, white, and 
 purple, in the hangings made for the Hebrew 
 tabernacle, were weft effects. If these were so 
 the striping would be horizontal, and would form 
 a fine background for the gold figures of cherubim, 
 which, we are told, were wrought cunningly on 
 them with the needle. 
 
 By means of striping both the warp and weft 
 in various colours, the well-known tartan effects 
 are produced. The tartan is a very ancient kind of 
 ornamental weaving, and is capable of an infinite 
 number of combinations. This is proved by the 
 variety and individuality of the Scottish plaids. It 
 has been supposed that the " variegated webs made 
 by Sidonian women" mentioned by Homer, were 
 a kind of tartan mixture of colour. 
 
 Fig. 63 shows the manner in which tartan 
 striping is arranged. In this case both warp and 
 weft are variegated by stripes of blue, red, yellow, 
 and white. 
 
 At the crossing of the stripes the additional mixed 
 colours made are, deep red, deep blue, orange, 
 green, and purple. When fine, rich colours and 
 good yarns are made use of, very gorgeous effects 
 can be obtained in this simple manner. 
 
 There are many other easy methods for, orna- 
 menting plain woven we bs, such as the use of 
 different-sized threads, both in warp and weft, the 
 use of different materials, such as glossy silk or 
 cotton in contrast with linen or woollen yarns, the 
 use of threads of different twist texture, &c., &c. ; 
 
 146 
 
FIG. 63. Tartan-weaving. 
 
Other so that even with quite the simplest looms, plenty 
 Methods of o f scope is given for the exercise of ingenuity and 
 ornamenting design. 
 
 Simple Webs An ancient and favourite method of decorating 
 Inlay or woven fabrics was by inserting, in addition to the 
 Brocading ordinary weft, secondary wefts of rich threads, such 
 as gold, silver, silk, or rich coloured wools. These 
 additional wefts were so arranged as to form spots, 
 or detached ornamental shapes, distributed over 
 the ground. This decoration is called inlay or 
 brocading. At the beginning brocaded ornaments 
 were not worked automatically in the loom, as 
 they afterwards gradually came to be. It will be 
 necessary, therefore, as well as advantageous, to 
 trace, as nearly as possible, the manner in which the 
 brocading process was developed. Especially as it 
 led to some of the most important inventions in the 
 history of weaving, and, moreover, many suggestions 
 useful to the artistic craftsman may be gathered by 
 the way. 
 
 Indian* A most primitive manner of brocading is described 
 
 Brocading by Dr. J. Forbes Watson in his book on the textile 
 
 manufactures of India, as follows : 
 
 Dr. Forbes " Two weavers sit at a loom. They place the 
 Watson on pattern, drawn upon paper, below the warp, and 
 Indian range along the track of the weft a number of cut 
 Brocading threads equal to the flowers or parts of the design 
 intended to be made. Then with two small, fine- 
 pointed, bamboo sticks they draw each of these 
 threads between as many threads of the warp as may 
 be equal to the width of the figure which is to be 
 formed. When all the threads have been brought 
 between the warp they are drawn close by a stroke 
 of the reed. The shuttle, with ordinary weft, is 
 148 
 
then passed by one of the weavers through the shed Dr. Forbes 
 or opening in the warp, and the weft having been Watson on 
 driven home, it is returned by the other weaver. Indian 
 The weavers resume their work with the bamboo Brocading 
 sticks, and repeat the operation of the reed and 
 shuttle in the manner above described, observing 
 each time to pass the cut threads between a greater 
 or less number of the threads of the warp, in pro- 
 portion to the size of the design to be formed." 
 
 Although brocading is sometimes done in the More Usual 
 way described above viz., by using short pieces Method 
 of coloured threads cut to the required sizes it is 
 much more usual to find a continuous thread, 
 carried in a small shuttle, made use of for the 
 purpose, each colour, and each separate piece of 
 design having its own shuttle and being worked 
 backward and forward to the shape of the ornament. 
 
 The working of brocaded ornament into a Above 
 plain warp between the ordinary shoot, does very Method 
 well so long as the warp is fine and very scanty, as only Suitable 
 is the case with that used for the gauze-like Indian f r Scanty 
 muslins. These are open enough to allow the Warps 
 sparkling gold and bright- coloured silk to shine out 
 from between their threads, but in denser warps 
 the ornamentation would be buried and almost 
 invisible if merely placed between the ordinary 
 shoots of weft. 
 
 In order to make these inlaid ornaments have Ties or 
 their proper effect in a close warp, the brocading Binders for 
 weft must be made to pass under only one in every Brocading 
 three or more warp threads, instead of being tied 
 down closely like the ordinary weft. By this 
 means the rich gold or coloured weft not only 
 shows for all it is worth, but, being tied down by 
 
 149 
 
Brocading only one in every three or more threads, stands 
 on Weaving clearly and boldly up on the surface of the cloth. 
 Board This effect can be tried on the weaving 'board, 
 
 fig. 39, and a practical experiment will best demon- 
 strate the theory of ties and binders. The mecha- 
 nical contrivances for binding the brocaded ornament 
 in the loom can then be readily explained. 
 
 For this experiment the board must be set up 
 with thirty-one strings, and plain weaving with self- 
 coloured weft begun on it as in fig. 64, AA. At B 
 brocading commences. It will be seen that the 
 brocaded form in the illustration is drawn in two 
 shades, half-tone and black. These shades may 
 represent any two colours that may be selected. 
 Beginning with the lighter colour, and counting 
 from the right hand, the weft must be brought from 
 the back between the seventh and eighth strings of 
 the warp, passed underneath the tenth, and over the 
 eleventh and twelfth strings. The brocading weft 
 must now pass at the back of seven strings and 
 reappear in the front between strings nineteen and 
 twenty. The coloured thread must then be carried 
 over two strings, under one, over two more, and 
 between strings twenty-four and twenty-five, pass to 
 the back, and be left hanging there, while the ordinary 
 weft is thrown twice across the warp, after the usual 
 sheds have been opened for it. As soon as jthe shoot 
 has been pressed down the brocading may proceed, 
 beginning this time from the left. The coloured 
 weft must now be brought forward between the 
 twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth strings and taken 
 back, over and under the same strings as in the first 
 line, until it reaches the point of starting. Here it 
 must be again taken to the back, and the two shoots 
 
 150 
 
FIG. 64. Brocading on Board. 
 
Brocading of ordinary weft repeated. This will complete the 
 on Weaving space marked B in the drawing. It will be seen 
 Board that the brocading in space C must approach three 
 strings nearer to the right and left edges of the web 
 than that of B. In all other respects the space 
 C must be worked in exactly the same manner as 
 B. In space D, however, two brocading colours 
 are indicated. The new colour, represented by 
 black, should be put in first. It will be seen that 
 the black only covers four strings, two on each side 
 of the centre, with a space of seven strings between 
 them. As soon as the dark weft is in its place the 
 lighter colour may be filled to right and left of it, and 
 this being repeated twice, the space D will be filled. 
 At E only the dark colour occurs, and that in the 
 centre of the web, where it covers two spaces of 
 two strings each, with one string between to bind 
 them. From this point the brocaded figure can 
 readily be completed without further instructions. 
 In order more clearly to illustrate the process, at the 
 top right-hand corner of the drawing, the portion D 
 of the brocading is represented in progress, but 
 without the web having been beaten together. At 
 the top left-hand side of the illustration a part of the 
 ground and figure is shown as it would be expressed 
 or designed on weaver's ruled paper. 
 
 To return to the old English loom fitted up as in 
 fig. 42. Brocading up to this point and in the above 
 ways may be done upon it without extra appliances. 
 The process, however, of picking up the threads for 
 the binders and counting the spaces in the undivided 
 warp would be a very tedious one. It will there- 
 fore be readily understood that it would be a great 
 advantage if the binding threads necessary for the 
 152 
 
brocading could be separated in the warp automati- 
 cally when they were required, without interfering 
 with the making of the plain groundwork of the 
 cloth. 
 
 The facility of selecting certain threads can be 
 secured if another headle be added to those already 
 in the loom. This additional headle must be so 
 arranged, that, after two or more shoots of plain 
 ground have been made, the proper shed for the 
 brocading may be opened. This shed may be so 
 made as to act across the whole of the warp, or in 
 particular spaces, such as borders of a certain width, 
 at the centre of the web, or at any regular intervals 
 that may be desired. This contrivance not only 
 facilitates the binding of the brocaded figure, but by 
 dividing the threads into small groups makes it much 
 easier to count in the shapes of the ornaments, pre- 
 viously designed on ruled paper. The method of 
 drawing figures for inlaying or brocading is shown 
 by fig. 65.* 
 
 The extra headle required for brocading has to 
 be fixed in front of the two already in the loom, and 
 through the eyes of its leashes the warp threads 
 must be entered, after they have passed through 
 those of the ground headles, and before their entry 
 in the reed. The new headle will only require one 
 leash to every three of the warp threads for the pro- 
 duction of the brocading suggested by fig. 65, and of 
 
 * In designing ornaments for brocading, on squared 
 paper, it must be remembered that each square of the 
 paper represents the group of threads between the 
 binders, and also that the size the figure will be, when 
 woven, depends on the number of ties to the inch 
 laterally and the thickness of the weft longitudinally. 
 L 153 
 
 Brocading 
 
 on Weaving 
 
 Board 
 
 Use of 
 an Extra 
 Headle for 
 Brocading 
 
FIG. 65. Design for Brocade, on 
 Ruled Paper. 
 
 154 
 
 these, two must 
 be entered to- 
 gether in one eye 
 and one drawn, 
 without entering, 
 between the 
 leashes. The 
 effect of this ar- 
 rangement will 
 be that, when the 
 new headle is 
 raised, either by 
 an extra treadle 
 or a hand-cord 
 and pulley, two 
 threads will be 
 raised and one left 
 down, right across 
 the loom, or 
 wherever, in 
 the width, spaces 
 to be brocaded 
 are arranged for. 
 Thus the neces- 
 sary shed for the 
 brocading weft is 
 made. When 
 one line of the 
 brocading has 
 been done and 
 the following 
 shoots of plain 
 tabby ground 
 have been made 
 
the strips of coloured weft will be found slightly but 
 firmly tied down on the under surface of the cloth, 
 which is really the face of it. In a horizontal 
 loom webs are generally worked face downwards, 
 and, indeed, must be if brocaded. 
 
 There must be an important difference between 
 the leashes of the ground headles and those of the 
 brocading headle. It will be at once perceived that 
 if the leashes of the latter had small eyes similar to 
 those of the former, the back headles could not 
 work freely, as two out of three of the threads would 
 be fixed by the new row of eyes standing in front of 
 them. This difficulty is obviated by making long 
 eyes in the leashes of the front headle, so that 
 when it is at rest there is room for the ground 
 headles to work without hindrance. It will be 
 found that this arrangement does not interfere at all 
 with the lifting power of the front headle. 
 
 By means of fig. 66 this important difference in the 
 leashes of the two sorts of headles may be readily 
 understood. Nos. I and 2 show in section the 
 ground and the brocading headles. In no. I the 
 headles of the ground harness are depicted one 
 raised and the other depressed, whilst the brocading 
 headle is at rest. In this position the front headle 
 does not affect the warp at all, the long eye allowing 
 the threads to rise and fall, as necessary for tabby 
 weaving. In no. 2, however, the front headle 
 being raised, 'takes up with it all the threads entered 
 in it, and allows all those passing between its leashes, 
 which are the binders, to remain at the level of the 
 warp as long as the ground harness is at rest. 
 
 This simple difference between the leashes of 
 the headles, some having long and some short eyes, 
 
 Use of 
 
 an Extra 
 
 Headle for 
 
 Brocading 
 
 Difference 
 
 in Eyes of 
 
 Leashes 
 
 Two Sorts 
 of Leashes 
 
Importance 
 of the Use of 
 Long and 
 Short Eyes 
 in Figure- 
 weaving 
 
 plays a very important part in the development 
 of pattern-weaving. The invention of damask- 
 weaving in particular is based entirely on it. 
 
 o 
 
 CJ 
 
 FIG. 66. Section of Two Sorts of Leashes. 
 
 Cashmere The exquisite work which may be done on a 
 
 Shawl loom with mechanical fittings such as have now 
 Weaving been described, is shown by the wonderful shawls for 
 156 
 
which Cashmere has been famous for many centuries Cashmere 
 
 (see fig. 67). Shawl 
 
 The process of weaving the Cashmere shawls has Weaving 
 been instructively described by a traveller in India : * 
 
 "The loom differs not in principle from that of 
 Europe, but is inferior in workmanship, and the factories 
 contain from three to three hundred of them, crowded 
 together into very small spaces. About three weavers 
 work at each loom. When the warp is fixed in the 
 loom the pattern-drawer makes a design in black and 
 white. He shows it to the colourist and the scribe, 
 and they confer together. The colourist, having well 
 considered it, points out the proportion of the colours, 
 and, beginning at the foot of the pattern, he calls out 
 the colour and number of threads to which each is to 
 extend, that by which it is to be followed, and so on in 
 succession until the whole pattern has been described. 
 From his dictation the scribe writes down the particulars 
 in a kind of shorthand, and delivers a copy of the docu- 
 ment co the weavers. 
 
 " The workmen then prepare the needles by wind- 
 ing on each, coloured yarn of about four grains weight. 
 These needles without eyes are made of smooth wood, 
 and have both their sharp ends slightly charred to 
 prevent their becoming rough through use. Under the 
 superintendence of the colour-master, the weavers next 
 knot the yarn of the needles in their proper places to 
 the warp. 
 
 " The face or right side of the cloth is placed next to 
 the ground, the work being carried on at the back, where . 
 the needles all hang in a row, making from four to 
 fifteen hundred, according to the lightness or heaviness 
 of the ornament. As soon as the designer is satisfied 
 that the work in one line is completed the reed is brought 
 
 * Moorcroft's "Travels in Cashmere," 1841. 
 
 157 
 
Cashmere 
 
 Shawl 
 Weaving 
 
 Origin of 
 Brocading 
 
 down upon it, with a vigour and repetition apparently 
 very disproportionate to the delicacy of the material." 
 
 It is a grievous fact that this beautiful handi- 
 craft of shawl-weaving has almost died out in India, 
 owing to the competition of the cheap, meretricious, 
 
 FIG. 67. Border of an Indian Shawl. 
 
 European, machine made imitations of the Cashmere 
 weaving and design, with which the markets- of 
 both the East and West were flooded in the last 
 century. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of brocading, for the 
 present, it may be interesting to remark that, no 
 
doubt, like tapestry decoration, it was suggested at Origin of 
 
 first by the work of the embroiderer, to which it Brocading 
 
 bears even a closer resemblance than does tapestry 
 
 itself. Brocading has been called "embroidering 
 
 with the shuttle." There is a beautiful passage in 
 
 the Iphigenia among the Tauri of Euripides in which 
 
 the phrase is used : 
 
 "But now beside the ruthless sea I make my 
 cheerless home, an alien, torn from home and 
 friends, with none to call me wife or mother ; 
 never singing Hera's praise, my Queen in Argos, 
 nor mid the merry whirr of looms broidering with 
 my shuttle a picture of Athenia Pallas or the 
 Titans." 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 SINGLE-HARNESS PATTERNS 
 
 Ruled Paper and its Uses Sketches of Entering and 
 Tie-up Designs possible on a Loom with few 
 Readies The Position of Cloth in Weaving 
 Tying up the Loom Plan of a Tie-up Simple 
 Twills The Broken Twill, its Importance Origin 
 and Peculiarity of Satin-weaving The Four-headle 
 Twill Method of drawing Designs for Simple 
 Looms Simple Pattern with Tabby Ground 
 throughout, its Advantages. 
 
 Single AN important range of small patterns can be 
 
 harness woven by the use of a single harness * composed of 
 
 Patterns 1 several headles, and the range may be very much 
 
 extended by entering the warp in varying order 
 
 instead of in regular succession. 
 
 Before giving a few examples of these patterns, it 
 will be necessary to devote a little space to the ex- 
 planation of three things, (i) The setting out and 
 use of designer's ruled paper ; (2) the method of 
 expressing on paper the order in which the warp is 
 entered in the headles ; and (3) the tie-up of the loom, 
 as the connection between the treadles and headles 
 is called, which renders pattern-weaving automatic. 
 
 * Leashes with short eyes have some advantages over 
 those with long ones. A single harness, therefore, should 
 be made with leashes having short eyes. 
 
 160 
 
All designs for weaving, except those of the 
 very simplest description, have to be worked out 
 on ruled paper, and it is possible, after a practical 
 acquaintance with the principles of the craft has 
 been obtained, to arrange all the details of the most 
 complicated webs in this manner. Fig. 68 will 
 show the manner in which the paper is ruled. 
 In the first place, the paper is always set out in 
 exact squares ruled in thick lines, and these squares 
 are subdivided both vertically and laterally. To 
 the left of the line AA the partial ruling con- 
 sisting of vertical lines only is shown, and the spaces 
 between these represent the threads of the warp, in 
 some cases single and in others in groups of equal 
 numbers. To the right of the line AA the squares 
 are divided laterally as well as vertically. These 
 lateral divisions are for the purpose of enabling 
 the designer to indicate the weft wherever it is 
 intended to show as it crosses a thread of the warp. 
 The proportional thickness of the weft in relation 
 to the warp is indicated by the size of the spaces in 
 the lateral divisions. For instance, to the right of 
 the line AA the lowest squares, B, are divided into 
 four spaces, both vertically and laterally ; this 
 indicates that the weft is of the same thickness as 
 the warp thread, or group of threads, indicated by 
 the vertical spaces. If the weft be thicker than the 
 warp, as would usually be the case if single threads 
 of the latter were intended, the lateral spaces must be 
 larger in order to keep the right proportion in the 
 woven design. In the case of the weft being one- 
 third thicker than the warp the squares would have to 
 be divided 4 X 3, as in the middle squares, C, instead 
 of 4 X 4. If this were not so the design, when woven, 
 M l6l 
 
 The Use 
 of Ruled 
 Paper for 
 Designing 
 
The Use 
 
 of Ruled 
 Paper for 
 Designing 
 
 4x3 
 
 4x4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ft: 
 
 * S 
 
 
 m' 
 
 in 
 
 S 
 
 x 1< 
 
 > 
 
 : 
 
 S 
 
 xisbttttj 
 "&> 
 
 I 12 
 
 FIG. 68, Ruled Papers. 
 
Woven.. 
 
 would be one-quarter longer in proportion to its width The Use 
 than the drawing as set out on the large squares. of Ruled 
 The general shape and proportion of the design, Paper for 
 therefore, is sketched, in the first place, on the thick- Designing 
 lined, large squares, and the edges of the shapes, the 
 details of ties, &c., are worked out correctly by 
 means of the subdivisions. No. 2 shows some of 
 the most usual ruled papers in use, but papers of 
 all kinds of sub- 
 division may be 
 obtained. Un- 
 less otherwise 
 specified, in the 
 illustrations 
 throughout this 
 book each verti- 
 cal space, as well 
 as each lateral 
 one, may be un- 
 derstood to represent only one thread respectively 
 either of warp or weft. 
 
 The filling in of a single space, in a ruled-paper 
 drawing, indicates that in that particular spot the 
 weft crosses the warp and covers it up (see fig. 69). 
 
 Fig. 70 shows the method by which the designer General 
 indicates to the weaver the way of entering the Method of 
 warp in the harness. The vertical lines represent entering and 
 the warp threads, and the horizontal lines the expressing it 
 headles of the harness. The headles are numbered on Paper 
 I, 2, 3, and 4, beginning, as is generally the case, at 
 the back. A tick or dot on the cross-line indicates the 
 headle through which the thread is to be entered. 
 
 A HARNESS OF ANY NUMBER OF HEADLES MAY 
 ALWAYS BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE ENTERED IN THE 
 
 163 
 
 FIG. 69. 
 
General 
 
 Method of 
 
 entering and 
 
 expressing it 
 
 on Paper 
 
 Cloth 
 
 mostly 
 
 woven Face 
 
 Downwards 
 
 REGULAR ORDER SHOWN IN THE SKETCH, FROM BACK 
 TO FRONT. IF ANY OTHER ENTERING IS INTENDED 
 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN FOR IT. 
 
 In order that the weft may cross the warp as 
 shown in fig. 69, the cloth being made, as is 
 
 usual, face down- 
 wards, it is of course 
 necessary that the 
 headle in which the 
 warp threads covered 
 by the black cross 
 are entered must be 
 raised, so that the 
 
 Designs on 
 
 Ruled Paper 
 
 not affected 
 
 by Shedding 
 
 Motions 
 
 Tying up 
 the Loom 
 
 shuttle carrying the 
 weft may pass beneath 
 them. It has already 
 been explained that the 
 
 FIG. 7 o.-Sketch of entering headles * e . ed . . b 
 in Harness of Four Headles eans <* treadles, winch 
 
 tne weaver controls 
 
 with his feet, and the simplest way of connecting 
 the headles and treadles for this purpose is shown 
 by fig. 42. There are, however, various ways of 
 doing this, which will be described later on, under 
 the head of Shedding Motions, but they are all 
 alike in one particular, which is, that they all pro- 
 vide for the lifting of the headles as indicated on 
 the ruled-paper drawing. This being so, the draw- 
 ing out of the design is not affected by the 
 particular kind of shedding motion with which the 
 loom, on which the web is to be made, is fitted up. 
 
 Tying up the headles and treadles is a matter for 
 the weaver to arrange according to the sequence of 
 rising indicated by the design of the pattern on 
 
 164 
 
ruled paper, and much ingenuity has often to be exer- Tying up 
 cised in doing this in the most convenient manner the Loom 
 for weaving. If, as he were working, the weaver had 
 to think of the pattern, however simple, and the 
 necessary succession of treadles to form it, the weav- 
 ing would be slow and not automatic. He therefore 
 has to arrange a plan for the tie-up^ which will 
 allow of his treadling in the order to which he is 
 accustomed, and will, at the same time, cause the 
 headles to rise in such a succession and combination 
 as will work out the pattern correctly. 
 
 The usual order in which a set of treadles is The Plan 
 worked is from the outside right and left to the of Tie-up 
 centre. For instance, with eight treadles, the out- 
 side right one is no. I and the outside left no. 2. 
 Next to no. I is no. 3, and next to no. 2 is no. 4. 
 No. 5 is on the right by no. 3, and no. 6 on the left 
 by no. 4. No. 7 is the last trodden by the right foot, 
 and no. 8 the last taken by the left. Some weavers 
 prefer to begin with the left foot and others prefer to 
 work right across, in which cases they make out their 
 plan or draught to suit themselves ; but this does not 
 alter the method of tying up. 
 
 Fig. 71 shows two plans of tie-up, together Examples of 
 with the effect produced by them when woven. Tie-up 
 They also illustrate the simple method generally 
 used by weavers to indicate the tie-up on paper. 
 Both figures represent a set of eight headles, each 
 harness being entered in the usual straightforward 
 manner. This is shown by the ticks to the right 
 of the diagrams above B. The vertical lines C, C 
 are the treadles, numbered according to the above- 
 mentioned sequence of treading from the right 
 and left to the centre. The tie-up of the treadles 
 
 165 
 
Examples of to the headles is indicated by the crosses, on the 
 Tie-up several lines, at places where they intersect. In 
 diagram I, where only two treadles are necessary to 
 produce the effect designed at A, each treadle is tied 
 up to four headles, no. I to headles I, 3, 5, and 7, 
 and no. 2 to headles 2, 4, 6, and 8, so that treadle I 
 
 ft 
 
 FIG. 71. Plans of Tie-up. 
 
 will raise headles I, 3, 5, and 7 and produce the 
 effect of the lowest and other similar lines in the 
 design A. The second treadle will in like manner 
 raise the headles for the four alternate lines of the 
 sketch, nos. 2, 4, 6, and 8. Diagram 2 has the same 
 headles and entering as diagram I, but instead of 
 only two, there are eight treadles, C, C, one headle 
 being tied separately to each treadle. The result 
 of this tie-up, when the treadles are used in the 
 order in which they are numbered, is shown in the 
 sketch above A. 
 
 An amazing amount of ingenuity has been 
 exercised by weavers in arranging for the lifting of 
 
 166 
 
large numbers and complicated systems of headles, 
 and pattern-weaving was formerly done to quite 
 an astonishing extent in this (J) 
 manner. The use of simple 
 automatic contrivances has, 
 however, quite superseded 
 the use of an inconvenient 
 number of treadles. But for 
 small patterns, grounds, satins, 
 twills, &c., there can be no 
 doubt, that the direct tie-up 
 of the treadles to the headles 
 is better and more certain in 
 action than ariy other con- 
 trivance whatever. 
 
 The principles of the use 
 of ruled paper, the entering 
 of the warp in the harness, 
 and the connection of the 
 treadles to the headles being 
 understood, it will now be 
 interesting to exemplify and 
 examine a few of the patterns 
 that can be woven on a loom 
 with a single harness of only 
 four headles, and an equal 
 number of treadles. Fig. 72 
 gives examples of the simplest 
 possible designs. The treadles 
 
 for these are tied up singly FIG. 7 2 - Examples of 
 to each of the four headles. Simple Twill Patterns, 
 At no. I a right-hand twill is given, with the plan 
 of entering it and also the tie-up of the treadles. 
 The numerals in the circles on the treadle lines show 
 
 Examples 
 of Tie-up 
 
 I.E. 
 
 I 
 
 
 .1X11 
 
 
 !:|!: 
 
 - " 
 
 bBU] 
 
 
 T 
 
 1 
 
 I . . _ B 
 
 
 
 . 1 ... 1 
 
 1 
 
 I' ? 
 
 1 . - 1 
 
 
 .1.1 
 
 
 
 . . 1 _ 
 
 9 _;;_ 
 
 -- . / / 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 f 
 
 1 . _ _ 1 _ 
 
 
 1 | 
 
 
 - - 1 . - 
 
 i 
 
 1 _ 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 .1 I 
 
 
 1 . _ . 1 _ 
 
 
 . 1 _ _ _ I 
 
 
 . | 
 
 I 
 
 -._!__ 
 
 I ! - 
 
 .1 . 
 
 
 
 1 . _ . G - 
 
 
 
 
 ( ) 
 T 
 
 Pattern- 
 capacity of 
 
 a Loom 
 with Four 
 
 Headles 
 and Four 
 
 Treadles 
 
 Simple 
 Twills 
 
Simple 
 Twills 
 
 Twill 
 
 the order in which the treadles are to be worked. 
 At no. 2 the tie-up is seen to be reversed, which 
 throws the twill in the opposite direction, making 
 it a left-hand one. At no. 3 a combination of 
 both the above is shown, the result being a zigzag. 
 This is made by extending the treading as indicated 
 by the numerals in the circles of no. 3 itself, and 
 may be used with either the 
 tie-up of no. I or no. 2 in- 
 differently. 
 
 The next ground pattern 
 to claim attention is some- 
 times called a broken twill. 
 It is made, like the ordinary 
 twill, on four headles and 
 
 FIG. 73. BrokenTwill treadles, but the tie-up is 
 rather different ; fig. 73 is a 
 
 draught of it. It will be seen that the direct diagonal 
 line of the twill is broken by missing headle 2, 
 and making it rise between the fourth and the first 
 headles. The result of this arrangement is that if 
 a rich close warp is being used the weft will 
 scarcely show at all, the tie being distributed so 
 evenly over the ground that no ribs or lines are 
 visible. This is a most ingenious invention, and 
 shows the principle on which the various satins 
 The Origin are formed. It is said to be of Chinese origin, which 
 is most probable, as it is particularly adapted for 
 displaying the rich, glossy quality of silken thread, 
 which the Chinese were certainly the first people to 
 use for weaving. Before passing on, it should be 
 noted particularly that IF COUNTED IN EITHER DIREC- 
 TION THE SAME NUMBER OF THREADS WILL BE FOUND 
 BETWEEN ALL THE TIES OF THE BROKEN TWILL. 
 168 
 
 and Cha- 
 racter of 
 Satin Ties 
 
THIS IS THE SPECIAL CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL THE The Origin 
 
 SATINS. FURTHER REFERENCE TO THIS WILL PRE- and Cha- 
 
 SENTLY BE MADE. 
 
 Several more extended designs may be made Satin 
 on the same principle as the twill, with four headles Extension of 
 and treadles only, if the entering of the warp the Four- 
 be specially arranged for them. A sample group headle Twill 
 of these designs is given in fig. 74, and many others 
 can be devised, both by alteration of the entering, 
 tie-up, or order of working the treadles. The 
 entering necessary for the designs illustrated, repeats 
 once in every twenty-four threads of the warp. It 
 will be seen that three courses of four threads are 
 entered from back to front, then one thread by 
 itself on the back headle, followed by three courses 
 of four threads, from front to back, the fourth 
 thread in the last course beginning the next repeat. 
 If the treadles are tied up and trodden as for 
 ordinary twill a large lateral zigzag will be woven 
 (fig. i) ; by working the treadles in the order 
 shown by the numerals in the lower part of the 
 diagram no. 2 will be made ; and on taking the 
 treadles in the following order, I, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 
 15, 1 6, no. 3 will result. 
 
 With the same entering and tie-up plain cloth 
 may be made at will, so that lateral spaces or 
 panels of any of these small designs may be woven 
 by way of ornament at intervals in the plain 
 material. Very pretty effects may be arranged for, 
 especially if the bands are shot with gay-coloured 
 wefts. In order to make the plain cloth in alter- 
 nation with the ornamental bands, it is only necessary 
 to depress the first and third treadles together with 
 the right foot, for one shoot, and the second and 
 
 169 
 
Extension of 
 
 the Four- 
 headle Twill 
 
 U-LJ 
 
 e 
 
fourth treadles together with the left foot for the Extension of 
 next. the Four- 
 
 In order to produce the design shown at no. 4, headle Twill 
 fig. 74, the same entering and treading are required as 
 for no. 3, but the tie-up must be 
 different (see fig. 75). In this 
 case two headles must be tied 
 up to each separate treadle, in 
 the following order : Headles 
 I and 2 to treadle I ; headles 2 
 and 3 to treadle 2. Treadle 3 
 has headles 3 and 4 tied to it, 
 and treadle 4 must be tied up 
 to headles 4 and I. The effect 
 
 Fie. 75 Tie-up for 
 fig. 74, no. 4 
 
 of this tie-up may be seen in 
 the diagram, and requires no 
 further explanation. 
 
 It will have been gathered from the last illus- 
 tration that more than one headle may be tied 
 up to each treadle. This 
 being so, a much greater 
 variety of patterns is possible 
 than would be the case if 
 only single tie-ups were 
 practicable. The tie-up may 
 really be of any number of 
 headles to one treadle, only 
 short by one of the number 
 that would raise the whole 
 of the warp. If four headles 
 are used, one, two, or three 
 
 FIG. 76. 
 
 Pattern with 
 
 unequal Tie-up. 
 
 of them may be tied to any one treadle, it not 
 being necessary that an equal number be tied to 
 each treadle, as is the case in fig. 75. Fig. 76 is 
 
 171 
 
Extension of an illustration of "a pattern and tie-up in which one, 
 the Four- two, and three headles severally are connected with 
 headle Twill single treadles, as will be seen by the plan. 
 
 The curious diagonal design fig. 77 requires six 
 treadles tied up to four headles, as shown in the 
 
 1 FIG. 78. 
 
 plan. The entering in this case is remarkable, as 
 half the warp is raised by means of the fourth 
 headle and the other half is distributed equally over 
 the other three. Plain ground cannot be woven 
 with this tie-up of six treadles, but two extra ones, 
 one on each side of the six, will render it possible. 
 These tabby treadles must be tied up as shown in 
 the plan no. 2. 
 
 With the same entering as that of the last design, 
 and a tie-up to three treadles, the pattern fig. 78 
 can be made, and by the use of treadles 2 and 3 
 plain tabby ground can also be woven in alternation 
 with broad bands of ornament. 
 
 172 
 
Fig. 79 gives the plan of one of the most elaborate Extension of 
 designs workable by this simple method of weaving, the Four- 
 It requires the use of a harness of ten headles and a headle Twill 
 set of ten treadles to produce it. The entering is 
 
 FIG. 79. Elaborate Design for Simple Weaving. 
 
 on twenty threads of the warp, and the tie-up is 
 rather complicated, as will be seen by the plan. 
 
 It will have been noticed that this design and Setting out 
 plan, (fig. 79) are worked out entirely on ruled Complete 
 paper. This is a convenient method of setting out Plans on 
 complicated weavings, as the order in which the Ruled Paper 
 treadles follow can be marked in the line of the 
 design they each govern. A careful study of the 
 
 173 
 
Setting out drawing and a comparison of the numerals will 
 Complete elucidate the relation of the various parts one to 
 Plans on another. The final arrangement of the position 
 Ruled Paper o f t h e treadles for working is always left to the 
 weaver, and is, indeed, quite immaterial, so long as it 
 causes the headles to rise in the order set down in 
 the design. In setting out such a drawing, the 
 entering must be indicated first, and then the design 
 filled in below it on the same number of squares as 
 one repeat of the entering contains. The number 
 in this case is twenty. The scope of this design is 
 also further limited, by the nature of the entering, 
 to a figure having its centre line on the eleventh 
 thread, and both its halves alike except that they 
 are reversed and point in different directions. In 
 weaving this is technically called a point design. 
 The length of the design is not limited, as its 
 breadth is, by the entering of the harness ; this 
 is decided to some extent by the number of 
 treadles employed. Any treadle, however, may be 
 made to rise and repeat the same lateral line of the 
 design any number of times, and the whole number 
 of treadles, or any portion of them, may be worked 
 backward and forward or in any sequence necessary 
 to form the pattern. 
 
 After the design and entering are set out, the 
 design must be dissected, in order to find how many 
 different lateral lines there are in it, as the several 
 headles forming each different line have to be tied 
 up to a treadle. In fig. 79, for example, there are 
 ten different lines, which necessitates the use of ten 
 treadles. By repetition, however, their scope is ex- 
 tended to twenty lines. Many designs will allow 
 of even a great deal more repetition than this. 
 
 174 
 
Designs of the kind exemplified by figs. 71 to 80 
 are particularly adapted for weaving on small looms 
 such as may conveniently be used in the home. 
 They are very suitable for linen and cotton fabrics 
 intended for domestic use, such as table linen, bed 
 furniture, and simple garments of the kind for which 
 linen and cotton materials are required. These 
 simple woven patterns are for the most part only 
 effective when the yarns from which they are made 
 are not very fine. They should generally be not 
 more than forty to a reed space of one inch, and 
 not less than thirty. The best effects also are to 
 be obtained if good, even, hand-spun yarns are used, 
 especially in the weft. 
 
 It will be remembered that good cloth requires 
 the weft to be thicker than the warp (see p. 5), 
 and it will* be at the same" time observed that in 
 order to weave most of the patterns illustrated, in 
 the same proportion as the drawings, the warp 
 and weft should occupy equal spaces. This diffi- 
 culty is to be obviated by using a warp made of fine 
 threads half the size of the weft. If these fine 
 threads are warped and entered double, the con- 
 dition of the proportion of the warp to the weft 
 can be kept, and as the two warp threads will only 
 count as one, the proportions of the design will also 
 be maintained. 
 
 When designing these small patterns for simple 
 weaving, care must be taken to break up the spaces 
 by intersection of the warp and weft as much as pos- 
 sible. Not more than five threads either way should 
 ever be left to cross each other without interlacing, 
 or the cloth will be found to be too weak for good wear. 
 Even five loose threads must not occur too frequently 
 / 175 
 
 Setting out 
 
 Complete 
 
 Plans on 
 
 Ruled Paper 
 
 The Use of 
 
 Double 
 Threads in 
 the Warp 
 
 Frequent 
 Intersection 
 of Warp 
 and Weft 
 necessary 
 
Frequent in the design. If broad spaces of ornament are 
 
 Intersection desired in this kind of weaving, some means must 
 
 of Warp b e use d t o strengthen the cloth without interfering 
 
 and Weft W j t i 1 tne e ff ec t o f the ornament. This can be done, 
 
 necessary an( j a s j m i} ar effect obtained to that of brocading, 
 
 except that the ornaments, instead of being in 
 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 
 FIG. 80. Pattern with Tabby Ground 
 
 detached spots, will be repeated in a close geometric 
 pattern all over the cloth. Fig. 80 is a type of 
 the design suitable for weaving in this way, and 
 will clearly exemplify the weaving together of 
 the ornamentation and the ground cloth. This 
 design requires only four headles, entered in the 
 order shown above the sketch, and four treadles, two 
 of which are used for the tabby groundwork and 
 two for the pattern. On the two outside treadles 
 the pattern is tied up, and on the twx> inside ones 
 with Tabby t h e tabby ground is tied. An extra shuttle and 
 Ground richer weft must be used for the design part of the 
 weaving, and it is better for this purpose to use 
 several fine threads together as a weft, than one 
 
 176 
 
coarse one, as they will lie flatter and cover the Pattern- 
 ground better. Ordinary plain cloth is woven by weaving 
 using only the centre pair of treadles, but as soon as with Tabby 
 it is determined to introduce the design one of the Ground 
 outside treadles must be brought into use after any 
 one of the tabby shoots, and the pattern weft intro- 
 duced in the shed made by it. The next shoot of 
 tabby ground must then be made, and after it the" 
 same pattern treadle again depressed and another 
 pattern shoot thrown. These alternate shoots of 
 ground and pattern must be repeated until the first 
 row of squares is complete, in which there will be 
 found four shoots of ground and four of pattern. 
 When this point has been reached, the opposite 
 pattern treadle will have to be used, in the same 
 alternation with the ground ones, for the same 
 number of shoots, thus making the second row 
 of squares. After this the first pattern treadle 
 must be depressed for one shoot only, in order 
 to make the thin strip dividing the squares. After 
 four more shoots in the shed, made by the second 
 pattern treadle, the first one is returned to, and after 
 four more shoots and a single one, the first repeat of 
 the design will be found to be complete. It will be 
 readily understood that the squares of this pattern 
 may be made of any size desired, by extending the 
 entering in the harness and the number of sheds 
 made by the pattern treadles. At the same time 
 this will not weaken the cloth, as the same tabby 
 ground will run throughout, whatever size the 
 squares may be. Whilst weaving this kind of 
 design it will be found necessary to beat the weft 
 together with more force, or with a double blow, 
 in order to keep the ground as close as the plain 
 N 177 
 
Pattern- parts of the web, if there are to be any such. If 
 weaving properly beaten together the pattern woven by this 
 with Tabby method should appear quite solid, and entirely hide 
 Ground the tabby ground which is beneath it. 
 
 The great importance of the satin ties in the 
 development of weaving, especially of fine silk, 
 renders it necessary that the next chapter should be 
 set apart for their exclusive consideration. But at 
 the same time it must be noted here, that many 
 useful and beautiful satin and partly satin webs may 
 be designed for weaving on small domestic looms 
 in which either linen, cotton, woollen or spun-silk 
 yarns can be used. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 THE SATINS AND DOUBLE CLOTH 
 
 Construction and Utility ol the Satin Tie 
 Meaning of the Term Satin Peculiar Quality of 
 the Satin Tie Various Satins and the Number of 
 Headles required for weaving them Reasons for 
 weaving Webs Face Downwards Exceptions The 
 Selvages of Satin and other Webs Separate Selvages 
 and their Fitting up When Separate Selvages are 
 necessary Contrast of Colours in Satin Webs and 
 its Limits Double Cloth, its Advantages Pre- 
 paring and entering the Warp for Double Cloth 
 Weaving Double Cloth. 
 
 THE construction of the broken-twill has already The Con- 
 been explained (p. 168, fig. 73) and its importance structionand 
 as an example of the principles of satin- weaving Utility of 
 commented on. Its reputed Chinese origin was tne Satin 
 also mentioned. It is remarkable that, apart from Tie 
 Eastern influence, there seem to be no traces of 
 this tie in ancient weaving, although there are a 
 few examples of the ordinary twill. The earliest 
 known specimens of weaving in which the use of 
 satin ties is a feature belong to the fourth or fifth 
 centuries of the Christian era, and even of that date 
 the fragments that remain are very few in number. 
 The satin tie for plain webs is not much used, 
 except in the case of warps of fine silk, the richness 
 
 179 
 
The Con- 
 struction and 
 Utility of 
 the Satin 
 Tie 
 
 Meaning of 
 the Term 
 " Satin " 
 
 Valuable 
 
 Quality of 
 
 the Satin 
 
 Tie 
 
 of which it is peculiarly fitted to display. But it 
 is in the weaving of the extensive and elaborate 
 pattern webs known as damasks that its chief 
 utility consists, and that not only for the weaving 
 of silk, but for the weaving also of linen, cotton, 
 and woollen ornamental fabrics. 
 
 The name satin is generally misunderstood. 
 It is usually taken to signify some kind of silk 
 material. This is no doubt owing to the fact that 
 this tie is for the most part restricted to silk in the 
 case of plain materials. The term, however, has no 
 reference to the yarn employed in the web, but 
 only to the manner of weaving it. 
 
 There are various kinds of satin in use, all being 
 based on the same principle. They are distinguished 
 according to the number of headles required in the 
 harness used for weaving them. The broken twill, 
 which we have seen requires a harness of four 
 headles, is not always called a satin, but is often 
 designated a satinette. 
 
 Peculiar value is given to the satin tie because 
 of its throwing a very large proportion of the 
 warp to the face of the material woven, so that 
 if the warp consists of fine rich silk and the weft 
 of common silk, linen, cotton, or wool, the rich 
 silk, in the case of a very rich satin of, say, sixteen 
 headles, will almost entirely cover up the poorer 
 weft. The latter will in its turn show almost 
 entirely at the back of the cloth. Fig. 81 repre- 
 sents the front and back of such a satin-woven 
 material, very much enlarged.* In the actual cloth 
 
 * The square of sixteen-headle satin represented would 
 repeat from nine to twelve hundred times in a square 
 inch. 
 
 180 
 
Valuable 
 Quality of 
 the Satin 
 Tie 
 
 . " i' 
 
 FIG. 8 1. Satin Cloth (much enlarged). 
 
Valuable represented the sixteen threads between the ties 
 Quality of would probably not occupy a space of more than 
 
 the Satin thethirtieth part of an inch. At no. 2 the face 
 T* e of the cloth is shown, and it will be seen that 
 
 fifteen threads of warp intervene between each 
 intersection of the weft laterally, and also that the 
 warp threads each float over fifteen shoots of weft 
 between the ties vertically. In the actual stuff 
 when loose and out of the loom these infrequent 
 ties would scarcely be seen at all, and the glossy 
 surface of the silken warp would appear to be un- 
 broken. At no. I the back of the stuff is shown. 
 Here the weft only for the most part shows, held 
 together at regular though infrequent intervals by 
 the intersection of the fine warp. 
 
 Various Satins may be made on harnesses of almost any 
 
 Satins number of headles from five to twenty-four. The 
 satin most generally used is that made on eight 
 headles, and is called eight-headle^ eight-lam^ or 
 eight-shaft satin. In some respects this is the 
 best of all satins, as in it the ties are most 
 evenly distributed, and the twill from which it, 
 in common with all satins, is derived is less in 
 evidence. (See no. 3, fig. 82.) 
 
 Five-headle satin is more used for linen damasks 
 and other coarser woven ornamental fabrics than for 
 silk. A great many of the mediaeval silk damasks 
 were, however, made with this tie, which gives the 
 dry and more subdued effect often to be seen in 
 them. (See no. I.) 
 
 In fig. 82 are given ruled-paper drawings of all 
 
 the satins. Many of them, however, are not in 
 
 general use, as nine, seven, eleven and other odd 
 
 numbers of headles would be inconvenient in a 
 
 182 
 
harness, as plain tabby cloth could not be made on Various 
 it. Five-headle satin (no. l) is generally made Satins 
 
 FIG. 82. Satin Ties. 
 
 on a harness of ten headles, for the above reason, 
 and tied up so that two of the headles rise at each 
 
 183 
 
Reasons for 
 
 weaving 
 Webs Face 
 
 Various tread. Such a harness can also, of course, be used 
 Satins for the ten-headle satin (no. 5). Nos. 2, 4, and n 
 would only be used as ties on portions of a design 
 . woven on a different principle, as if made on a 
 harness they could only be worked with an awk- 
 ward number of headles, although the eleven-headle 
 satin is perhaps the most well-distributed of them 
 all, not excepting the eight-headle one. Nos. 7, 8, 
 and 9 are only used for the very richest and finest 
 silks, or as ties in portions of designs in fancy-silk 
 weaving, which will be treated of later on. 
 
 Returning to the representation of sixteen-headle 
 satin, fig. 81. It will be noticed that the back of 
 the cloth, no. I, corresponds more closely with the 
 Downward sketch of the same satin in fig. 82 than no. 2 (the 
 front of the cloth) does. The reason of this re- 
 semblance is that the black squares of the sketch 
 represent the lifted threads of the warp. It has 
 already been stated that most weaving is done with 
 the face of the cloth downwards. This is particu- 
 larly the case with satin webs. Obviously the lifting 
 of one headle out of many instead of the lifting of 
 all but one, makes the work lighter for the weaver. 
 The raising of one thread instead of many causes 
 also much less friction and wear, not only in the 
 warp itself, but in the harness and general fittings 
 of the loom. There are several other minor 
 advantages, so that, taking all into consideration, the 
 inconvenience to the weaver caused by not seeing 
 the front of the web as, the work proceeds, is more 
 than compensated for. Moreover, the difficulty of 
 weaving webs face downwards is not so great in 
 most cases as would at first appear, for if the back is 
 right and the loom in all its parts is seen to be 
 
working properly the weaver need have little doubt 
 that the surface of the material will be satisfactory. 
 Although weaving is usually thus done face down- 
 wards, it is not absolutely necessary that it should 
 be. In the case of some complicated fancy webs, 
 where two or three thicknesses of cloth are woven 
 together, and it would be impossible to judge from 
 the back if the surface were weaving properly or 
 no, it may be possible and advantageous to so 
 arrange that the fabric may be made face upwards. 
 This is effected by tying up in accordance with 
 the white spaces of the ruled-paper design, instead 
 of the black ones. 
 
 When a piece of cloth is being inspected by an 
 expert one of the first points to be examined is the 
 edge of the web, generally called the selvage. It 
 may be pretty confidently expected that if the 
 edges are straight and even, and at the same time 
 neither tighter nor looser than the body of the 
 stuff, the cloth will prove to be well woven 
 throughout. A good selvage is the finishing grace 
 in a woven fabric, and none but good weavers can 
 keep perfect the edges of their work. 
 
 In tabby or plain weaving, when the warp and 
 weft are properly proportioned, there is not much 
 difficulty in keeping a perfect edge, and it is only 
 necessary to fortify the warp by making a few of the 
 edge threads double ; but in the case of the looser 
 satin, or the various kinds of fancy webs where two 
 or three different warps and wefts are used, an 
 arrangement of the selvage warps to work indepen- 
 dently of the main warp becomes necessary, and 
 often requires a good deal of ingenuity on the part 
 of the weaver to devise. Another reference to 
 
 185 
 
 Exceptions 
 to weaving 
 Webs Face 
 Downward 
 
 The 
 
 Selvages of 
 
 Satin and 
 
 other Webs 
 
 The 
 
 Necessity for 
 Selvages 
 
The fig. 8 1 will be sufficient for the purpose of explaining 
 Necesssity the necessity and working of the selvages on the 
 for Selvages edges of satin webs. Although there are only two 
 threads shown in the drawing, it is quite clear 
 that they make a straight tabby edge and prevent 
 the weft being drawn back, by the returning shuttle, 
 as far as the first tie of the satin. This might 
 be any distance from the edge up to the space of 
 sixteen threads of warp. Without these tabby- 
 woven threads the edges would be extremely un- 
 even, however carefully the weaving might be 
 done. The defective edge can be avoided if a 
 few strong threads are so arranged that a narrow 
 strip of tabby weaving may be made along each side 
 Fitting up of the web. There are various ways of arranging 
 Separate for the separate tabby shedding of the selvages, but 
 Selvages the simplest way is to provide two extra pairs of 
 headle shafts at the back of the harness, at the ends 
 of which the selvage leashes are fixed, so that the 
 extra threads passing through them, by the sides of 
 the main warp, may be entered close to it in the 
 rather wider dents usually provided for them in the 
 reed. These selvage headles are each tied up to half 
 the treadles in such a way that they will be raised 
 alternately as one of the right or left half of the 
 treadles is depressed. In the case of satins and other 
 loosely tied webs it is found necessary to warp the 
 selvages and weave them off small rolls, separately 
 Why fitted up and weighted, as shown in fig. 83. This 
 separately separation from the main warp is necessary, because 
 warped the more frequent intersection of the warp and weft, 
 Selvages are in tabby weaving, causes the warp to be used up 
 required more quickly than is the case with the less frequently 
 intersected threads of the satin ground. If the 
 186 
 
Why 
 
 separately 
 
 warped 
 
 Selvages are 
 
 required 
 
 FIG. 83 
 
 Selvage Bobbin 
 fitted up 
 
 No. I shows the position of the bobbin in the loom. 
 No. 2 : Details of the bobbin, with warp and method 
 
 of weighting. 
 
Why 
 separately 
 
 Warped 
 Selvages are 
 
 required 
 
 Contrast of 
 Colour on 
 
 the Back 
 and Front 
 
 of Satin 
 Webs 
 
 Double- 
 cloth 
 Weaving 
 
 tabby selvages, therefore, came off the same roller as 
 the satin warp, as soon as about half a yard of 
 stuff had been woven, the edges would get so strained 
 that the work could not go on. They would then 
 break out altogether and spoil the web. 
 
 It will be readily understood from the foregoing 
 description of satin-weaving, that the back and 
 front of a web may be made different in colour, to a 
 very large extent, providing the warp and weft used 
 are distinct in that respect. The colour of the warp 
 will predominate in the front, and that of the weft 
 at the back in similar proportion. In five-headle 
 satin, for instance, the warp colour on the face of 
 the cloth will be in the proportion of four parts to 
 one part of weft, and at the back the proportions 
 will be reversed. With richer satins the difference 
 will be greater, but however great it may be the 
 colour of the weft will always tinge that of the 
 warp in the front, and at the back the weft colour 
 will be modified by the ties of the warp in the same 
 manner. In satin-weaving, therefore, the colours of 
 back and front can never be quite distinct. 
 
 There is another system of weaving, however, 
 by means of which two separate webs, of perfectly 
 distinct colours, joined at the edges may be woven 
 at the same time, from the same warp, in the same 
 loom. A great deal of pattern-weaving has been 
 done by taking advantage of this possibility. 
 
 It will now be best to describe the method 
 of weaving this double cloth, but its utilisation for 
 pattern- weaving must be left for consideration in 
 a future chapter. 
 
 Double tabby cloth of separate colours can be 
 woven on a loom with a harness of four headles, 
 
 188 
 

 but the warp must be specially arranged for the 
 
 purpose. If it be decided to make one cloth black 
 
 and the other white, the warp must be made 
 
 throughout with alternate threads of those two 
 
 colours. The warp of black and white threads 
 
 being entered in the usual way, if the first thread 
 
 be black the whole of the first headle will be found 
 
 to contain all black 
 
 threads, the first, fifth, 
 
 ninth, &c. ; the 
 
 second headle will 
 
 carry all white 
 
 threads, the second, 
 
 sixth, tenth, &c. The 
 
 third headle will be 
 
 all black, with threads 
 
 3, 7, II, &c.; and the 
 
 fourth headle will take 
 
 the rest of the white 
 
 threads, 4, 8, 12, &c. In other words, all the odd 
 
 threads, which are black, will be found in headles I 
 
 and 3, and all the even ones, which are white, in 
 
 headles 2 and 4. 
 
 With such a warp separate selvages would be 
 fitted up to work in the same way as for satin, 
 so as to bind the double cloth together at the 
 edges. 
 
 When all is ready, in a loom so arranged, weav- 
 ing must begin by raising half the black threads by 
 means of headle I, and throwing the shuttle carrying 
 the weft through the shed so formed. The next 
 shed is to be made by raising headle 3, which raises 
 the second, half of the black threads for the second 
 throw of the shuttle. This completes two shoots of 
 
 189 
 
 FIG. 84. 
 
 Entering 
 of Double- 
 cloth Warp 
 in Harness 
 
 Weaving 
 
 the Double 
 
 Cloth 
 
Weaving the black face of the double cloth. For'the next shed, 
 the Double headles I and 3 must rise and lift all the black threads, 
 Cloth an cl headle 2 must rise with them to lift half the white 
 threads. The third shoot of weft having been made, 
 the fourth headle will have to rise, as well as the 
 first and third again, and the fourth shoot of weft 
 will complete the second shoot of the white face of 
 the double cloth. This order of shedding must be 
 repeated, and when a few shoots have been made, 
 it will be found, that, two distinct webs united at 
 the edges have been woven. In order to make the 
 colours distinct two shuttles must be used, one for 
 the black and one for the white face of the cloth, 
 and when this is done the double cloth will be 
 found to be perfectly black on one side and perfectly 
 white on the other. Fig. 84 gives the sketch on 
 ruled paper with the plan and tie-up for double 
 cloth. 
 
 190 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 SHEDDING MOTIONS 
 
 The Simplest Shedding Motion Two Typical 
 Shedding Motions Differences between the Two 
 Kinds of Shedding Motions Choice of Shedding 
 Motion left to Weaver Suitable Design for 
 Shedding Motion No. 2. 
 
 THE name shedding motion is given to any con- The 
 trivance by means of which the opening or shed Simplest 
 is made in the warp, in front of the reed, for Shedding 
 the passing through of the weft. The shedding Motion 
 motion shown on the old English loom, fig. 42, 
 consists of two treadles and two pulleys connected 
 with the headles of the harness by cords. A similar 
 motion, having precisely the same effect, in which 
 two short pieces of bamboo take the place of the 
 pulleys, is shown in the Indian loom, fig. 41. 
 Needless to say, these are the simplest forms of 
 shedding motion possible, but it now becomes 
 necessary to describe the rather more complicated 
 arrangements by means of which headles may be 
 lifted for the grounds and small figures exemplified & 
 in the preceding chapters. 
 
 Only two distinct shedding motions need to be Two Typical 
 described and their differences pointed out, as all Shedding 
 others are for the most part modifications of them, Motions 
 
 191 
 
Two Typical and will present no difficulties to the student if their 
 Shedding principles are perfectly understood. Figs. 85 and 
 Motions g^ A represent these two typical motions. 
 
 FIG. 85. Shedding Motion. 
 
 In order to keep the diagrams of these shedding 
 motions as distinct and simple as possible, the harness 
 to which they are attached is only represented as 
 
 192 
 
one of four headles. This is all that is necessary Two Typical 
 for the purpose of illustration, but any number of Shedding 
 headles up to twenty, or even more, might be 
 
 Motions 
 
 FIG. 85A. Shedding Motion. 
 
 governed in the same way, providing that the 
 number of levers and treadles was increased in the 
 same proportion. In the diagrams, also, only the 
 o 193 
 
Two Typical headles and the shedding motion are shown ; all the 
 
 Shedding supporting parts of the loom, which would only 
 
 Motions complicate the drawing and render it less clear, 
 
 are omitted. The position of the harness in the 
 
 loom is> of course, the same as in fig. 42, with its 
 
 harness of two headles. 
 
 In fig. 85 it will be seen that the headles, A, A, 
 have long lead weights, B, B, on their lower shafts, 
 instead of their being tied directly to the treadles as 
 in fig. 42. If any of the four headles, therefore, be 
 raised, as soon as it is released, the weights on its 
 lower shaft will bring it down again to its normal 
 position. Strong wire spiral springs are sometimes, 
 for some purposes, preferred to lead weights, but these 
 have the same effect as regards the mechanism of the 
 shedding motion.* At letter C four short, strong 
 laths are shown, having a hole somewhere near their 
 centres, through which an iron rod is passed. The 
 ends of the rod are fixed in a long, wooden frame, 
 which rests on the top of the loom in the position 
 occupied by the centre cross-piece, from which the 
 harness is suspended, in the old English loom, fig. 42. 
 From one end of each of these laths, just above 
 the centre of the headles, a double cord descends, 
 and, being divided, in the manner shown in the 
 drawing, is attached to both ends of the top shaft 
 of headles. This attachment is made by the use 
 of the adjustable slip-knot, described in Note 2 
 to Chapter VIL, p. 106, in order that the height 
 of the headles in the loom may be adjusted to 
 a nicety. At the opposite ends of the levers C 
 
 * The effect of the dead weight is to close the shed 
 rather more quickly than the spiral spring, and therefore 
 it is generally preferred, 
 
long cords are firmly fixed. These descend, and Two Typical 
 are tied, by the same kind of slip-knot, to the ends Shedding 
 of four long laths, D, which, reaching right across Motions 
 the loom at the height of aBout a foot from the 
 ground, have their other ends hinged to a strong 
 support, which is fastened to the ground, or to the 
 framework of the loom itself. It will now be seen 
 that the four treadles, E, placed under the weaver's 
 feet, as he sits in the loom, only need to be tied up 
 to the long cross-levers to enable him by pressure 
 of his foot to pull down at will one end of any of the 
 levers C. This will raise the other end, from which 
 a headle is suspended, and open the shed. By this 
 means the headles can be raised in any order or com- 
 bination necessary for the formation of the pattern. 
 
 In fig. 85A the arrangements for raising the 
 headles are the same, but the weights on the 
 bottom shaft are dispensed with. In place of the 
 weights, four levers, long enough to reach from 
 the side of the loom to beyond the centre of the 
 harness are fixed, between the long levers and the 
 bottom laths of the headles, and tied to each of 
 the latter (see letter F, fig. 8 5 A). If, with the 
 motion arranged as at fig. 8 5 A, the first treadle be 
 pressed down, the first headle will rise, and the 
 first lever F will rise with it. The second, third, 
 and fourth headles, having no weights to keep 
 them down except the light weight of the levers 
 themselves, will neither be held firmly down nor 
 raised. To rectify this, levers 2, 3, and 4 must be 
 tied firmly by cords to the first treadle. The result 
 of this additional tie will be, that, when treadle I 
 is again depressed headle I will rise as before, but 
 headles 2, 3, and 4 will be drawn down at the 
 
 195 
 
Two Typical 
 Shedding 
 Motions 
 
 Difference in 
 the Two 
 Kinds of 
 Shedding 
 Motions 
 
 same time. This cording has to be carried all 
 through ; thus, the second treadle must be con- 
 nected with the levers I, 3, and 4, the third 
 treadle with levers I, 2, and 4, and the fourth 
 treadle with levers I, 2, and 3. When all these 
 connections are made the raising of any one of 
 the four headles will cause the remaining three 
 to sink. If when this motion is used two headles 
 are required to rise at one time, the treadle must be 
 connected with two long levers in order to raise 
 them, and the remaining two levers must be tied 
 to the same treadle. By this means two headles 
 will rise and two sink. In short, no matter how 
 many headles the harness may consist of, each must 
 be connected with all the treadles either by means 
 of the long levers which raise the headles or by the 
 short ones which sink them. 
 
 The section of the sheds below figs. 85 and 85 A 
 will show the important difference between the two 
 shedding motions. Fig. 85 is called a rising shed^ 
 because, while the bulk of the warp is stationary, the 
 required threads rise from it. Fig. 85 A is called a 
 rising and sinking shed, because when certain threads 
 are raised all the others sink down at the same 
 time. 
 
 Each of these shedding motions has its advantage, 
 according to the kind of weaving it is used for. 
 When only a few threads require lifting, as in the 
 case of satins, a rising shed is preferable, but when 
 about half the threads of the warp are raised, a rising 
 and sinking shed may be advantageous, although 
 there is always more friction when the latter is 
 used. 
 
 There are various other shedding motions in use, 
 
 196 
 
but they are all based on one or other of these 
 two principles, and the above may be taken as types 
 of all. 
 
 Also, by connecting the treadles to only certain 
 of the remainder of the 
 headles instead of all, 
 another variety of shed 
 may be made. This con- 
 nection will be described 
 later on, as it is required 
 in a particularly important 
 class of pattern- weaving. 
 
 The sample patterns 
 already given can be 
 woven with either of the 
 above shedding motions, 
 and the use of one of 
 them would not affect 
 the design on ruled paper 
 or the indicated tie-up of 
 the treadles. The rising 
 of the headles would be 
 the same in both, but in 
 the second motion after 
 the tie-up for raising the 
 headles had been made, the 
 headles corresponding to 
 the vacant spaces in the 
 tie-up plan would have to 
 be connected by means 
 of the short levers to the several treadles. The 
 kind of shedding motion most suitable for any 
 particular design is a point for the weaver to settle 
 to his own satisfaction. 
 
 197 
 
 Difference in 
 the Two 
 
 Kinds of 
 Shedding 
 
 Motions 
 
 Choice of 
 
 Shedding 
 
 Motion left 
 
 to Weaver 
 
 FIG. 86. 
 
A Design Fig. 86 is an example of a small design suitable for 
 suitable for weaving with the shedding motion no. 2 that is, 
 
 Shedding w i t h a r i s i n g an( J sinking shed as the ground and 
 
 Motion 2 g ure ar e exactly equal in weight. 
 
 Between A and B, in the design,, one repeat or 
 the pattern is shown drawn out on the ruled paper. 
 At first sight it would appear to require ten headles 
 and ten treadles to make one repeat of the design. 
 But on analysing it, it will be found possible to 
 weave it on six headles, governed by six treadles 
 provided the entering of the warp in the harness be 
 done as indicated in the sketch above letter D. 
 The real design is only a quarter of one repeat, but 
 it is turned over or "pointed" both laterally and 
 vertically. Instead, therefore, of containing ten 
 different lines of squares, the design x has only six, 
 four lines being repeated twice in it. The lateral 
 turnover is effected by the entering of the harness, 
 the vertical one by reversing the order of treadling. 
 The tie-up for this design with no. 2 shedding 
 motion must first be made, as shown in the sketch, 
 to the long levers, or long marches^ as they are 
 more correctly called. When this is done it will 
 be found that there are three connections to each 
 treadle, and three headles will still remain un- 
 connected with each of them. These unconnected 
 headles must, by means of the short levers, be 
 connected with the treadles, as indicated by the 
 unmarked crossings. The effect of this second tie- 
 up has already been fully explained in the description , 
 of the second shedding motion, fig. 85 A, p. 193. 
 
 198 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DOUBLE-HARNESS PATTERN- 
 WEAVING 
 
 Diaper-weaving Example Patterns in Double 
 Cloth Indian Example Use of the Figure Harness 
 Use of the Tabby Harness Importance of the 
 Two-harness Method of Weaving The Weaving 
 of Small Damask Patterns with Two Harnesses 
 Details of Weaving Figured Damask Analysis 
 of the Effect of the Two Harnesses Shed- 
 making for Damask Patterns All Modern Weaving 
 of Pattern based on Two-harness Principles 
 Weaving from Two Separate Warps Velvet- 
 weaving and its Methods Arrangement of the 
 Loom for Velvet-weaving Actual Process of Velvet- 
 weaving Principal Tool for Velvet-weaving 
 Terry Velvet Superiority of Hand-loom Velvet 
 Small Designs in Velvet Tobine Weaving. 
 
 THE name diaper is now usually understood to Diaper- 
 signify any small design which is repeated geometri- weaving 
 cally over the surface which it decorates. The term 
 diaper-weaving, however, does not really refer so 
 much to the kind of pattern' woven as to the method 
 of weaving it. This ingenious method, although 
 invented in Asia, was as early as the eleventh century 
 practised in England, especially for weaving the silken 
 groundwork of the embroideries for which the ladies 
 
 199 
 
friaper- of England were famous at that time. A great deal 
 
 weaving of quite large pattern weaving was formerly done in 
 
 this way, but on account of its being, except for simple 
 
 designs, difficult to set up as well as to manage, it 
 
 was superseded by less complicated contrivances. 
 
 When For small patterns, however, especially in linen 
 
 Useful and cotton materials, it may still be used with 
 
 advantage. It must therefore now be described. 
 Diaper- In diaper-weaving, the harness is divided into sets 
 
 weaving : of equal numbers of headles. There may be any 
 Method workable number of sets, and these may contain any 
 equal number of headles. The treadles also are 
 divided into sets, but each set of treadles acts on 
 more than one set of headles, so that, whichever set 
 of treadles is used the whole of the warp is acted 
 upon, and no gaps remain in the weaving. 
 
 Harness and Fig. 87 is a simple design which will serve well 
 Entering to explain the method. Here the harness is divided 
 into two sets having four headles in each (nos. I 
 and 2). There are also two sets of treadles, each 
 set consisting of four. The entering shown to the 
 right of the plan corresponds with the proportions 
 of the square and oblong forms of which the design 
 is composed. For instance, if the design be com- 
 pared with the plan of entering, it will be found that 
 the warp is entered in the spaces where dark pre- 
 dominates. The second division of the harness 
 and the bottom line of the design agree, while the 
 first division of the harness and the fifth line of the 
 design agree also. Before proceeding it may be 
 remarked that the size and proportion of the squares 
 and oblongs laterally is determined by the entering. 
 In the present case four courses are entered in no. 2 
 harness and two in no. I, which makes the oblong 
 200 
 
twice as wide as 
 the square. 
 
 The plan of 
 tie-up for the 
 headles, shows 
 the second har- 
 ness connected 
 with the four 
 treadles of the 
 first set. The 
 connection is 
 made in the 
 order necessary 
 to form the twill 
 tie on the portion 
 of warp entered 
 in the second 
 harness. To 
 the same treadles 
 the first har- 
 ness is tied up 
 to make the re- 
 verse twill. The 
 second set of 
 treadles is tied 
 up with the re- 
 verse twill in 
 front and the 
 figure tie at the 
 back. The 
 effect of this ar- 
 rangement is 
 that if weaving 
 be done, using 
 
 Plan of 
 Tie-up for 
 Diaper- 
 weaving 
 
 FIG. 87. Example of Diaper-weaving. 
 
 2OI 
 
Plan of 
 Tie-up for 
 Diaper- 
 weaving 
 
 Extended 
 Diaper- 
 weaving 
 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 with Two 
 Harnesses 
 
 the first set of treadles only, a broad and narrow 
 stripe of light and dark reversed twills will be made ; 
 on the contrary, if the second set of treadles only are 
 used the broad stripe will be dark and the narrow 
 one light (see top and bottom of fig. S/A). By 
 the alternate use, then, of the set of 
 treadles I and 2 the changes from 
 light to dark spaces, required for the 
 pattern, can readily be made. 
 
 By adding to the number of sets 
 of headles and extending the enter- 
 ing through them, with or without 
 adding to the number of the treadles, 
 a great variety of intricate designs 
 can be arranged for ; and, indeed, this 
 used to be done, but since the same 
 effects have been found to be attain- 
 able by less intricate means, the more 
 elaborate forms of diaper-weaving 
 have been discontinued, and the 
 ingenious contrivances for working 
 large numbers of sets of headles, are 
 only interesting from an antiquarian 
 point of view. 
 
 A great advance was made in the 
 weaving of pattern when the idea 
 occurred of passing the warp threads 
 through two or more sets of headles, 
 
 FIG. 8; A 
 
 Variations of 
 
 Fig. 87 
 
 each set having its own separate function to perform, 
 such as making the ground, forming the pattern, or 
 binding a portion of the design separately, as is 
 sometimes necessary. 
 
 A good example of the action of two separate 
 harnesses working together, is afforded by the Indian 
 
 202 
 
double-cloth pattern, 
 fig. 88. The making 
 of plain double cloth 
 and the advantages such 
 cloth possesses have 
 been fully described at 
 the end of Chapter 
 XIL, p. 1 88. That 
 description should be 
 referred to at this point. 
 It may be noted in ad- 
 dition, that, while cloth 
 is being woven from 
 one half of the warp 
 for one or two shoots, 
 as the case may be, the 
 other half-warp is 
 either lifted out of the 
 way or left below, but 
 
 that THEY NEVER RE- 
 VERSE THEIR RELATIVE 
 
 POSITIONS. Now in 
 double-cloth pattern- 
 weaving while the 
 tabby cloth of one 
 colour is being made 
 the warp of the other 
 colour is lifted in some 
 places and remains 
 below in others, ac- 
 cording to the design, 
 but whether above or 
 below it does not inter- 
 fere with the tabby 
 
 ^"V 1 !! 
 
 1 1 r I- ' 
 
 II ill 
 
 
 - 
 
 nJ8 
 
 .. 
 ML I Jill 1,11 
 
 1 f. 
 
 i i 8 
 
 
 m i in 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 FIG. 88. -Indian Double Cloth. 
 203 
 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 with Two 
 Harnesses 
 
Pattern- weaving of the opposite colour. When the web is 
 
 weaving finished the separate cloths will be found to be quite 
 
 with Two Distinct from one another, except at the edges, or 
 
 Harnesses 
 
 FIG. 89. Plan of Indian Design. 
 
 outline or the shapes of the design, where the 
 threads will be found to cross or intersect one 
 another. 
 
 Fig. 89 is a portion of the working plan of the 
 Indian design fig. 88. The warp, which has alter- 
 nate threads of black and white, is shown at A, at 
 the top of the diagram. 
 
 204 
 
In front of the loom, as near to the reed as it can 
 conveniently hang, the tabby or ground harness 
 must be placed. This consists of four headles having 
 long eyes on the leashes as described at p. 156, 
 fig. 66. The warp must be entered in the harness 
 in regular order from back to front, beginning with 
 a black thread (fig. 890). When the entering is 
 finished all the black threads should be found on 
 headles I and 3, and all the white ones on headles 
 2 and 4. Although thus mentioned first, as ap- 
 peared necessary, the ground harness would not be 
 fitted up or entered until the figure harness, which 
 will presently be described, was in its appointed place 
 with the warp ready entered in it. 
 
 In order to find the requirements for the figure 
 harness the design fig. 88 must be dissected. The 
 result of this dissection is shown at C, fig. 89. 
 The design consists of only four different groupings 
 of a few squares of eight black and eight white 
 threads, arranged in lines and repeated in different 
 sequence. f These lines are numbered I, 2, 3, and 4 
 in the design, fig. 88. It will also be seen that 
 laterally there are five squares and two half-squares. 
 The first figures indicate that four treadles will be 
 required for the black portion of the design, and 
 four more for the white portion. The second 
 figures show that twelve headles will be wanted, six 
 for lifting the white threads and six for the black. 
 These twelve headles are shown at letter B in 
 the diagram, and their construction and entering is 
 as follows : 
 
 Unlike any of the enterings shown up to the 
 present, this harness is entered in groups instead of 
 single threads, the groups consisting of eight threads, 
 
 205 
 
 Mounting 
 
 the Loom 
 
 for Double- 
 
 cloth 
 
 Indian 
 
 Design 
 
 The 
 Ground 
 Harness 
 
 Dissection 
 of the 
 Design 
 
 Construc- 
 tion of the 
 Figure 
 Harness 
 
 
Construc- 
 tion of the 
 Figure 
 Harness 
 
 Spaced 
 Harnesses 
 
 The Work 
 of the 
 Tabby 
 Harness in 
 Double- 
 cloth 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 
 The Work 
 of the 
 Figure 
 Harness 
 
 except in the cases of the first black and first 
 white headle, which are entered in groups of four. 
 It will be at once seen that if any one of the 
 headles be lifted, all the black, or, all the white 
 threads in two squares of the design, will be 
 raised ; also that by raising two, three, four, or 
 five, or even six headles together various groups 
 of squares can be formed ; in the last case that is, 
 with six headles solid black or solid white will be 
 lifted. 
 
 If this harness were made specially for this 
 pattern the leashes would only be hung on the 
 shafts of the headles in the places required for the 
 groups of threads. This is called spacing the har- 
 ness. By thus spacing the leashes, not only is time 
 and thread saved in making the harness, but the 
 inconvenience of having unnecessary empty leashes 
 hanging about is avoided. This spacing of har- 
 nesses will often be referred to as we proceed in 
 the subject of pattern-weaving. 
 
 It will be remembered that in making plain 
 double cloth with a tabby harness of four headles 
 one half of the warp was raised by two of the 
 headles, while the plain weaving was being done by 
 the other two. In the case of double-cloth pattern- 
 weaving this lifting out of the way is effected by 
 means of the figure harness, and the tabby harness 
 is only used for making the black and white plain 
 cloth in regular alternation. 
 
 The province of the figure harness is to form the 
 design in large without regard to the binding or 
 weaving it together. If only the figure harness 
 were used, the design would be formed, but the 
 threads of both warp and weft would only interlace 
 
 206 
 
where the black takes the place of the white or the 
 white that of the black. 
 
 By using two harnesses, one for the formation 
 of the design and the other for the details of 
 the weaving, the scope of pattern-weaving is im- 
 mensely extended, and IT WAS BY THE DEVELOPMENT 
 
 OF THIS TWO-HARNESS METHOD THAT THE MOST 
 SPLENDID RESULTS OF THE WEAVER^ ART WERE 
 ACHIEVED. 
 
 The plan, tie-up and treadling of the Indian design 
 are given in fig. 90. An examination of these will 
 show that only some portions of the black warp are 
 raised above the surface at the one time, and the same 
 thing occurs in regard to the white warp. Those 
 portions remaining below, however, do not get 
 woven into the tabby, because they are of the 
 opposite colour to that which is at the moment 
 being made. For example, when the black threads 
 are some, right up, and some, down, the white cloth, 
 is being woven by two headles of the tabby harness 
 and in like manner when some white threads are held 
 up by the figure harness, and some left down, the 
 black plain cloth is being woven and cannot inter- 
 fere with them. 
 
 It will be sufficient, in order to make the working 
 quite clear, to analyse one line of the design as a 
 key to the whole. In the first line, beginning at 
 the left hand, three squares together are shown 
 black, one white, one black, half a white, one 
 black, one white, three black together, and half a 
 white. In order to form this series of squares 
 headles I, 2, 3, and 5, entered with black thread, 
 must be lifted. While these are held up the second 
 headle of the front harness is raised, and one shoot 
 
 207 
 
 The Work 
 
 of the 
 
 Figure 
 
 Harness 
 
 Importance 
 of the Two- 
 harness 
 Method of 
 Weaving 
 
 The Plan 
 
 and Tie-up 
 
 of Indian 
 
 Design 
 
 Analysis of 
 
 the Working 
 
 of the 
 
 De/ign 
 
Analysis of 
 
 the Working 
 
 of the 
 
 Design 
 
 " ; . i ; . 
 
 FIG. 90. Plan of Tie-up. 
 
of white weft thrown in. This shoot being pressed 
 close, the white figure headles 4 and 6 must be raised, 
 and together with them the first tabby headle. This 
 being black must be shot with black weft. The 
 same black headles must again rise, but this time 
 the fourth headle of the front harness must be raised 
 with them, for the second shoot of white tabby. 
 The same white figure headles again rise, and the 
 third tabby headle makes an opening for the black 
 weft. After this order of proceeding has been 
 repeated six or eight times, according to the size 
 of the wefting, one line of squares will be woven. 
 The upper and under surfaces of the cloth will be 
 found to be exactly the same in design, but the 
 colours will be reversed. 
 
 The first line of the pattern being complete, the 
 second line will proceed as indicated in the plan, 
 which need not be further described. 
 
 As will be gathered from the above, two shuttles 
 must be used if the effect of clear black and 
 white is desired. If only one shuttle were used, the 
 form of the design would be quite correct, but the 
 colour of the weft would tinge the black and the 
 white and modify them. 
 
 The treadles are shown in the plan and tie-up, 
 arranged in three groups for the sake of clearness, 
 but the weaver would no doubt rearrange them to 
 suit his own convenience. He would probably mix 
 the white and black treadles up so as to bring the 
 first white next to the first black, in order to work 
 them with his toe and heel. This rearrangement, 
 however, will not affect the order of rising in the 
 least if the tie-up be made correctly in accordance 
 with it. 
 
 P 209 
 
 Analysis of 
 
 the Working 
 
 of the 
 
 Design 
 
 Two 
 
 Shuttles 
 necessary 
 for Solid 
 Effect of 
 Black and 
 
 White 
 
Weaving of 
 
 Small 
 Damask 
 Patterns 
 
 Details of 
 
 Weaving 
 
 Pattern 
 
 Damask 
 
 Another method of small-pattern weaving with 
 two harnesses, by which what are known as damask 
 effects are produced, is perhaps more generally useful 
 than that for the weaving of double-cloth patterns. 
 The material woven is also lighter and more perfect 
 in texture. It owes its effect to the fact, already 
 pointed out, that on one surface of a satin or twill 
 web, the warp threads are for the most part exposed, 
 and on the other surface the weft threads predomi- 
 nate (see Satin, p. 1 84). The result of this peculiarity 
 is, that, if the weaving be arranged in such a 
 manner as to bring both warp satin and weft satin, 
 as the two surfaces may be called, together, side by 
 side, in certain shapes, on the front of the material, 
 the design so worked out will be quite distinct. 
 This will be so, even if the warp and weft are of 
 precisely the same size, colour, and material. This 
 most subtle and charming of all effects of woven 
 design results from the threads of warp and weft 
 running, as they needs must, in contrary directions ; 
 so that the light strikes and reflects differently on the 
 different parts of the pattern, according as the vertical 
 warp or lateral weft threads, most preponderate. 
 
 Fig. 91 is an example of a simple design which 
 may be woven in the damask manner that is, by 
 means of two harnesses, one for raising the figure, 
 or design, and the other for making the ground. 
 The ground harness must be fitted up with leashes 
 having long eyes, the same as in double-cloth pattern- 
 weaving. The entering of the figure harness is 
 shown above the design. The harness must have 
 eight headles and four threads must be entered in 
 each leash. This is indicated, in the sketch of the 
 entering, by the filling in of four small squares to each 
 
 210 
 
entry (A, fig. 91). The entering of both harnesses Details of 
 would probably be done at once, the hook being Weaving 
 passed through the eye of the leash of the ground Pattern 
 
 Damask 
 
 cr 
 
 FIG. 91. Simple Damask Pattern. 
 
 harness first, and then through the eye of the figure 
 harness. If entered singly, the cross must be 
 preserved by drawing the threads over and under a 
 rod, alternately. Only six treadles are required for 
 
 211 
 
Pattern 
 Damask 
 
 Details of working the figure harness to form the whole design, 
 weaving although it consists of sixteen lines in the one repeat. 
 This is possible because one line is used six times 
 over, one four times, and three lines twice in the one 
 repeat. The sequence in which the treadles are to 
 be depressed for weaving the pattern is indicated by 
 the black oblongs, placed on the treadle lines at B, 
 and level with the spaces with which they agree. If it 
 were woven with this harness alone, the white warp 
 and black weft would only intersect at the places 
 where the black shapes join the white ones, as shown 
 in the upper half of the drawing. The white 
 spaces would simply consist of long loops of warp 
 threads, and the black spaces of loops of weft. In 
 the lower half of the drawing a broken twill tie is 
 represented binding the loose loops of warp and 
 weft together. In the case of damasks the threads 
 of the weft satin (see black spaces in drawing) are 
 tied down by the warp threads crossing them at 
 regular intervals (see white spots on black figure), 
 and the threads of the warp satin (white spaces in 
 design) are bound by the occasional crossing of the 
 black weft (see black binders on white ground). 
 This effect is the same both on the back and the 
 front of the material, except that the white spaces of 
 one side will be the black spaces of the reverse. It 
 must now be carefully explained how this ingenious 
 result is obtained. After passing through the figure 
 harness, in groups of four, the warp threads have to 
 be entered singly in the long-eyed ground harness. 
 As the tie, in this case is a broken, four-headle twill 
 (p. 1 68), this harness must consist of four headles. 
 The ordinary entering of the warp in the ground 
 harness, is shown below the design at C. This 
 212 
 
harness will require four treadles, and these would 
 be placed in a group between the six treadles of the 
 figure harness. They are so shown in the plan, 
 D, D. The twill tie-up and order of treading are 
 also there given. In this case the usual order of 
 working the treadles for the twill ground may be 
 departed from, because the weaver will only have 
 one foot to spare for the ground, as the other foot 
 will be occupied in treading and holding down the 
 figure treadles. We have already noted the effect 
 of weaving with the figure harness only. If in like 
 manner we now use the ground harness by itself, 
 the web will be a plain satin. The front, or under 
 surface, will be like the white spaces in the design, 
 warp satin with black weft ties. The back or upper 
 surface will be just the reverse, being black weft 
 satin with white warp ties. 
 
 Having now a clear idea of the effect of the two 
 harnesses when used separately, and all being ready, 
 let us suppose that the weaver places his left foot on 
 the first treadle of the ground harness. This will 
 raise the first of every four threads of the whole 
 warp. If now, still holding the ground harness 
 treadle down, the first figure harness treadle be 
 depressed with the right foot, groups of threads will 
 be seen to rise, similar to the black spaces E, E, E 
 of the first line of the design, but more correctly 
 shown at the line F, which represents the back or 
 upper side of the web, whilst G gives the reverse 
 or under side. The line G should correspond 
 with the drawing, but it will be seen that it 
 does not quite do so. The white ties are missing 
 from the black spaces, although the black ties are 
 to be seen on the white ground. At F, on the 
 
 213 
 
 Details of 
 weaving 
 Pattern 
 Damask 
 
 The Effect 
 of the Two 
 Harnesses 
 when used 
 together 
 
The Effect 
 of the Two 
 Harnesses 
 when used 
 together 
 
 Rising and 
 Sinking 
 
 Shed with 
 
 Stationary 
 Bottom 
 
 necessary 
 
 for Ground 
 
 Harness 
 
 Contrary 
 
 Action of 
 
 the Two 
 
 Harnesses 
 
 further 
 explained 
 
 contrary, the white ties are in their places on the 
 black portions, but there are no ties on the white 
 spaces. In order to rectify this omission and com- 
 plete the damask fit-up of the loom, the ground 
 harness must be furnished with the shedding motion 
 similar to 8 5 A, so as to cause the missing binder 
 threads to sink, and be held down at the same time 
 as the others rise. The counter-marches, or short 
 levers, to which the lower shafts of the treadles are tied 
 must be exactly the same as at fig. 85A. The con- 
 nection with the treadles, however, must in this case 
 be somewhat different, as what we now require is 
 to sink and hold down, only one thread out of the 
 three stationary ones left, when one is raised as we 
 have seen it. The shed now wanted is represented 
 at H, fig. 91, where the dotted lines show the 
 rising and sinking threads and the thick line the 
 stationary bottom. We must therefore tie up 
 treadle I, to the short lever connected with the 
 lower shaft of the first headle. The second treadle 
 must be connected with the fourth headle, the third 
 treadle with the second headle, and the fourth 
 treadle with the third headle. This second tie-up 
 for the sinking headles may be shown on the tie- 
 up plan by circles, to distinguish it from the first or 
 rising tie-up, indicated by crosses. The new arrange- 
 ment being complete, if another trial be made 
 it will be found that the sinking threads will make 
 the required ties both for the warp and weft satins. 
 
 In order to make this contrary action of the two 
 harnesses quite clear fig. 92 is perhaps necessary. 
 It is a most important point, and must be perfectly 
 understood, for, simple as it may appear to be, on 
 it the whole system of damask-weaving depends. 
 
 214 
 
Contrary 
 Action of 
 the Two 
 Harnesses 
 
 further 
 explained 
 
 FIG. 92. Various Two-harness Sheds. 
 
making for 
 Damask 
 Patterns 
 
 Further In no. I of this figure the warp, represented 
 
 Description by the thick horizontal line AA, is seen to pass 
 
 of Shed- through a figure harness (B) of five headles having 
 short-eyed leashes. The entering in this harness 
 may be of any reasonable number of threads ; for 
 this instance let it be four ; and if it be deemed 
 desirable to keep the threads separate, although this 
 is not essential, the figure harness leash eyes may 
 consist of mails having four holes, as shown in the 
 enlargement at D. Beneath letter C the ground 
 harness is shown, also consisting of five headles, but 
 these have long-eyed leashes. Between this harness 
 and letter A on the left, a shed, E, is shown opened 
 by the rising of the fifth headle of the figure harness. 
 The rising of this headle has lifted four threads 
 together ; these are represented by the line drawn 
 from the eye of the raised headle to the letters A, A. 
 Although each of these five threads may pass through 
 the eye of one of the five ground harness headles C, 
 the latter will not be affected by them because of their 
 long eyes. This allows for the formation of the 
 design without ties, as described at p. 212. At 
 no. . 2 the same line of warp, A A, and the same 
 harnesses, B and C, are depicted. In this case, 
 however, the shed is much more complicated. The 
 fifth headle of the figure harness is still up, but its 
 line of our threads is divided. The thread passing 
 from it through the fifth headle of the ground 
 harness is not allowed to rise, as it is held down 
 by the sinking of the headle. The effect on the 
 front of the web of this contrary action is similar to 
 that shown at G, fig. 91. At F, in the same figure 
 is the back of the web as it would appear to the 
 weaver, providing the warp were white and the 
 216 
 
weft black. Although one of the lifted threads 
 passes through the first headle of the ground harness, 
 it is not affected by its rising, as it is already up, so 
 that it does not have any influence on the portion 
 of the design raised by the figure harness headle. 
 No. 3 will explain the action of the first headle 
 (shown raised) of the ground harness on the parts of 
 the warp not raised for the figure. Here the holding 
 down of headle 5 will have no effect, as all the 
 threads of the figure harness are down as well, but 
 the first headle being up, will tie the figure at the 
 back and at the front as at E, E, fig. 91. The 
 dotted lines between the two harnesses are not really 
 essential in no. 3, but are merely put in to make 
 easier the comparison between nos. 2 and 3. 
 
 The great scope given to pattern-weaving by 
 means of the above ingenious invention will now 
 be realised. It will also be understood, from the 
 foregoing examples, that all the most astonishing 
 developments, to be seen in the more or less modern 
 ornamental textile fabrics, are based on this principle 
 whether they be woven by hand or by power, on 
 the draw-loom of the seventeenth and eighteenth 
 centuries, or by means of the Jacquard machine and 
 appliances of the nineteenth century. 
 
 It has already been shown that the tabby selvage 
 of a satin web will use up a greater length of warp 
 than the body of the material, and that this is due 
 to the fact that in tabby weaving there are more 
 intersections of the warp and weft than there are in 
 satin-weaving. The same thing occurs sometimes 
 in a pattern web. A large space or stripe of 
 satin, running longitudinally in the web, would, on 
 account of this difficulty, require special consideration. 
 
 217 
 
 Further 
 Description 
 
 of Shed- 
 making for 
 
 Damask 
 
 Patterns 
 
 All Modern 
 Pattern- 
 weaving 
 based on 
 Two- 
 harness 
 Principles 
 
 Weaving 
 
 from Two 
 
 Separate 
 
 Warps 
 
Weaving 
 
 from Two 
 
 Separate 
 
 Warps 
 
 For example, let us examine fig. 93. Here we 
 have a stripe of satin in a tabby ground. This 
 pattern would be woven on eight headles, entered 
 
 FIG. 93. Stripe of Satin and Tabby Ground. 
 
 and tied up to eight treadles. If only one warp were 
 used for this web, it would soon be found, that the 
 tabby woven portion of the warp would begin to get 
 tighter than the satin stripe, and ere long the diffe- 
 rence would be so great that the weaving could not 
 proceed. This inconvenience can be obviated by 
 the use of a separate roller for the warp of the satin 
 218 
 
stripe. This second roller would be fixed either above 
 or below the one for the tabby ground. It would 
 also be weighted separately from it. By this means 
 the take-up of the two warps would be rendered 
 quite independent one of the other. In making the 
 two warps, the whole number of threads in the 
 collection of satin stripes would be counted and 
 warped together, and the same would be done for 
 the tabby ground. In turning on to the rollers, the 
 satin stripes would have to be set out and wound on 
 in their proper places on the one ; and on the other, 
 corresponding spaces left vacant for them. This 
 being done, the two warps could be entered in 
 the harness and reed as one. Very often in fancy 
 weaving, especially when there is brocading, a separate 
 binder is required, and it is generally necessary to 
 have the warp for it wound on to a separate roller. 
 This will be explained later on in the book, when 
 the subject of brocatelle and other tissue webs, as 
 they are called, is dealt with. 
 
 Plain velvet-weaving requires the use of two 
 warps on separate rollers, while figured velvet needs 
 for its production the use of many warps for the 
 pile, sometimes to the extent of needing a separate 
 warp roller or bobbin for each group of threads in 
 the repeat of a design, and there are sometimes as 
 many as four, or even eight hundred, of these tiny 
 warps arranged in a figured-velvet loom. 
 
 For plain velvet-weaving, the two warps required 
 are, one for the groundwork, which may be an ordi- 
 nary tabby, twill, or satin, and one for the pile. The 
 difference in the take-up of these two warps is aston- 
 ishing, the pile warp having to be made at least six 
 times the length of that for the ground. In order to 
 
 219 
 
 Weaving 
 
 from Two 
 
 Separate 
 
 Warps 
 
 Velvet- 
 weaving 
 
Velvet, 
 weaving 
 
 make one yard of velvet, the ground will take up 
 about one and one-sixteenth of a yard of warp, but 
 for the pile, not less than seven yards will be re- 
 quired. The reason of this enormous take-up of 
 the pile warp, in velvet, is owing to the method 
 of weaving peculiar to this sumptuous material. 
 Velvet- weaving also requires the use of two harnesses, 
 and the two warps are each entered in the harnesses 
 
 FIG. 94. Section of Velvet Loom. 
 
 independently. Fig. 94 will assist in the explanation 
 of the arrangement. 
 
 The Velvet In fig. 94 A is the breast roller, a section of 
 Breast Roller which, so enlarged as to show its details of construc- 
 tion, is given on the next page (fig. 94A). This con- 
 struction of the roller is necessary because the cut 
 pile surface of the velvet cannot be wound and pressed 
 on the roller without injury, as other materials may 
 be. The roller is hollow, and generally much larger 
 in circumference than ordinary breast rollers. It has a 
 wide, hinged lid, running its entire length, so shaped 
 on the outside as not to interfere with its cylindrical 
 220 
 
form when the lid is closed (fig. 94A, D). The The Velvet 
 
 edge of the lid is cut away and carefully rounded in Breast Roller 
 
 the centre, so as to leave, when it is shut, a narrow 
 
 opening wide enough for the velvet to pass in 
 
 and out again, without crushing the pile together. 
 
 Inside the roller, which must be perfectly smooth, 
 
 a second roller, B, is fitted in such a manner, 
 
 FIG. 94A. Breast Roller of Velvet Loom. 
 
 that the velvet, after entering at the narrow opening 
 C, fig. 94A, may pass round it and out again in 
 the same opening. The inner roller has a wide 
 and deep groove in it, and is covered with some 
 material to which the velvet clings, so that very little 
 pressure by a lath in the groove, is sufficient to pre- 
 vent its slipping. This, together with the slightly 
 rounded edge of the narrow opening, holds the velvet 
 tight enough to allow for the strain of weaving.* 
 
 * When the inner roll is covered with the velvet it is 
 prevented from turning by pins or buttons at the ends. 
 
 221 
 
The Velvet As soon as enough velvet has been made to allow of 
 Breast Roller passing it round the inner roller, the lid is opened, 
 and after the end of the velvet is in the right 
 position it is closed, fastened down, and the weaving 
 proceeds. When the narrow opening in the roller, 
 C, nearly reaches the under surface of the velvet, 
 the work is loosed, the roller moved round, the lid 
 
 FIG. 94B. Velvet Roller with Lid Open. 
 
 opened, and the velvet, being separated from the 
 small roller, is drawn round it and carried under the 
 loom, to be hung on a rack, or gently laid in loose 
 folds on a low shelf placed conveniently to receive it 
 (see fig. 94). The greatest care has to be taken to 
 keep the material straight and true while it is being 
 thus moved along. As the roller is about ten or 
 twelve inches in circumference, it will be seen that 
 about one yard can be made between every shift. 
 One yard of fine velvet is about a day's work for 
 a good weaver, so that this operation of moving the 
 222 
 
web does not hinder the weaving to any great The Velvet 
 extent. Breast Roller 
 
 Referring again to fig. 94, D is the roller for the The Warps 
 ground warp. This warp is indicated by the strong for Velvet- 
 line passing from D to A. E are the headles of weaving 
 the ground harness ; four are shown here, but the 
 harness may consist of any number of headles re- The Ground 
 quired to make the ground tabby, twill, or satin, as Warp 
 the case may be. F is the roller for pile or pole 
 warp, as it is often called. This is usually placed The Pile 
 above the ground roller, and is very lightly weighted. Warp 
 Sometimes the roller itself is fixed very high in the 
 loom, but more generally a second small roller, G, 
 is fitted high up, at about the centre of the loom, 
 and over this the warp passes as in the diagram. 
 This arrangement is made in order to keep the two 
 warps as separate as possible, and is placed by the 
 weaver himself so as to suit his own peculiar method 
 of work. The line drawn from the roller F over 
 G through the headle I and the reed H to join the 
 ground warp, near the roller A, is the pile warp. 
 Only one headle, I, is shown, and it may be that 
 only one is necessary, as for plain velvet, with one 
 pile warp, the pile threads all rise or sink together 
 If, however, the pile is too rich to be all entered in 
 one headle, two or more may be required. The 
 pile harness is hung as near to the reed as the 
 working of the batten will allow. 
 
 As regards the warps themselves, the ground warp Proportion 
 is by far the richer, the number of threads in it being of the 
 usually three or four times as great as that of the Warps 
 pile. All the other fittings of the loom for weaving 
 velvet are the same as those for the ordinary hand- 
 woven materials. 
 
 223 
 
Velvet- The special fittings of the loom for velvet-weaving 
 
 Weaving : being now all described, the actual process claims 
 the Actual our consideration. Everything being, so far, in 
 
 Process order, the weaver would begin by making a few 
 inches of the ground, raising and depressing the pile 
 harness, in regular order, as may be indicated in the 
 plan. The pile thus woven in, has little visible 
 effect on the ground, especially if the latter be a rich 
 satin. It will only give a slight, lateral, ribbed ap- 
 pearance to the material, and thicken the ground to 
 a certain extent. When all is working properly 
 the pile is raised by itself, and its raising forms a shed 
 in front of the reed. Into this the weaver, instead 
 of weft, inserts a finely made, smooth, flat brass wire, 
 called a velvet rod. This rod has a fine groove cut 
 in one edge, which, when the rod is placed in the 
 shed, should be on top. It is held by the weaver 
 until the next shoot of ground is made with the pile 
 down ; this will fix it in position. Two or three 
 ground shoots are then made, the pile rising and 
 falling between them as may be arranged by the 
 designer ; this binds the pile to the ground more or 
 less securely. After these few shoots of ground, the 
 pile is again raised by itself and another rod inserted, 
 being followed up in the same manner. When five 
 or six rods are thus woven in, the most delicate 
 operation of velvet- weaving begins, viz., the cutting 
 of the pile. This is effected by the weaver, with a 
 tool called a trevette y in which a fine, sharp, peculiar- 
 shaped blade is most accurately fitted. The neces- 
 sary perfection and accuracy of this tool, according to 
 some authorities, gave rise to the proverb " As right 
 as a trevette," and the suggestion seems quite reason- 
 able. A drawing of this implement is given at fig. 95. 
 224 
 
It is taken from a trevette of the simplest construc- 
 tion, and is therefore of the kind which in skilful hands 
 is capable of the nicest adjustment. The trevette is 
 made in two parts, the upper part, which carries the 
 knife, shown open at no. I, being hinged to one 
 end of the lower part, and grooved at its bottom 
 edge so as to fit quite firmly on to one side of it 
 
 Description 
 
 of the 
 Trevette 
 
 FIG. 95. Trevette. 
 
 when the instrument is closed for use, as at letter B 
 and at letter D, where the end view is given. The 
 knife, C, is shown at A fixed in the strong staple, 
 by small hardwood or metal wedges, and it is in the 
 adjusting of the knife with these, and keeping it sharp, 
 that a great deal of the art of velvet-weaving consists. 
 It is for the purpose of adjusting and sharpening the 
 knife that the two parts of the trevette are hinged 
 together. When closed, ready for work, the knife 
 is so placed that its sharp end is very near to the 
 Q 225 
 
Velvet- 
 weaving 
 (contintttd) 
 
 Terry 
 Velvet 
 
 inner edge of the straight steel side of the lower 
 part of the tool. This may be seen in the end view, 
 D. The brass front of the lower part, letter B, 
 is for the purpose of steadying the instrument when 
 in use. 
 
 We must now return to the loom, where we left 
 the first rod ready to be cut out of the pile. The 
 weaver, taking in his right hand the trevette, rests it 
 on the left-hand side of the web in such a position, 
 that, the sharp edge of the knife fits into the groove 
 of the first rod woven into it. Making sure that it 
 is rightly placed, by a firm, steady, rapid movement, 
 he draws the trevette right across the web to the 
 other side, and, if the knife be sharp and has been 
 kept in place, the rod will spring out and the line of 
 pile will stand up, like a row of delicate little, silk 
 brushes in its place. Having cut out the first rod 
 successfully, the pile shed is again opened and the cut- 
 out rod inserted, ground is woven as before and the 
 second rod cut out, and so on in regular succession. 
 As may be imagined, great care has to be exercised 
 in cutting out the rods, as an unfortunate slip may 
 result in cutting out more or less of the ground 
 warp, which is most disastrous. If properly cut, the 
 velvet made by hand should require but very little 
 finishing when out of the loom, beyond what the 
 weaver himself can do. 
 
 Terry velvet is simply velvet woven in the above 
 manner, but uncut in the pile. Smooth, grooveless 
 wires are used in this case, and when half a dozen 
 have been woven in, instead of being cut out the 
 rod is drawn out from the same end at which it was 
 inserted. 
 
 Velvets, woven and cut by hand in this ancient 
 
 226 
 
manner and made of good silk throughout are un- 
 equalled, both for texture and durability, by any imi- 
 tations that can be produced by modern means. A 
 comparison of the many specimens of ancient velvets, 
 with the most perfect and ingenious productions 
 of the power-loom, will verify this statement. 
 Power-loom imitations smoothly shaved and highly 
 finished present a hard, inartistic, shining surface 
 when thus compared with the rich, glowing and 
 slightly varied texture of hand-loom woven velvets, 
 either of mediaeval or modern times. 
 
 With regard to small-pattern weaving in velvet, 
 a great deal might be done by quite simple means, 
 such as varying the colour of the pile warp, or 
 spacing it out so as only to come up in spots or 
 lines, vertical or lateral. The use of terry and cut 
 pile in the same pattern is also quite easy to pro- 
 duce. Many of the ordinary small designs, too, 
 could be made in velvet quite readily if the pile 
 were entered in a harness which would lift it in the 
 separate portions required, and the warp were dis- 
 tributed over the requisite number of warp rolls. 
 The necessary arrangements for small velvet pat- 
 terns will, however, be better understood when the 
 description of figured-velvet weaving, which will be 
 found in Part III. of this book, has been read. 
 
 The edges of stripes in striped materials such as that 
 shown at fig. 93, p. 218, and taborettes, as well as the 
 grounds of rich brocades, are often decorated with 
 little squares, oblongs, or lines, composed of warp 
 threads floating over two or more shoots of ground 
 weft and di pping below it at regular intervals. These 
 form bright edges and embellishments, and often 
 have a very pleasing effect. This simple kind of 
 
 227 
 
 The 
 
 Superiority 
 of Hand- 
 loom Velvet 
 
 Small 
 
 Designs in 
 Velvet 
 
 "Tobine" 
 Embellish- 
 ments 
 
"Tobine " ornamentation is called tobine^ and requires a separate 
 
 Embellish- warp spaced out and entered in one headle, in the 
 
 ments same manner as a velvet pile warp. Fig. 96 is a 
 
 ruled-paper drawing of a taborette stripe, and will 
 
 FIG. 96. Tobine Stripes. 
 
 sufficiently explain the method of introducing the 
 tobine edges. Plate ix is a good example of the use 
 of tobine stripes, which, being graduated in colours, 
 form the sole but very effective ornamentation of a 
 seventeenth-century silk. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 AUTOMATIC MACHINES FOR SHEDDING 
 MOTIONS 
 
 Automatic Shedding Motions and their Use 
 Disadvantages of the Jacquard Machine for Home 
 Weaving Comparison of it with Simpler Machines 
 The Jack-in-the-box Its Inventor Character 
 of Old Hand-loom Weavers Tie-up and Working 
 of the Jack-in-the-box The Drawboy Machine, 
 its Details and Use Examples of Pattern-weaving 
 with Drawboy. 
 
 IT now becomes necessary to describe two ingenious 
 automatic contrivances, by means of which the 
 inconvenience of managing a large number or 
 treadles, required for lifting the headles in the 
 formation of some patterns, may be obviated to a 
 great extent. At the present time the ingenious 
 invention, the Jacquard, and the various machines 
 made on the same principle, have taken the place of 
 all other automatic machines for pattern-weaving. 
 But the Jacquard machine, although admirable 
 in its capacity and adaptability, has certain disad- 
 vantages for hand-looms, especially if these be in a 
 private house, a small workshop or a studio. Not 
 the least of these disadvantages is that the Jacquard 
 machine requires the constant attention of a skilled 
 
 229 
 
 Automatic 
 Contriv- 
 ances for 
 Shedding 
 Motions 
 
 The 
 
 Jacquard 
 Machine 
 
Advantages machinist to keep it in working order. It also re- 
 of Simpler quires to be continually in use. For the weaving 
 Machines o f simple designs, therefore, on an isolated hand- 
 loom, the less delicate and complicated machines, 
 invented by weavers themselves for the purpose of 
 simplifying the shedding of the loom, are preferable. 
 They have the advantage, too, that the weaver himself 
 can repair and keep them in order, as, like the loom, 
 they are chiefly made of wood and string. They 
 are also less heavy and noisy in working than the 
 Jacquard machine, and, being placed by the side of 
 the loom instead of at the top, no extraordinary 
 height is required in the place where they are set 
 Jacquard up. For rapid commercial work in a factory, where 
 Machine a great number of looms are set up and in constant 
 most suitable USCj t ne Jacquard machines are, of course, superior 
 for Factories an( j o ff er many advantages, but it can be readily 
 understood that different qualities are desirable in a 
 machine for home weaving. 
 
 The two machines we have to examine are the 
 Jack-in-the-boXy or Jennings shedding motion, and 
 the Drawboy machine, which latter was intended 
 for drawing the cords of the draw-loom, but was 
 found to be equally useful for drawing up any 
 number or combination of headles required for 
 small-pattern weaving. 
 
 Jack-in-the- The Jack-in-the-box was chiefly used for making 
 box, when rich satins and very small figures. For this purpose 
 invented, many hand-loom weavers prefer it to a small Jacquard 
 and by machine, it being so perfectly reliable in its action, 
 whom j t was invented about 1840 by a working silk- 
 
 Ingenious weaver of Bethnal Green named Theodore Jennings ; 
 old Weavers and it is interesting to notice, by the way, how many 
 of the valuable inventions of weaving appliances in 
 230 
 
the old days were made by the actual workers, who Ingenious 
 not only understood the working of the loom when Old Weavers 
 all was prepared for weaving, but could build har- 
 nesses, contrive alterations of design and methods of 
 working, tie up new patterns, and do all the necessary 
 preparation of the loom, themselves. This required 
 for its accomplishment much judgment and skill, and 
 we find that many of the old hand-loom weavers 
 possessed these qualities to a very great extent. 
 Some of them, indeed, were quite famous in their 
 day, not only for weaving, but in various branches 
 of science. Mathematical, entomological, botanical, 
 and other clubs were common amongst them, and 
 several were corresponding members of the learned 
 scientific societies of the eighteenth and early nine- 
 teenth centuries. 
 
 In Chapter XIII., where the typical shedding 
 motions are described, it was pointed out, that as 
 many treadles were required as there were headles 
 or groups of headles to be raised in succession to 
 form any particular pattern. In an eight-headle 
 satin, for instance, the eight headles required eight 
 treadles to raise them in the following order : I, 4, 
 7, 2, 5, 8, 3, 6. The Jack-in-the-box provides the Jack-in- 
 means for raising any number of headles in any the-box : 
 sequence by the use alternately of two treadles its Utility 
 only. 
 
 Fig- 97 is a general view of the shedding Description 
 motion of the loom, with this simple machine in its of the Jack- 
 relative position to the treadles and headles. Fig. 98 in-the-box 
 gives the details and construction of the various 
 parts. Fig. 98, no. I, AA, is a strong oblong 
 wooden box, without back or front, set on end and 
 perforated at the top end with two rows of holes, 
 
 231 
 
FIG. 97. The Jack-in-the-box. 
 
FIG. 98. Details of the Jack-inthe-box. 
 
Description four holes in each row. Inside it has a shelf, B, 
 of the Jack- placed across it, at about one-third of the distance 
 in-the-box f rO m the top to the bottom ends. This shelf has 
 transverse slots cut in it, to correspond with the 
 eight holes with which the top is pierced. These 
 transverse slots are cut in such a position, that one 
 of the top holes is over the centre of each slot. The 
 box has also two long slots cut in each of its sides, 
 and above these pulleys are fixed. One of these is 
 shown in the drawing and marked C. Just below 
 the shelf, in front, a bar, D, is fixed from side to side, 
 and this bar is made to stand an inch or two in front 
 of the box, by means of two short arms which 
 project from its sides. 
 
 No. 2 shows an elevation of one side of the box. 
 Both sides being exactly alike, the description of one 
 will suffice. Here we have again the two long slots 
 and the pulley C. In addition to these, the elevation 
 shows the sections of two, long bars, numbered I and 
 2, which are fitted to the slots and are long enough to 
 reach from side to side of the box, and, after passing 
 through the slots, to project not less than three 
 inches beyond them. To the top of one bar a 
 strong cord is tied, carried over the pulley C, and 
 then fixed to the other bar. The cord is of such a 
 length, that when one bar is near the top of its slot, 
 the other bar will be at the bottom of the other 
 slot. Two other cords are fastened to the bottom 
 edges of the two bars, and connect them with the 
 two treadles of the loom in a manner which will 
 presently be explained. It will now be perceived 
 that when one bar is pulled down, the other must 
 rise and reverse the position shown in the drawing. 
 Also, that, by working the two treadles, with which 
 
 234 
 
they are connected, this action of the bars can be Description 
 repeated in alternation. of the Jack- 
 
 Nos. 3, 4, and 5 represent a section of the box in-the-box 
 no. I, taken at the place indicated by the dotted line 
 EE. The parts which will be recognised severally 
 are : (i) the bottom board of the box ; (2) the top 
 board pierced with holes, one of which appears in 
 the section ; (3) the shelf, with one of the transverse 
 slots shown ; (4) the front bar attached to the sides 
 of the box ; and (5) the two sliding bars. In this 
 figure three new and important features are shown : 
 (i) The large hook FF, made of hard wood and 
 suspended from a cord passing through the hole 
 in the top board. The hook itself hangs through 
 the corresponding transverse slot in the shelf, and 
 when held in the position shown, is caught by the 
 bottom edge of the sliding bar I, which is repre- 
 sented up. A metal ring, placed just below the slot, 
 is connected with the front bar D by a strong piece 
 of elastic, or wire spring, G. The ring encircles 
 the hook F, and would pull the hook towards the 
 bar D were it not held, in its present position, by the 
 tight cord tied to it, which passes through the per- 
 forated narrow board H. This board is fixed to 
 the back edge of the shelf B. The position of the 
 hook set free by the slackening of the cord is shown 
 in No. 4. 
 
 In order to complete the machine it must be fitted 
 up with eight hooks, springs, rings, and cords. A 
 greater number of hooks can be used, and the 
 capacity of the machine much enlarged, but the 
 details of the construction would remain the same 
 in any case. 
 
 Turning back to fig. 97, where the Jack-in-the- 
 
 235 
 
Description box is shown fitted in the loom, the eight headles 
 of the Jack- suspended from the eight levers, will be recognised 
 in-the-box as similar to those seen in the illustration of the 
 shedding motions in Chapter XIII. The cords, 
 however, which in those passed down from the ends 
 of the levers and were fastened to the ends of the 
 long marches, are now seen to pass into the box 
 and terminate in the hooks hanging there. In this 
 case only two long marches and two treadles are 
 needed, instead of as many of each as there are 
 headles in the harness. The long marches are 
 connected with the two rising and falling bars, 
 whose ends project from the side slots in the 
 box. 
 
 The machine itself is now complete, and, if the 
 treadles of the loom are worked alternately the 
 result will be, that, the two sliding bars will rise and 
 fall regularly, but nothing else will happen, as the 
 hooks at present are all held back by the rings and 
 springs as at No. 4, fig. 98. 
 
 Tie-up of The tie-up to the headles, in accordance with the 
 
 the Jack-in- design, must next be effected. From the ends of 
 
 the-box the levers, just above the headless, even loose cords 
 
 and one tight one are seen to pass into the back of 
 
 the box, and it is by means of these cords that the 
 
 tie-up is made. As the tie-up has to be made with 
 
 very great nicety, all the strings must have adjustable 
 
 loops, as well as the cords by which the hooks are 
 
 suspended. 
 
 Although any tie-up can be arranged for, it will 
 be best, for the purpose of illustration, to take the 
 simplest one possible, which is that for an eight- 
 headle twill. For the formation of this, the headles 
 will have to rise in regular succession from back to 
 
 236 
 
front. The cord from the first or back lever, there- Tie-up of 
 fore, must be tied to the ring of the second hook, the Jack-in 
 which is \ht first in the back row of hooks. The the-box 
 second lever cord must be tied to the third ring, the 
 third lever to the fourth ring, and so on till the last 
 lever is reached. This cord must cross over and be 
 tied to the first ring in the box. Now if the cords 
 are all of the proper length which can only be 
 ascertained by experiment the result of drawing 
 down any one of the hooks will be that the lever to 
 which it is suspended will be drawn down with it, 
 and its other end, to which the headle is suspended, 
 will be raised, raiding the headle with it. The 
 lever rising will also tighten the cord which is con- 
 nected with the ring of the next hook to be drawn 
 down and pull it forward, so that it catches on the 
 sliding bar, which is at present up. When this bar is Working 
 drawn down by the treadle, it carries the hook down the Jack- 
 with it ; this raises the headle and draws forward in-the-box 
 the next hook, and so they all follow, in succession, 
 till the last is reached, which, being connected with 
 the first ring, draws it forward, and the same course is 
 repeated again and again. All that is now required 
 to start the motion, is, for any one of the hooks to 
 be placed under the sliding bar and drawn down by- 
 one of the treadles ; all the others will then follow 
 in proper order if the tie-up be correct. The tie- 
 up always has to be arranged so that each succeed- 
 ing hook is in the opposite row, in order that it may 
 be drawn down by the alternating bar. This can 
 always be provided for by altering the tie-up of the 
 hooks to the levers above the box, if it cannot be 
 done without. 
 
 The action of this little machine, especially when 
 
 2 37 
 
Working used for the weaving of light webs, such as twills 
 the Jack- and satins, is most neat, cheerful, quiet, and altogether 
 in-the-box admirable. 
 
 The The Draw-boy machine is of much greater capa- 
 
 Drawboy city than the Jack-in-the-box, and more adapted 
 Machine for heavy and complicated work. Any number of 
 headles or cords, singly or in groups, up to as 
 many as four hundred or more, can be managed 
 by its means, and only two treadles are required 
 to keep it in motion. It was originally intended 
 for use with the draw-loom, in place of the 
 boy employed by the weaver to draw the cords 
 necessary for the successive lines of the design, 
 as will be explained later on. It was, however, 
 soon adopted for the purpose of drawing the com- 
 plicated systems and sets of headles for pattern- 
 weaving, which had till then been drawn by a 
 large number of treadles, brought in and out of 
 action by various levers and cords. It is said that 
 " when introduced in Spitalfields the weavers hoped 
 to reap great advantage from them ; for instance, 
 they would save the draw-boy's wages. But they 
 began to find that they had adopted a mistaken 
 notion. They found that if they had not to pay 
 the draw-boy they had to pay the manufacturers for 
 the use of the machine, and, moreover, the work itself 
 was heavier." The complaint that the work was 
 harder would refer only to the draw-loom, as the 
 simple management of two treadles must be much 
 easier and lighter than that of twenty. 
 
 Fig. 99 is a representation of a drawboy machine. 
 It is shown attached to a set of cords, A. These 
 cords may, in their turn, be connected with any 
 system or sets of headles. Twenty cords are shown, 
 
 238 
 
but there might be any number attached, the The 
 number of headles only being limited by the space Drawboy 
 in the loom where they could hang and be efficient Machine 
 
 FIG. 99. The Drawboy Machine. 
 
 for opening the shed. The machine is worked by 
 the long marches of the loom, B, which, in their turn, 
 are governed by the two treadles. 
 
 Fig. 100 gives all the parts of the machine in 
 
 239 
 
Details detail. No. I is the framework, which consists of 
 
 of the four strong wooden uprights, about two feet six 
 
 Drawboy i nc h es long, D, D, D, D. These are set firmly in 
 Machine 
 
 I 
 
 FIG. 100. Details of the Drawboy Machine. 
 
 pairs on two cross-pieces, , E, which are screwed 
 to the ground at the side of the loom near the front 
 and about two feet apart. Each pair of uprights is 
 joined together at the top by a strong cross-piece, 
 and there are also cross-pieces, F, F, just above the 
 centre. In these centre cross-pieces, on the insides, 
 240 
 
there are sockets, made to hold the end pins of a Details 
 rocking shaft, which when placed in them reaches of the 
 from one end of the frame to the other. On the Drawboy 
 centre of the outside of the cross-piece F, at the end Machine 
 shown in the drawing, a pulley may be seen raised 
 a little above its top edge. The two pairs of up- 
 rights are joined together by four side cross-pieces ; 
 G, G, G, G. Two of these are fixed at the top 
 and two at the sides a little lower than the end 
 centre cross-pieces F, F. The cross-pieces G are 
 made of hard wood, and have a number of holes 
 (in this case ten in each) accurately and smoothly 
 drilled in them, not more than an inch apart, 
 The row of holes must begin and end about six 
 inches from the four uprights. 
 
 At H, no. 2, a rocking shaft is shown, which 
 fits into the sockets on the inside of the cross-pieces 
 F, F. The shaft is made of hard wood, and must 
 be exactly the same size, and perfectly square from 
 one end to the other, so that the pecker, I, when 
 fitted on it, may be made to slide easily backward 
 and forward along its whole length. At one end 
 of the rocking shaft a large, strong, deep-grooved 
 pulley, K, is firmly fixed. Through the pulley a 
 segmental hole is cut, just above the centre, where 
 the shaft joins it. 
 
 The pecker, I, no. 2, shown in position on the The Pecker 
 shaft and in side elevation on the right, is also 
 generally made of hard wood, although sometimes 
 partly of metal. The points a, a, and the top edge, 
 have a deep but narrow groove cut in them, just 
 large enough to allow a fair-sized cord to slip in 
 them. The pecker has also a hole pierced through it, 
 just above the shaft, as well as the square hole through 
 R 241 
 
 The 
 
 Rocking 
 
 Shaft 
 
The Pecker which the shaft itself passes. When the rocking 
 shaft is in its place (see fig. 99) the pulley K is near 
 the end of the shaft towards the back of the loom. 
 In the groove of this pulley a strong cord is placed, 
 its ends being tied separately to each of the two 
 long marches of the loom, B, which are made long 
 enough to enter the frame beneath the end of the 
 shaft where the pulley K is fixed. 
 
 The Cords No. 3, fig. 100, shows a section of the machine, 
 with the pecker, also in section, in position. G, 
 G, G, G are the perforated side cross-pieces ; the 
 pecker is seen mounted on the rocking shaft ; L, L 
 are two, of twenty cords, having weights at their 
 ends which are seen, in fig. 99, to hang in the 
 holes of the side cross-pieces, a row of ten being on 
 each side of the machine. Near the points of the 
 pecker, a, a, a hard knot, or bead, is so placed, that, 
 when the rocking shaft is set in motion by the long 
 marches being pulled down alternately, the pecker 
 will rock from side to side, and, catching the cords 
 in the groove at its points just above the beads, 
 will pull the cords downwards, first on one side, and 
 then on the other. It will now be seen that if the 
 pecker be caused to slide along the bar, rocking as 
 it goes, its movement being properly regulated, as 
 it comes opposite to each pair of cords, they will be 
 pulled down as described, and that by the time the 
 pecker has passed the twenty cords, they will all 
 have been pulled down in regular succession. If 
 then the side cords of the drawboy machine are 
 tied up to a set of twenty headles, the latter may 
 be caused to rise in any grouping and sequence 
 desired. 
 
 In order to complete the description of the draw- 
 242 
 
boy machine, it only remains to explain the means The Pecker 
 by which the pecker is caused to travel along the Motion 
 rocking shaft. No. 2, fig. 99, represents the back 
 end of the machine where the pecker motion is 
 placed. 
 
 M is a strong board firmly screwed to the 
 uprights. Above the board, between the uprights, 
 a part of the pulley of the rocking shaft, with its 
 segmental hole, may be seen. Opposite the centre 
 of the hole, and projecting a little from the board, 
 to the top edge of which it is fixed, a small metal 
 pulley matches the pulley at the other end of the 
 machine above letter F, fig. 100. Over the pulley 
 F in fig. 99 a cord with a weight, N, attached to 
 it is seen to pass, through the pecker, and along the 
 shaft to the segmental hole in the large pulley, where 
 it disappears. Turning to no. 2, the same cord, 
 coming through the hole in the rocking shaft pulley 
 and passing over the small pulley on the edge of the 
 board, is seen to be attached to another large pulley, 
 which is riveted to a ratchet wheel. The combined 
 ratchet wheel and pulley turn loose on their axle, 
 which is a stud strongly bolted to the board M. 
 Now, if the ratchet wheel be turned in the direction 
 of the arrow, the cord will be wound on to the 
 large pulley and drawn through the hole, drawing 
 with it the pecker along the rocking shaft, past each 
 pair of cords, until it reaches a stop, fixed on the 
 shaft near the rocking shaft pulley. Also, if the 
 distance between the beaded cords, be made equal 
 to the teeth of the ratchet wheel, the pecker as it 
 travels along the shaft will stop between each pair of 
 drawing cords, and, as it rocks, pull them down first 
 on one side, and then on the other. When the 
 
 243 
 
The Pecker pecker has drawn all the cords, if the ratchet- 
 Motion pulley be released, the weight N, fig. 99, will bring 
 the pecker back to its original position in the 
 machine. 
 
 The ratchet wheel itself is governed by means 
 of two catches, P and Q. The catch P, is to pre- 
 vent the ratchet wheel turning back before the pecker 
 has finished its course. The other catch, Q, is to 
 move it gradually, one tooth at a time. The catch 
 P has a thin cord attached to it, which may easily 
 be guided by pulleys to the front of the loom and 
 enable the weaver to release the ratchet at the 
 completion of one repeat of the pattern. This, of 
 course, coincides with the pecker's arrival at the 
 stop on the rocking shaft. The catch Q, which 
 moves the ratchet, is connected with one of the 
 marches by the cord which passes over the pulley R, 
 and its length is so regulated as to raise the catch 
 just enough to move the ratchet one tooth at a time, 
 or as may be desired. The mechanism of the catch 
 Q, is shown above no. 2. It is simply a piece of hard 
 wood having a long slot, into which the ratchet 
 wheel partially enters. It is so hung that the pin S, 
 will be, when the catch is at rest, just underneath 
 one of the teeth, and as the catch is raised by the 
 cord attached to the march, it will move the 
 wheel, which, when moved, is prevented from 
 returning, as the catch Q falls, by the second 
 catch, P. 
 
 Utility Any of the designs previously given could be 
 
 of the woven with two treadles if the drawboy machine 
 
 Drawboy were used. Fig. 101 is, however, an example of 
 
 Machine the kind of design for which it is specially adapted, 
 
 and the way of tying it up to the cords is shown 
 
 244 
 
above the machine (fig. 99).* This design might 
 be woven in various ways, but it will only be 
 necessary to give two of the most useful workings 
 as specimens. 
 
 (i) The warp might be fine cotton or linen, 
 entered in the back or figure harness in the order 
 shown above the design, two threads being entered 
 together in each headle eye for each square of the 
 drawing. If in the reed there were forty threads 
 to an inch, the woven design would be about twice 
 the size of the drawing. The kind of weaving 
 suggested in this case would have the same effect 
 as that described at p. 176, fig. 80, being a tabby 
 ground with a floating figure woven by alternate 
 shoots with two shuttles. In addition to the figure 
 harness, a ground harness having long eyes must 
 be used. It would be advisable to make it of eight 
 headles, as such a harness would be most generally 
 useful, and it could just as well be used with only 
 two treadles as a harness of smaller capacity. 
 
 The warp would be entered in the front harness 
 singly, in regular order, and the eight headles would 
 be tied up to the two treadles in the usual way 
 (see fig. 71, no. I, p. 1 66). 
 
 The length of the design would be regulated by 
 the number of times the depression of each treadle 
 was repeated. Probably two treads for each line 
 of the design would be sufficient, but this depends 
 
 * The tie-up of two lines of the design to two draw- 
 cords of the drawboy only are shown (fig. 99, p. 239). 
 There would, of course, be a much greater space be- 
 tween the top of the draw-cords and the headle cords 
 than it is possible to show in the limited space at 
 disposal. 
 
 245 
 
 Utility 
 
 of the 
 
 Drawboy 
 
 Machine 
 
 Examples 
 of the Use 
 
 of the 
 Drawboy 
 Machine 
 
 
Examples 
 of the Use 
 
 of the 
 Drawboy 
 Machine 
 
 entirely on the size of the warp and weft used in 
 the weaving. Either a fine coloured, tussah silk or 
 
 FIG 101. Design for Floating Figure on Tabby Ground. 
 
 fine wool, would be a very suitable weft for the 
 pattern shoot of this material. 
 246 
 
(2) This would be a very suitable design for a 
 fine silk damask, the arrangements for which would 
 be as follows. The headles would have to have 
 eyes or mails of glass, with separate holes for eight or 
 ten threads to be entered in. (See fig. 92, letter D). 
 These eight or ten threads are represented in the 
 drawing by one small square of the ruled paper. 
 The headles, too, would of course be spaced, so that 
 leashes were only placed on the shafts where re- 
 quired (see top of fig. 101). In addition to the 
 twenty pattern headles, a front or ground harness of 
 eight headles with long eyes will be required, in 
 which the fine silk threads must all be separately 
 entered. The number of leashes to the inch must 
 agree exactly with the spacing of the figure harness. 
 It is not necessary that the number of threads lifted 
 by each mail of the figure harness should agree 
 with the number of headles in the ground harness, 
 but only that the whole number of threads must be 
 entered evenly and come out to the same total width 
 in both. The satin made on eight headles may 
 either be eight-headle satin or four-headle broken 
 twill. In the latter case it would only require four 
 treadles for the ground harness, but in order to 
 make a fine, rich-looking damask, eight-headle satin, 
 requiring eight treadles, must be used. The method 
 of tying the treadles up for the satin has already been 
 explained in the chapter devoted to their considera- 
 tion, and that of damask-weaving in connection with 
 fig. 91, p. 211. 
 
 In damask-weaving it is not necessary to drop the 
 pattern headles between each shoot of the ground 
 weft. The two treadles of the drawboy machine 
 can therefore have a hook near them screwed in the 
 
 247 
 
 Examples 
 of the Use 
 
 of the 
 Drawboy 
 Machine 
 
Examples 
 of the Use 
 
 of the 
 Drawboy 
 Machine 
 
 floor, which will allow of their being conveniently 
 held down, while the necessary number of ground 
 treadles are worked over. In this pattern each line 
 of the design would require about six shoots of weft 
 between the change of figure treadles. In damask- 
 weaving the length of a design can be perfectly 
 regulated by the number of times each line of the 
 ruled paper is worked over. It is necessary to add 
 that in the case of damask- weaving the drawboy 
 machine only acts on the figure harness, the ground 
 harness having to be governed by treadles in the 
 usual manner. 
 
If 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
 rl 
 
 
 fl 
 
 ' * 
 
 Plate IX. Piece of Eighteenth-century Silk-weaving, 
 
 illustrating Tobine Stripes. 
 See page 22$. Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. 
 
pl ate x Fragment of Seventeenth-century French Brocade, 
 a most perfect specimen of the Weaver's art. 
 
 See page 316. 
 
 Author's Collection. 
 
PART III 
 COMPLEX PATTERN-WEAVING 
 
PART III 
 COMPLEX PATTERN-WEAVING 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE DRAW-LOOM AND THREAD 
 MONTURE 
 
 Ancient Origin of the Draw-loom Its Importance 
 in Weaving Description of Draw-loom Building 
 the Monture The Two Kinds of Repeating 
 Patterns The Comber-board The Pulley-box 
 The Tail Cords The Simple and Guide 
 Cords The Term Cords in reference to Design 
 Rigidity of Lateral Repeats on a Loom Freedom 
 of Vertical Repeats The Drawboy The Draw- 
 boy's Fork The Most Perfect Loom The 
 Thread Monture Various Uses of the Thread 
 Monture Examples of Silk-weaving on Thread 
 Monture. 
 
 THE number of headles it is possible to hang effec- 
 tively in a loom must necessarily be limited, be- 
 cause of the space they occupy, no matter how 
 closely they may be crowded together and how 
 thin their shafts may be made. This limitation 
 renders it impossible to weave any large design with 
 a figure harness composed of headles. The small 
 
 251 
 
 Ancient 
 Origin of 
 the Draw- 
 loom 
 
Ancient 
 Origin of 
 the Draw- 
 loom 
 
 Importance 
 
 of the 
 Draw-loom 
 in Weaving 
 
 capacity of the headle harness led, no doubt, to the 
 invention of the draw-loom, in which, in place of the 
 headles, a narrow perforated board is fixed across the 
 loom, in the holes of which, separate leashes are hung. 
 They are so arranged, that a design which occupies 
 the whole width of the loom for one lateral repeat, 
 takes up no more space than a harness of eight or 
 ten headles, on which number only the very smallest 
 patterns can be woven, as we have already seen. 
 
 It is impossible to fix the date of this ancient in- 
 vention. The earliest specimens of, what are with- 
 out doubt, draw-loom webs, are of about the sixth 
 century, and are of Asiatic origin. But when, or 
 wherever it may have first been made, THERE CAN BE 
 
 NO DOUBT THAT THIS INVENTION IS THE MOST IM- 
 PORTANT IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF TEXTILE 
 
 DEVELOPMENT. All the finest pattern- weaving of the 
 Eastern, as well as the Western world, ancient and 
 modern, has been done on the draw-loom principle, 
 and even the invention of the Jacquard machine, 
 which is often supposed to have superseded it, did 
 not alter the essential principle of draw-loom weaving 
 in the least. Jacquard's invention only rendered 
 the tedious process of tying up the design on the cords 
 of the loom itself unnecessary. Jacquard substituted 
 for the tie-up, an endless band of cards, on which the 
 pattern to be woven was punched line by line. The 
 design for the tie-up of the cords of the draw-loom 
 was worked out, or draughted, on paper, ruled out 
 in squares, in exactly the same way as is requisite 
 for the punching of the cards used in the Jacquard 
 machine. In some of the early accounts of its 
 introduction into this country, Jacquard's invention 
 is called the " new draw-loom engine." 
 252 
 
The essential part of the draw-loom is the per- 
 forated comber-board^ in and about which the 
 monture y as the draw-loom harness is called, is built. 
 
 Fig. 103, is a representation of a draw-loom 
 monture very 
 much simplified 
 for the sake of 
 clearness. A 
 headle harness is 
 drawn below it 
 for comparison. 
 A is a harness 
 of six headles, 
 entered, in the 
 way before de- 
 scribed, as neces- 
 sary for a design 
 having equaj 
 sides pointing 
 different/' Ivays, 
 and wKich re- 
 quires eleven 
 threads of wajp 
 
 for one lateral ' ."." "" = 
 
 repeat. B is the mi 
 
 comber-beared of @ @ 
 
 a draw -loom, FIG. 103. Diagram of Monture 
 perforated with an d Harness, Point Repeat, 
 
 eleven holes in a 
 
 single row. C is the bottom board of a box pierced 
 with six holes, through which the cords D are 
 seen to pass. These answer to the cords from 
 which we have hitherto seen the headles suspended. 
 We need not trouble at present about the means of 
 
 253 
 
 Description 
 
 of the 
 Draw-loom 
 
Description governing them, whether by treadles, drawboy, or 
 of the Jacquard machine. All that concerns us now are 
 
 Draw-loom t he details of the monture below the board C. 
 
 Hanging in each of the eleven holes of the 
 comber-board a separately weighted leash may be 
 seen. The weight itself consists of a thin strip of 
 lead wire, having a hole at one end, by which a loop 
 of harness thread about six inches long is attached 
 to it. These strips of lead are called lingoes, and 
 vary in weight from an ounce upwards, according 
 to the kind of material to be woven in the loom 
 when completed. As in some cases there are as 
 many as three or four thousand of these lingoes in a 
 monture, the accumulated weight is considerable when 
 a large proportion are drawn up, especially as the 
 weight is nearly doubled by the friction at various 
 points of the monture. At the other end of the 
 thread loop, to which the lingo is attached, a glass 
 eye or mail is tied, having at least three holes in it, 
 through the centre one of which the future warp 
 will be entered. The holes at the ends of the mail 
 are used, one for attaching it to the loop of the lingo, 
 as we have just seen, and the other for tying it to 
 another loop about nine inches long. When this 
 has been done the leash is complete as shown 
 atE. 
 
 Building a When preparations are being made to build a 
 
 Monture monture all the loops of one size are, of course, 
 
 made together of exactly the same lengtfy. ...They 
 
 are then tied up in bundles ready for slipping on to 
 
 the mails and lingoes, as required. 
 
 In building a monture the top loops of the 
 leashes are hooked up through~^the holes in the 
 comber-board, and a cord temporarily threaded 
 254 
 
through them in order to keep them suspended Building a 
 while the upper cords are being attached. This Monture 
 is shown, still in place, in the separate diagram F. 
 
 Referring now to the plan of entering the harness The Point 
 shown at A, the first, and the eleventh leashes, are Repeat 
 found on the first headle. Accordingly the corre- 
 sponding leashes in the comber-board, must be 
 joined by threads passing from them to the end 
 of the first cord at D, in the bottom board of the 
 box C. The second and tenth leashes are on the 
 second headle ; the corresponding ones to these in 
 the comber-board must be joined in the same 
 manner to the second cord D. The third and 
 ninth, fourth and eighth, and the fifth and seventh 
 leashes, must be connected in like manner to the 
 cords D, while the sixth, the only remaining leash, 
 is to be connected singly with cord 6, which cor- 
 responds with the sixth headle, on which only one 
 leash is found to two on each of the other headles. 
 
 It is now obvious that if any of the cords D are 
 pulled upwards, singly or in combination, it will 
 have the same effect on the warp, entered in the 
 mails, as the similar raising of any one or more of 
 the harness headles. Thus we have in a single row 
 in the comber-board, equal facility for selecting and 
 raising particular threads of warp with that afforded 
 by the six rows of headle-mounted leashes. But 
 this example, owing to the necessary simplicity of 
 the drawing, is very inadequate to show the enormous 
 advantage obtained, for suppose the row of holes in 
 the comber-board extended to eleven hundred (quite 
 a moderate number) instead of only eleven, the effect 
 would be the same as if the harness consisted of six 
 hundred headles, "which., js, of course, an impossible 
 
 255 
 
 
Monture number. A linen table-cloth was woven at Dunferm- 
 Capacity line, about sixty years ago, which required a comber- 
 board with four thousand two hundred leashes, each 
 
 under separate 
 control, so that 
 one, or any 
 combination 
 of them, could 
 be raised as in- 
 dicated on the 
 draught. 
 
 The ///// A \\\\\ Fi S' I0 3 
 
 Comber / / / / / \ \ \ \ \ \^ shows tne com " 
 
 Repeat / </ / * <* *> * V \ ber-board ar- 
 
 -^ panged for the 
 point repeat, 
 the valuable 
 qualities of 
 which, to the 
 designer, will 
 
 ___^ [IH have to be dealt 
 
 ' mi mi with later on. 
 
 HI' : mi Fig. 104 is the 
 
 i L ".' . " ""~ sime in all re- 
 
 spects as the 
 
 FIG. 104. previous one, 
 
 except that it 
 
 is what isnow called a comber* repeat. It has 
 the same effect as the ordinary straightforward 
 entering of the harness, indicated at the bottom 
 of the diagram. Two exact repeats, or combers, 
 on six threads, are shown in the harness, and these 
 require twelve holes in the board, instead of the 
 * Originally camber. 
 
eleven required for the turnover point repeat. Any The 
 design for this arrangement would have to be made Comber 
 so as to repeat on every six threads of the warp. For Repeat 
 comber repeats, the necking of the monture is tied 
 up differently. The first and seventh leashes are 
 connected to the first cord D. The second and 
 eighth, the third and ninth, the fourth and tenth, 
 the fifth and eleventh, and the sixth and twelfth are 
 all likewise joined to the top cords in regular order. 
 This difference between the point and comber 
 repeats of woven designs must always be borne in 
 mind, as they will now very frequently be referred to. 
 
 Fig. 105 represents a draw-loom complete enough Building 
 for the purpose of explanation. In this drawing the the Comber- 
 comber-board is pierced with three rows of holes. board 
 It will also be observed that it is not simply a single 
 board, but is composed of several slips of thin, hard 
 wood. This is a great convenience when a very 
 large number of holes is required, as the perforated 
 slips can be spaced out slightly, and thus enable the 
 builder to regulate the number of holes to every 
 inch of the entire width, which must be done with 
 great accuracy. 
 
 The comber-board in the illustration is made up 
 of eight slips, each containing nine holes. The board 
 is therefore pierced with seventy-two holes in all. 
 
 These seventy-two holes are divided into four 
 repeats of eighteen holes each. It is usual in 
 England to hang the first leash in the first row, at 
 the back left-hand side, as indicated in the drawing. 
 To prevent confusion, only the first six leashes 
 which begin the repeats and the last one in each 
 repeat are shown, these being all connected in the 
 diagram by dotted lines. The first leash of each 
 s 257 
 
Building 
 the Comber- 
 board 
 
 FIG. 105 Mechanism of the Draw-loom, 
 
repeat is attached by the necking cords to the first Building 
 pulley cord D, which is seen to enter the pulley- the Comber- 
 box, C. Six pulley cords only are shown, but it is board 
 evident that there must be eighteen of them, as 
 eighteen sets of four necking cords each have to be 
 tied to them. The attachment of the six sets of 
 necking cords is shown, and from these the principle 
 of the whole arrangement will be readily under- 
 stood. It must be noted that the height of the 
 pulley-box, above the comber-board, must be much 
 greater than could be shown in the drawing without 
 making all the parts inconveniently small. It may 
 vary from four to six feet. As much height as pos- 
 sible is necessary here in order to avoid friction in 
 the working. 
 
 The pulley-box itself (C) now claims attention. The Pulley- 
 The bottom board of the box, looking upwards, box 
 shows the eighteen holes through which the pulley 
 cords pass. Inside the box an arrangement of the 
 eighteen pulleys is fitted up. They are so placed 
 as to be immediately over the holes in the bottom 
 board. The box has to be very strongly framed 
 together, and to be very firmly fixed in its place on 
 the top of the loom. The comber-board also has 
 to be very firmly fixed close to the ground harness 
 in the exact position required for the proper open- 
 ing of the shed. In gating the loom all these details 
 of position require a great deal of consideration and 
 experiment. 
 
 The pulley cords D, after passing over their The Tail 
 several pulleys, are carried to the nearest wall or Cords 
 beam, and tied there in regular order, being accurately 
 adjusted as to length, in a horizontal line, as shown 
 at E, fig. 105. These cords, between the pulleys 
 
 259 
 
The Tail and the wall, are called the tail cords of the loom. 
 Cords When a drawboy machine is used the design is tied 
 up on them, and they are simply pulled down in 
 the requisite order to form the pattern. The pulling 
 down of a tail cord pulls up the corresponding neck- 
 ing cords, and raises the several leashes depending 
 from their ends. By this means the necessary shed 
 is opened. 
 
 The Simple When a real drawboy, not a machine, is em- 
 and Guiding ployed, another set of cords, equal in number to 
 Cords those of the tail, is required. These are called the 
 simple, and on it the design is tied up. In the 
 illustration the simple is shown joining the tail cords 
 at F, F, and from that point its cords are carried 
 vertically to the ground. In front of the simple 
 two very strong cords called guides are stretched 
 vertically, between the ground and the roof of the 
 workshop. The groups of ties to the simple cords, 
 making each separate line of the design, are gathered 
 together and passed round these strong guiding cords 
 in succession as they are formed. By this means 
 they are kept in regular order and free from en- 
 tanglement. In the drawing the small design no. 2 
 is shown tied up on the simple, and its formation 
 will be readily traced out. 
 
 Capacity of The above description of the draw-loom, although 
 
 an Ordinary complete as to its mechanism, must not be taken as 
 
 Silk a sample of its capacity. It is only intended to 
 
 Monture show the construction and purpose of the various 
 
 parts of the machine, as well as their relation to 
 
 each other. In a very ordinary silk-loom the space 
 
 occupied by the design no. 2 would not be more 
 
 than three-quarters of an inch, so that there would 
 
 be in the narrowest loom, say twenty-one inches 
 
 260 
 
Silk 
 Monture 
 
 wide, twenty-eight repeats to be allowed for in the Capacity of 
 comber-board. The latter would have to be pierced an Ordinary 
 with five hundred and four holes, and require to 
 be furnished with the same number of leashes. 
 Twenty-eight leashes would have to be attached to 
 each of the pulley cords, and by their means the 
 pattern would be exactly repeated across the whole 
 width of the web. WITH THE SAME COMBER- 
 BOARD AND THE SAME NUMBER OF LEASHES ANY 
 KIND OF REPEAT THAT CAN BE DESIGNED ON FIVE 
 HUNDRED AND FOUR LINES OF RULED PAPER COULD 
 
 BE ARRANGED FOR. The most ordinary repeat is, 
 perhaps, two combers or one repeat point. Either 
 of these would require two hundred and fifty-two 
 cords in the simple for working out the design on, 
 and, of course, the same number of tail and pulley 
 cords. In this case each pulley cord would only 
 have two leashes attached by the necking to it. 
 The technical method of describing the number of 
 lines in the width of a design is, to say that it is 
 draughted on, two hundred and fifty-two cords, or 
 four hundred cords, as the case may be ; the cords 
 referred to being those of the simple. The same 
 term is used now in connection with the Jacquard 
 machine, but it would be more correct to say, 
 draughted for so many needles or hooks, as these have 
 taken the place of the simple ', in modern weaving. 
 
 It may be well here to call attention to the 
 fact, that, in all weaving, but particularly in draw- 
 lopm, and Jacquard weaving, the width and 
 number of repeats in a loom is most rigid, and 
 cannot be altered without rebuilding the whole 
 monture. The designer and draughtsman must 
 know exactly the number of cords and the kind of 
 
 261 
 
 The Term 
 Cords 
 
 used in 
 describing 
 Width of 
 
 Design 
 
 Rigidity of 
 Lateral 
 
 Repeats in 
 a Loom 
 
Elasticity of repeat the loom has, which he is designing for. 
 Vertical This is not the case with regard to the length of 
 
 Repeats in the design ; here the artist is at perfect liberty. 
 
 a Design ^he on jy objection to a very long, vertical repeat is, 
 that the tie-up for the draw-loom, or the endless 
 band of cords for the Jacquard machine, has to be 
 more extensive. No alteration is required in the 
 loom, whatever length the design may be, nor is 
 the weaver's work affected by it to any appreciable 
 extent. 
 
 The Draw- The work of the drawboy, as the weaver's assistant 
 boy was called, must now be described. He had to pull 
 forward, by means of the loops on the guide cords 
 in front of the simple, each set of cords, in regular 
 order, as they were required to form the successive 
 lines of the design. He not only had to pull them 
 forward, but downward, in order to raise the leashes ; 
 and not only this, but to hold them down while the 
 weaver worked over three, four, or more shoots of 
 the ground, as explained in the chapter on damask- 
 weaving. We have seen that the lingoes often weigh 
 an ounce each, and also that in a not over-rich silk- 
 loom, such as that described at p. 261, twenty-eight 
 leashes had to be raised by each cord of the simple. 
 
 The Draw- When several of these cords were drawn together, 
 
 boy's Fork and the frictional resistance added to the actual weight 
 of the lead, it is obvious that the boy must need some 
 mechanical assistance in drawing the cords down, 
 and holding them as long as required. The heaviest 
 line in no. 2, fig 105, is the sixth, in which twelve 
 cords have to be drawn together. The lingoes for 
 these would weigh three hundred and thirty-two 
 ounces, or twenty-four pounds, so that, taking into 
 consideration the frictional as well as the dead weight 
 262 
 
on this line, the cords have to raise thirty-six pounds The Draw- 
 at least, and the boy has not only to lift that boy's Fork 
 weight, but, as just explained, hold it for about one- 
 third of a minute while the ground is woven. For 
 
 FIG. 1 06. Draw-loom Fork. 
 
 boy 
 
 is 
 
 his assistance in this arduous work the 
 furnished with a fork and lever (fig. 106). 
 
 This drawing shows a solid stand, no. I, having 
 two broad uprights. This is fixed by the side of the 
 simple, but a little in advance of it. At the top 
 the uprights are joined together by two parallel bars. 
 A, is a block of hard wood which fits between the 
 two bars, and is kept in position by four small wheels, 
 or runners, being fixed on both sides of the block, 
 two above and two below, as shown in the drawing. 
 
 263 
 
The Draw- 
 hov's Fork 
 
 The Most 
 
 Perfect 
 
 Loom 
 
 Large 
 
 Designs 
 
 Unpractical 
 
 in Silk with 
 
 Thread 
 
 Monture 
 
 These runners allow the block to move freely along 
 from end to end of the bars. The fork and lever, 
 shown separately at A, E, are hinged to the top of 
 the sliding block in such a manner that they can be 
 easily moved from a vertical to a horizontal position, 
 and will remain in either. 
 
 When about to be used, the block is moved back 
 until the points of the fork are by the back edge of 
 the simple, and in the upright position as shown in 
 section at B, no. 2. The boy, by means of the loops, 
 next draws forward the simple cords necessary for 
 the formation of one line of the design. He carefully 
 inserts the upper prong of the fork in the opening 
 made, gradually drawing it forward as he does so. 
 When this has been done the position is repre- 
 sented by C, no. 2. Grasping the end of the lever, 
 the boy now draws it down and holds it in a hori- 
 zontal position, the result being that the required 
 cords are drawn down as shown at D. 
 
 The most perfect pattern loom possible, is one in 
 which the leashes are entered with one thread of 
 warp only, and every leash is under separate con- 
 trol by means of the tie-up. On such a loom every 
 imaginable form of design and variety of tie can be 
 woven without the use of any other mechanism what- 
 ever. The extensive tie-up in the case of the draw- 
 loom, and the unmanageable quantity of machinery 
 required if Jacquard machines were used, would, in 
 the case of silk at any rate, render this unpractical. 
 Silks warps, of twenty-one inches wide, sometimes 
 contain, as we have seen, as many as eight thou- 
 sand threads, which would involve the building 
 of a simple with eight thousand cords, or the use of 
 twenty Jacquard machines, with four hundred needles 
 
 264 
 
and hooks in each.* As regards the comber-board 
 and the loom itself, there would be no difficulty ; 
 in fact, the weaving on such a monture would be 
 as simple as any pattern-weaving could possibly be. 
 If linen, cotton, or wool warps are used, such an 
 arrangement for a fine bold design is quite practical. 
 A design draughted on eight hundred and forty 
 lines in the width of the ruled paper gives forty 
 threads to an inch in the reed. This is sufficient 
 for a massive pattern, where great refinement of 
 detail is not required. Weaving with a thread 
 monture gives the designer liberty to use any 
 variety of texture, form, and detail that he can 
 get in on the eight hundred and forty threads 
 at his disposal. He may make the ground of 
 tabby, twill, or satin, and he may ornament parts 
 of the figure with tabbies of double, treble, or any 
 number of threads, and fill the different spaces of it 
 with any of the various twills or satins he may wish. 
 
 IN FACT, HIS ONLY LIMITATION IS THE NUMBER OF 
 THE SQUARES INTO WHICH HIS SPACE IS DIVIDED. 
 
 It will be seen that the preparation of the draught, 
 particularly for this kind of weaving, is a most im- 
 portant work, as on it the whole of the success of 
 the finished web depends that is, with regard to its 
 ornamental shapes and texture. It also requires a 
 thorough knowledge of the effect that weaving has 
 in modifying or exaggerating edges, angles, and 
 outlines generally. 
 
 Fig. 107 is a portion of one of the finest of 
 the traditional Italian damask designs. Various 
 versions of it are to be found amongst sixteenth- and 
 
 * This might be possible if electricity were applied to 
 the draw-loom. 
 
 265 
 
 Large 
 
 Designs 
 Unpractical 
 in Silk with 
 
 Thread 
 Monture 
 
 Practical for 
 
 Cotton, 
 
 Linen, or 
 
 Wool 
 
 A Large 
 
 Design on 
 
 Thread 
 
 Monture 
 
 Preparation 
 
 of the 
 Draught 
 
 needs 
 Technical 
 Knowledge 
 
 Example 
 
 of Italian 
 
 Design 
 
 
Example 
 
 of Italian 
 
 Design 
 
 FIG. 107. Italian Damask. Point Design. 
 

Union well as durable, if the colours were well chosen and 
 Damask the yarns good and well dyed. 
 
 Perhaps a still better effect would be gained by 
 
 making the ground tabby and the figure a looser satin 
 
 or a fbur-headle twill and shooting a coarse-spun or 
 
 tussah silk into the warp instead of wool. Of course, 
 
 endless suggestions might be made in this connection, 
 
 but it is in such details as this that the designer and 
 
 craftsman must exercise his taste and invention. 
 
 Another Fig. no is a draught of a portion of the same 
 
 Treatment design in which a different treatment is adopted. The 
 
 by Various field or background of the design is a twill, while the 
 
 Ties figure is shaped and brought out by means of a tabby 
 
 outline and the use of different ties for its various parts. 
 
 The Effect If a tabby shoot of weft, similiar to the warp, 
 
 of a Tabby were made between each opening of the figure shed, 
 
 Ground and an extra shuttle carrying a different weft used 
 
 for the figure, the strength and solidity of the cloth 
 
 woven would be much enhanced. This separate 
 
 treatment of the design would also make it stand 
 
 out from the ground in a bolder and much clearer 
 
 Front manner both as to form and colour. The easiest 
 
 Harness way to do this would be to fit up a harness with 
 
 preferable long-eyed leashes in front of the monture and enter 
 
 for Tabby the warp in it as well as in the leashes of the 
 
 Ground monture. This would enable the weaver to work 
 
 the tabby ground independently of the drawboy, by 
 
 means of two treadles. The draught of this effect 
 
 would not need the tie on the ground to be 
 
 indicated, but would be drawn as in fig. 1 1 1 .* 
 
 * If a Jacquard machine to govern the thread 
 monture is being used, the tabby can be made by 
 inserting an extra card between each of the figure cards, 
 and the extra harness would not be necessary. The 
 
 2 7 
 
If the thread monture be used for silk-weaving Silk-weaving 
 without any additional harness or other appliance on Thread 
 for making the groundwork, very perfect webs, full Monture 
 of variety and detail, can be made. The designs 
 certainly must be very limited as to size, but that is 
 practically their only limitation. They may be as fine 
 as the finest engraving, for any lines and spots down to 
 the three-hundredth part of an inch may be woven 
 with the greatest ease and certainty. Such delicate 
 little designs as fig. 112 which is reproduced the 
 exact size of the original are examples of thread- 
 monture weaving. The example illustrated was 
 made in Spitalfields about the end of the eighteenth 
 century, most probably on a draw-loom with a draw- 
 boy machine. A few weavers are left in Bethnal 
 Green who still make this kind of silk, which is 
 mostly used for ties and scarves. The Jacquard 
 machine is, of course, now used for lifting the threads, 
 but the monture itself is exactly the same as in the 
 old times. This Spitalfields sample is woven about 
 two hundred and eighty threads to an inch. The 
 design repeats fourteen times in twenty-one inches, 
 and is drawn for four hundred cords. The comber- 
 board would have to be pierced with five thousand 
 eight hundred and eighty holes, and the same number 
 of leashes and lingoes would, of course, be required 
 to fill it up. The repeat of this design is comber. 
 Although the figures are turned over to extend them, 
 they do not turn over on the same lines ; they are 
 
 work, however, would be much heavier, and the num- 
 ber of cards necessary would be doubled. The front 
 harness would probably be used even in this case, espe- 
 cially as it would allow of the ground being changed 
 at will. 
 
 2 7 I 
 
Silk-weaving 
 
 on Thread 
 
 Monture 
 
See page 274. 
 
 Plate XI. Example of French Silk-weaving, time of 
 Louis XIII. Size of design, 30" x 21". 
 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. 
 
therefore what designers now call drop turnover Silk-weaving 
 repeats. This is of no advantage in regard to the on Thread 
 
 Monturc 
 
 FIG. 113. Part of Draught for Fig. in 
 
 weaving, but is an easy way of getting balance in 
 a design, and is often resorted to. 
 
 T 273 
 
Weaving 
 
 Large 
 Damask 
 Patterns 
 
 r 
 
 c 
 T) 
 
 3 
 
 r 
 
 Fig. 114 is taken from a portion of a 
 ruled-paper draught for fig. 112. It repre- 
 sents the twenty-fifth part of a square inch 
 of the finished silk, and shows the amount 
 of detail required in such designs, as well as 
 the freedom with which the textures may 
 be varied in designing for this most perfect 
 loom. 
 
 The manner of weaving damask webs 
 with two harnesses has already been fully 
 explained in Chapter XIV., but it is necessary 
 just to describe the making of damask on the 
 monture of a draw-loom, which takes the 
 place of the figure harness. Such large 
 designs as the traditional Italian pattern 
 given in fig. 107 or the beautiful Louis XIII. 
 damask of plate xi cannot be made on a 
 thread monture, and, indeed, would lose a 
 great deal of their beauty if they were. 
 The fine sharp edges which result from the 
 lifting of every thread would make such 
 large designs hard and uninteresting. A 
 great deal of the charm of woven ornament 
 results from the mystery given to the edges 
 of the forms by the more or less evident 
 steps of their outline. 
 
 Both the large designs referred to are 
 made on from four hundred to four hundred 
 and fifty cords of the simple, acting on ten 
 and a half inches of the warp, and as they 
 are point designs, one repeat fills the whole 
 twenty-one inches of the width of warp, 
 and requires eight hundred or eight hun- 
 dred and fifty holes in the comber-board. If 
 
 2 74 
 
the count of silk in the warp were four thousand 
 eight hundred threads, each mail in the monture 
 would have to lift six threads at least. In order to 
 do this the mails of the leashes must be perforated 
 with six holes in addition to the two required for 
 the construction of the leash. Fig. 114 shows a 
 leash fitted up with its lingo, and a mail having 
 the required number of holes. It will therefore be 
 seen that THE RICHNESS OF THE SILK IN DAMASK- 
 WEAVING DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE SCALE OF THE 
 DESIGN, BUT ON THE NUMBER OF THREADS LIFTED 
 
 BY THE LEASHES. After passing through the mails 
 the threads of warp are entered separately in the 
 long eyes of the front or ground harness, which 
 is worked by treadles, and the process of weaving 
 is the same in all respects as that described in 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 Weaving 
 
 Large 
 
 Damask 
 
 Patterns 
 
 
 275 
 
Important 
 
 Addition to 
 
 the Thread 
 
 Monture 
 
 Invention 
 
 of the Split 
 
 or Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 THE SHAFT MONTURE 
 
 Invention of the Split or Shaft Harness The 
 Comber-board for Shaft Harness Building a Shaft 
 Harness Description of Various Parts of the 
 Harness The Shaft Harness in Use Note on 
 regulating the Length of Designs Draughting 
 Designs Examples of Shaft-harness Weaving. 
 
 A VERY important improvement was made in the 
 monture about the middle of the last century by 
 Mr. James Gough, a weaver of Bethnal Green. By 
 means of this invention separate grounds, satins, 
 twills, and tabbies can be made without a separate 
 front harness, the use of which was explained in the 
 last chapter. At the same time the design can be 
 worked out in a larger repeat on groups of two, four, 
 or more threads, while the ties are made with single 
 threads. This facilitates the weaving of fine silk in 
 large designs, and gives freer opportunity, when a 
 separate binder is provided, for making the large and 
 important class of webs known as tissues, of which 
 the brocatelle is a member. 
 
 The invention was not made until after the 
 Jacquard machine had come into general use, and 
 was therefore never used on the original draw-loom. 
 It would, however, have been a very useful addition 
 
 276 
 
to it, and have made the wonderful tissues of the Invention 
 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries much less of the Split 
 laborious to weave. or Shaft 
 
 This invention is called the split or shaft harness. Harness 
 One name is as good as the other, but each by itself 
 only describes the invention in part, for the leashes 
 are split, and they are also suspended on shafts. 
 
 The comber-board for this description of harness The Comber 
 requires the same number of holes as the thread board for 
 monture, but each cord of the simple raises several the Shaft 
 leashes together for the formation of the design, just Harness 
 as the glass mails lift several threads together in the 
 damask monture. 
 
 Let us take such a warp of silk as the sample of 
 Spitalfields weaving examined in the last chapter, 
 and see what can be done with it on a shaft 
 monture. The count was five thousand five hundred 
 and eighty threads, one thread being entered in 
 every leash. We will at once decide that each 
 square of the ruled paper, on which the design is to 
 be draughted, shall represent four threads. This 55804-4 = 
 gives us one thousand three hundred and ninety-five 1395 * 3 =* 
 groups of four, in the whole width, which shall be 4^5 
 twenty-one inches. Three comber repeats, of seven 
 inches each, would be a convenient size for a design ; 
 we decide, then, on this, and divide one thousand 
 three hundred and ninety-five by three. This gives 
 us four hundred and sixty-five cords on which to 
 form the design. The ruled paper must also have 
 four hundred and sixty-five squares, counted laterally, 
 for the draught. 
 
 The number of rows of holes in the comber-board 
 must next be decided, and if the most usual satin, viz., 
 eight-headle satin, is intended to be used there must 
 
 277 
 

 
 Building be eight, sixteen, or twenty-four rows. Twenty-four 
 a Shaft rows would no doubt be decided on, two hundred 
 Harness an d thirty-three being in twelve rows, and two hun- 
 dred and thirty- 
 two in the re- 
 maining twelve.* 
 Before the 
 leashes are gath- 
 ered up in groups 
 and joined to the 
 pulley cords by the 
 necking they must 
 be carefully exa- 
 mined, for it is in 
 the leashes below 
 the comber-board 
 that the peculiarity 
 of the shaft harness 
 is to be seen. 
 
 Fig. 115 shows 
 the formation and 
 arrangement of 
 the leashes. A, A, 
 
 FIG. 115. Section of Split Harness, no. I, is the sec- 
 tion of a comber- 
 board having twelve rows of leashes suspended 
 through its holes. The lower parts of the leashes have 
 lingoes and mails, and are made in the usual manner. 
 But between the mails and the comber-board the leash 
 is much longer than usual in the ordinary monture, 
 and part of this length is occupied by a long loop, 
 which begins at, or a little above, the mail and reaches 
 
 * For description of comber- board and illustration 
 see p. 308. 
 
 278 
 
 <D 
 
about half-way between it and the comber-board. 
 The upper part of the leash to which the loop is 
 attached is made of stouter cord. This passes 
 through the comber-board and is gathered together 
 with another, or it may be, several other leashes, 
 and knotted to a necking cord, which in its turn is 
 attached to the cord coming from the pulley-box 
 above the loom. The twelve leashes of the illustra- 
 tion are shown joined in fours to three of the 
 necking cords of the monture. No. 2, B, B, shows 
 the end of one of a set of twelve shafts of stout 
 hoop-iron, made perfectly smooth, and enamelled. 
 The shafts are a little longer than the comber-board, 
 and are passed through the loops as shown at B, 
 no. i, in section, one shaft passing through all the 
 loops of the leashes in each row. The shafts are 
 hung from strong cords, which pass through an 
 extra row of holes drilled in the frame of the 
 comber-board, which is made wide at the ends for 
 that purpose. The shafts are hung at such a 
 height that the leashes just hang on them when the 
 loom is at rest. This is the state of the four leashes 
 on the left. If one of the cords of the simple, on 
 which the tie-up of the design is made, be drawn, 
 it will draw up with it the four leashes with which 
 it is connected, but the shafts will remain stationary. 
 If then the shafts were raised they would have no 
 effect, as their particular loops are already drawn up. 
 This position will be made clear by the centre group 
 of leashes in the illustration, which has been raised by 
 the figure cord. The third shaft in the group is seen 
 to be raised, but has no effect on the leash. In the 
 third group of leashes on the right the result of raising 
 two of the shafts, while the figure cord is left down, 
 
 279 
 
 Building 
 
 a Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 
Description 
 
 of the 
 
 Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 The Shaft 
 Harness 
 in Use 
 
 is shown. The shafts have raised the two leashes, 
 with which they are connected, but the other two 
 members of the group are unaffected. It will now 
 be seen that any ground or figure can be made with 
 single threads by means of the twelve shafts in- 
 dependently of the figure harness. Also that any 
 pattern made by the figure harness raising the four 
 threads in groups may be made without affecting 
 the shafts, so that in spaces where the figure is not 
 raised the shafts can be filling in a background of 
 satin or twill, as may be arranged. 
 
 Fig. 116 will make the whole arrangement per- 
 fectly clear. The large sketch is a portion of a ruled- 
 paper draught, and represents the face of a figured 
 silk made on a shaft harness. The warp is fine 
 white silk, of which the drawing shows one hundred 
 and sixty threads. The weft is black silk, for the 
 sake of contrast. The twelve shafts shown in section 
 at fig. 115, each carrying a twelfth part of the warp, 
 have to make a ground of twelve-shaft satin. This 
 is indicated by the fine black dots powdered over the 
 background of the draught. One shaft has to be 
 lifted for each shoot, and each shaft must rise in the 
 necessary order to form the satin. The mechani- 
 cal method of raising the shafts will be described 
 presently. 
 
 The effect of the figure harness is seen in the 
 bold black squares of the design. These consist of 
 weft, which crosses in front of the lifted white 
 threads. The shaft satin has no binding effect 
 on the figure, for the reason already explained ; 
 accordingly it follows that the smallest intersection 
 of warp and weft in the pattern must be four threads 
 wide. Such intersections are shown working a tabby 
 
 280 
 
edge to the square in the centre of the flower. If The Shaft 
 aU the odd- and even-numbered cords of the simple Harness 
 
 in Use 
 
 FIG. 1 1 6. Draught for Shaft Harness. 
 
 were drawn alternately, this tabby effect, with a 
 single-thread tie occasionally appearing in the 
 
 28 1 
 
The Shaft 
 
 Harness in 
 
 Use 
 
 Note on 
 regulating 
 the Length 
 of Designs 
 
 white portion only, would cover the face of the cloth. 
 It will now be apparent that any ties on the figure, 
 must be drawn on the design ; and that these when 
 woven will be four threads wide. These quadruple 
 ties are seen on the petals of the flower, arranged in 
 diagonal lines. Much care is necessary in designing 
 these ties, in order to prevent undue length in the 
 floating loops of weft. The draught being made on 
 ruled paper with squares divided equally 8x8, the 
 ties in this case are square and need more than one 
 shoot of weft to build them up. If the designer 
 had wished, he might have made them only one shoot 
 high instead of four, as shown in no. I below the 
 flower. This would, however, involve the drawing 
 of the figure cords every shoot, and make the tie-up 
 four times as long as at present. If a Jacquard 
 machine were used, the number of cards required 
 would also be increased fourfold. 
 
 It is perhaps necessary to pause and specially note 
 here that in order to bring any design to the 
 required length, the cords of the simple have to be 
 held down over two or more shoots, according to 
 the size of the weft and the nature of the pattern. 
 The draughtsman makes his design on the number 
 of lines he deems necessary for the effect he wishes 
 to obtain, but the number of shoots to each line 
 required to bring the woven pattern to the same 
 proportion as the draught, has to be settled by 
 experiment, when the web is ready for starting. 
 Some designs, especially for damasks, need each 
 separate line to be repeated as many as eight 
 times. In the draw-loom the figure harness is 
 left up while the requisite number of shoots of 
 ground are made, but with a Jacquard machine 
 
 282 
 
the shed is closed every shoot, and opened again Draughting 
 by keeping the same card on the cylinder of the Designs 
 machine, until the requisite repetition has been 
 completed. 
 
 Returning to fig. 116, no. 2 shows the manner in 
 which the design would be worked out on the ruled 
 paper. The ground would be left plain, being 
 woven independently by the shafts. The pattern 
 for the tie-up would have to be drawn with all its 
 ties and subordinate effects, such as little diaper 
 patterns and different-sized tabby fillings. Any 
 shapes and details that can be got in on the available 
 four hundred and sixty-five squares are weavable. 
 In making the draught, care must be taken to avoid 
 long loose floats of weft. The design may be of 
 any length desired, but it must be remembered, that, 
 great length of design needs a long tie-up on the 
 draw-loom, or an expensive and unwieldy set of 
 cards for the Jacquard machine. 
 
 No. 3 of the illustration shows the propor- 
 tional size of the flower in comparison with the 
 draught, and its general effect when woven in fine 
 silk. 
 
 Plate xii is a copy of an eighteenth-century French 
 silk. It was photographed from the woven silk 
 reproduction, and is the same size as the original. 
 The illustration only shows a part of the design, 
 which is seven inches wide and repeats four times 
 in a web of twenty-eight inches. The count of the 
 warp is about the same as that of the Spitalfields 
 example, fig. 112, p. 272. The groundwork is 
 eight-shaft satin, woven on a split harness, and the 
 lace-like pattern is formed by raising the threads 
 two together instead of four as in fig. 115. The 
 
 283 
 
Draughting draughting is on eight hundred cords instead of the 
 Designs four hundred and fifty. This increase of size in the 
 draught is rendered necessary by the fewer number 
 of leashes raised by each cord of the simple. In 
 all other respects the draughting and weaving of 
 this silk are the same as described in connection 
 with fig. 115. 
 
 284 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 BROCATELLE AND TISSUE WEAVING 
 
 The Technique of Brocatelle Webs Weaving 
 Brocatelles Draughting for Tissue weaving Two 
 Methods of mounting Binders Old Spitalfields 
 Tissue Broche Tissues General Utility of Shaft 
 Harness Shaft Harness for Coarse Materials 
 Tissues of Wool, Linen, and Cotton on Shaft 
 Harness Examples of Modern Wool Tissues Old 
 Method of Tissue weaving without Split Shaft 
 Harness. 
 
 BROCATELLES and other webs, which weavers call The 
 by the general name of tissues, cannot be made on Technique 
 the shaft monture, described in the last chapter, ofBrocatelle- 
 without some arrangement being added in order to weaving 
 work a separately warped binder. The reason for 
 separate warping generally, was given in Chapter 
 XIV. But it will be necessary to examine a 
 sample of these webs and ascertain the reason why 
 a separate binder is specially required for brocatelle 
 and tissue weaving ; and afterwards the fitting which 
 has to be added to the loom, for this kind of 
 weaving, can be explained. 
 
 The chief characteristic of a brocatelle web is The 
 the raised satin figure, which gives such a rich Technique 
 appearance to the fabric (see plate xm). In a of Brocatelle 
 
 285 Webs 
 
Damask 
 
 and 
 Brocatelle 
 
 Effects 
 compared 
 
 damask web the background of the figure is a satin, 
 made by the long floating threads of the silk warp, 
 while the figure itself is the reverse satin, in which 
 the weft chiefly shows. In the brocatelle, on the 
 contrary, the warp floats rather loosely in the figure, 
 and a special weft entirely covers it up in other places. 
 The second weft is tightly bound down by a sepa- 
 rate binder, and forms the background to the design. 
 Fig. 117, no. i, shows a portion of a brocatelle 
 as it would be draughted by the designer. The 
 weaver, in tying up the design on the simple cords, 
 in this case, would not tie up the figure, shown in 
 white, as he would for a damask web, but would tie 
 up the ground, represented by the black portion of 
 the draught. In like manner, on cards for a Jacquard 
 machine the instruction to the card -puncher would 
 be, " Cut the ground, not the figure." No. 2 shows 
 the effect as far as it could be woven on the shaft 
 harness as described in the last chapter. Plain satin 
 has been woven all over by the shafts, the warp 
 being white and the weft, as is usual in brocatelles, 
 an undyed linen.* The satin ties, shown on the 
 figure are of linen, but the ground having been 
 raised by means of the simple cords, a black silk 
 weft has been shot across the spaces so lifted. 
 These ground spaces are thus only covered by 
 unbound loops of the second weft, and the separate 
 binder is required to tie them down securely in 
 their places. In brocatelle weaving the charac- 
 teristic raised effect of the satin figure is obtained by 
 
 1 The first or satin shoot of a brocatelle only binds 
 the satin, and does not show on the face of the cloth. 
 Linen gives solidity of texture, and on that account is 
 usually employed. 
 
 286 
 
lightly weighting the 
 roller of the main 
 satin warp and 
 heavily weighting the 
 binder roller, and the 
 effect is further en- 
 hanced by the harsh- 
 ness of the linen 
 back. 
 
 No. 3 shows the 
 ground weft bound 
 down by a four-headle 
 twill, and it is in 
 order to enable this 
 to be done that an 
 addition of some kind 
 has to be made to 
 the monture. This 
 may be arranged for 
 in two ways, as fol- 
 lows : (i) The num- 
 ber of shafts may be 
 increased by four, the 
 extra ones being fitted 
 up in front of those 
 used for the satin ties 
 of the main warp. 
 This will make 
 twenty shafts in all. 
 On these shafts, four 
 extra rows of leashes 
 are hung by their long 
 loops. These leashes 
 have no top member 
 
 Damask 
 
 and 
 Brocatellc 
 
 Effects 
 compared 
 
 Plan of 
 
 making a 
 
 Separate 
 
 Binder 
 
 *b 
 
 d 
 
 i Q 
 
Plan of 
 
 making a 
 
 Separate 
 
 Binder 
 
 Weaving the 
 Brocatelle 
 
 Care 
 
 required in 
 draughting 
 for Tissue- 
 weaving 
 
 passing through the comber-board, as the others 
 have, but are complete when hung upon the shafts. 
 The warp for the binder is brought through the 
 main body of leashes, one between every four, and 
 entered in regular order in the binder. This com- 
 pletes the arrangement, and the brocatelle effect of 
 no. 3, fig. 1 17, is obtained by the following procedure. 
 The first shoot of flax thread is made with the 
 binder all lifted, and one shaft of the main warp 
 lifted as well. The second shoot of weft (black 
 .silk in this case) is made with one shaft of the 
 binder down and the ground of the design raised by 
 the drawing of the cords of the simple. When 
 this has been done the effect of one line of no. 3, 
 fig. 117, will have been woven. The next and 
 following shoots proceed in their proper order, first 
 the flax and then the silk, in regular succession. A 
 set of four additional treadles and levers will be 
 required to lift the binder shafts, or if an automatic 
 machine such as a drawboy or a Jack-in-the-box 
 are used to lift the grounds, the necessary additions 
 will have to be made for them. 
 
 In draughting for brocatelles, and other tissues, 
 it is necessary to be more careful in selecting the 
 ruled paper, in regard to its proportion ; as the length 
 of the design of a brocatelle cannot so easily be 
 regulated in the loom as can that of a damask. It 
 is true the same simple cords can be drawn twice 
 or thrice over, but as there are two wefts to be 
 shot in, the space occupied by one line of the design 
 is much greater than is the case in fine damask. 
 The draught has to be made on paper ruled 
 8 X 12, or 8 X IO, and the final regulation of the 
 length of the woven pattern must be made by the 
 
 288 
 
Plate XII. Copy, by the Author, of Eighteenth-century Fine French Silk. 
 
 A portion of the design only is shown. The part photographed 
 
 is the full size of the original. 
 
 See page 283. 
 
Plate XIII. Copy, by the Author, of Sixteenth- cenfury Italian 
 Brocatelle. A portion of the design only is shown, about 
 half the actual size of the original. 
 
 See page 285. 
 
alteration of the size of the wefting used, as well 
 as by the closeness with which the weft itself is 
 beaten together. In the case of some tissues in 
 many colours, where several shoots of weft go to 
 make up each line, the ruled paper has to have 
 fewer lines in the height than the width. It 
 may be necessary, therefore, to use paper ruled 
 8x6 or 8x4. Anyway, all these points must 
 be carefully calculated before the draught is 
 commenced. 
 
 2. Another arrangement of the binder, required 
 for weaving brocatelles, is to mount an ordinary 
 harness, of the proper count, in front of the shaft 
 monture in the same position as for damask-weav- 
 ing, and to enter the second or binding warp in it. 
 The warp, however, unlike that of the damask 
 harness, is not entered in the mails of the monture 
 leashes, but passes between them. It is also not 
 necessary that the binder leashes should have long 
 eyes. This kind of binder harness is sometimes 
 preferred to the shaft harness, but the latter takes up 
 less space and is in the position to receive another 
 improvement, which will be noticed presently. As 
 far as the brocatelle and some other tissues, which 
 now claim our attention are concerned, one of 
 the above plans of fitting up the binder harness 
 is as good as the other. For a temporary work 
 perhaps the binder could be more easily added in 
 the second method. 
 
 The weaving of a great variety of fabrics is 
 possible, with the draw-loom at the stage of develop- 
 ment to which we have traced it. A volume, or 
 perhaps many volumes, might be filled with descrip- 
 tions and dissections of such webs, but a very few 
 u 289 
 
 Care 
 
 required in 
 
 draughting 
 
 for Tissue 
 
 weaving 
 
 Alternative 
 Plan of 
 
 arranging 
 Binder 
 
 Harness 
 
 An Old 
 
 Spitalfields 
 
 Tissue 
 
 analysed 
 
An Old typical specimens must suffice for the present hand- 
 Spitalfields book. 
 
 Tissue First we must examine two very different ex- 
 
 analysed amples of tissue weaving, which might, however, 
 have been woven on the same loom, with the same 
 count of warps and precisely the same fitting up. 
 
 Plate xiv is taken from a fine piece of tissue- 
 weaving made in Spitalfields probably at the be- 
 ginning of the nineteenth century. The colours are 
 green and gold. The ground is green satin, both 
 rich in colour and in texture. The design is in 
 green, lighter than the ground, and gold, and repeats 
 point once in the width. Both the green and gold 
 portions of the figure are tied by the same twill 
 binder. The warp of the satin ground was not 
 lightly weighted, as in brocatelle weaving, but is 
 peculiarly flat, which would suggest that it was more 
 heavily weighted than is usual even for a damask. 
 The binder warp of the figure, on the contrary, is 
 rather lightly weighted. This tissue has no linen 
 shoot, but is all cure silk throughout, the weft 
 of the ground satfi being fine and rather harder 
 than usual. The green and the gold weft used 
 in the figure are both, rich, lightly twisted silk, 
 known by the name of tram, as distinguished 
 from organzlne^ which is the harder-twisted silk 
 always used for warps. Three shuttles are required 
 for weaving this web, one for the ground satin, 
 which is the first shoot. The ground satin, as we 
 saw was the case in the brocatelle, is made on the 
 main warp, with the figure cords at rest and the 
 binder all lifted out of the way. At the second 
 shoot, the green part of the figure is lifted, and one 
 shaft of the binder left down while the other shafts 
 
 290 
 
Plate XIV. Spitalfields Tissue in Green and Gold Silk. 
 
 Date about 1900. 
 
 See page 290. Author's Collection. 
 
 This is shown as an example of skilful weaving, not of fine design. 
 
are all raised. The shed for the second shoot being 
 thus made, the shuttle carrying green weft is sent 
 across, and passes behind the satin ground until it 
 comes to the lifted figure. Here it goes in front of 
 the satin and all the binder warp threads, except 
 those entered in the one left down. These remain 
 in front of the weft to tie it. When the shed has 
 closed on the second shoot the gold figure cords are 
 
 FIG. 1 18. Spitalfields Tissue. 
 
 drawn, the same binder shaft left down, and the 
 shed being open the third shoot is made, the weft 
 now being gold-coloured silk. This shoot also 
 passes behind the satin ground, and behind the 
 green figure as well, until it reaches the opening 
 made by the raised ground warp and all the binder 
 threads except the first. Here it shows on the 
 face of the cloth, and when the shuttle is drawn 
 out and the shed closed one line of the ground 
 and figure will be completed, and is represented on 
 ruled paper in fig. 118, letter A. In this draught 
 the white squares stand for the main warp threads 
 of green silk, the dots for the green binder warp 
 threads, the crosses for the first shoot of green ground 
 
 291 
 
An Old weft, the black squares for the green figure shoot, and 
 Spitalfields the lined squares for the third shoot, the gold weft. 
 Tissue The draughting of the separate colours on the 
 
 analysed ruled paper must always be done very carefully, as 
 a separate tie-up has to be made for each. If, for 
 instance, two shuttles have to be used in forming 
 one line of the figure, as in the above case, there have 
 to be two rows of loops in the tie-up on the simple, 
 in order that the cords may be drawn in proper 
 succession. If as many as seven shuttles had to be 
 used for one line of the figure, the same number of 
 rows of loops would have to be tied up for it. 
 
 A Broche The next example, fig. 119, is of quite a different 
 Tissue character. In this design, a part of which only is 
 shown, a great variety of colours are used, which 
 have on the face of the material almost the effect of 
 brocading in many coloured silks. Four shoots have 
 to be made in each line of the weaving, one for the 
 plain ground, and three for the figure, and they are all 
 thrown right across the web in the ordinary manner. 
 A glance at the back of the material would show 
 that the colours are all arranged in lateral stripes of 
 different widths, and also that the colour effect is 
 obtained by changing the weft used for the figure, at 
 certain intervals, as arranged for on the draught by 
 the designer. In many designs of this class great in- 
 genuity is displayed by the artist in distributing the 
 coloured ornament in such a way, that, the lateral 
 stripes of the weft are altogether lost sight of. This 
 at first was no doubt the aim of the designer, who 
 wished to obtain the effect of brocaded ornaments 
 in a quicker way. But although this deception is 
 quite possible, after all, some of the most successful 
 of such designs show the method of working quite 
 292 
 
A Broch< 
 Tissue 
 
 FIG. 119. Rococo Tissue. Broche Weaving. 
 
A Broch frankly. It will be seen that the chief difference 
 Tissue between this example and that of the tissue pre- 
 viously given is a matter of design. The working 
 out is very similar, except that the ground is a tabby 
 with a thick weft, such as used to be called a lute- 
 string^ or lustring, as it is often spelt on old designs. 
 The three figure wefts are all thrown into the 
 same shed of the binder, which opens, in different 
 parts of the web, according to the drawing of the 
 simple cords at three successive shoots. In order to 
 show clearly the method of changing the colours of 
 the weft, the sketch is ruled laterally from letter A 
 to G. At A the architectural feature is coloured 
 yellow and shaded with dark brown ; in the yellow 
 there are small touches of dark green, represented 
 by the solid black. The foliage above the vase 
 is mostly dark green, and the yellow shuttle is 
 changed for one having light green weft in it, 
 so that in the space marked B, only light and dark 
 green show. In the space C the light and dark 
 green are continued and the dark brown weft is 
 changed to red (represented by dots). The light 
 green at D is changed to purple (cross-hatching), 
 and at E the dark green changes to yellow, so that 
 in this space red, purple, and yellow occupy the 
 three shuttles. At F the red changes to orange, in 
 the pines, where it is heightened by touches of 
 yellow, and in the space G with dark green, which 
 takes the place of the purple shuttle. 
 
 Small Fig- 1 20 is an example of a small design, quite 
 
 Broch6 ordinary in form, which, when woven in the above 
 
 Tissue manner, in lateral stripes of rose-colour, green, and 
 
 dull gold on a dark blue satin ground, has a most 
 
 excellent effect. This is woven with only two 
 
 294 
 
Small 
 Broche" 
 
 Tissue 
 
 FIG. 1 20. Modern Broche Tissue. Designed and 
 arranged for weaving by the Author. 
 
Small 
 
 Broch6 
 
 Tissue 
 
 General 
 
 Utility of 
 
 the Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 Description 
 
 of a Most 
 
 Useful Shaft 
 
 Harness for 
 
 Coarser 
 
 Materials 
 
 shuttles, one for the ground satin, and the other 
 with changing wefts for the figure. 
 
 It is not only for the weaving of fine silk that the 
 shaft monture is useful, but it is equally so for linen, 
 cotton or woollen pattern webs, of either large or 
 small design, such as are used for hangings, furni- 
 ture, and other purposes. If properly planned, an 
 astonishing variety of weft effect patterns can be 
 designed, which do not require alterations to the 
 loom itself. This is, indeed, the chief advantage 
 of designs in which the weft is most conspicuous. 
 It is obvious that where the warp is only used as a 
 ground or binder to the ornament, alterations are 
 easier to make. Different designs can be woven 
 on the same length of warp, and altogether more 
 freedom is given to the artist in arranging his 
 design. Take, for instance, the simple matter of 
 stripes. If a stripe or stripes of colour are made in 
 the warp, they have to remain in the same position 
 from beginning to end of the web. But, weft 
 stripes, of any size, colour, or distance apart, can be 
 thrown in at will. It is therefore a great advantage 
 to have a loom built particularly with a view to 
 weft effect designs, especially in a studio or small 
 workshop. 
 
 As an example of a most useful build of shaft mon- 
 ture for the weaving of these coarser materials, the 
 following may be interesting. The comber-board 
 is the first thing to consider. We will suppose 
 that the width of the web to be woven is twenty- 
 four inches. It might be forty-eight inches,* in 
 
 * In the case of the warp being forty-eight inches 
 wide a fly-shuttle would have to be used, and when two 
 296 
 
which case the figures of the specification would 
 simply have to be doubled. The space of the 
 pierced part of the comber-board must be at least 
 twenty-four inches, and in view of the material to 
 be used, fine linen or cotton, it must be pierced 
 with sixteen hundred holes, arranged in eight rows. 
 The eight rows of leashes suspended in these holes 
 will require eight shafts, and the leashes themselves 
 must have much heavier lingoes than we saw to be 
 necessary for fine silk. The number of cords in 
 the pulley-box, or hooks in the Jacquard machine, 
 should be four hundred, and four leashes should be 
 raised together by the drawing of each cord for 
 the figure. One comber repeat will fill the whole 
 width of twenty-four inches, so THAT ANY DESIGN 
 
 DRAUGHTED ON FOUR HUNDRED SQUARES, IN THE 
 WIDTH OF RULED PAPER, CAN BE WOVEN ON THE 
 LOOM. 
 
 The binder, in which there must be eight 
 hundred threads of the same size as those of the 
 main warp, may either be mounted on eight extra 
 shafts in front of the figure shafts, or be distributed 
 in an eight-headle harness. It should be on eight 
 headles in order that tabby, twill, or satin binders 
 may be made at will. The entering of the binder 
 threads, is only in the binder leashes ; they must 
 pass between each two of the main warp, but not 
 be entered in its mails. The raising of the binder 
 harness may be either by means of the treadles and 
 levers, or by the Jack-in-the-box, unless a Jacquard 
 or more shuttles were required drop-boxes must be added. 
 Most of the old draw-loom weaving was done with hand- 
 shuttles, the fly not being invented till the middle of 
 the eighteenth century, and the drop-box much later. 
 
 297 
 
 Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 for Coarse 
 
 Materials 
 
Shaft 
 Harness for 
 
 Coarse 
 Materials 
 
 Varieties of 
 Weaving 
 
 possible on 
 
 Shaft 
 Harness 
 
 FIG. 121 
 
 Tie-ups for Tabby. 
 
 machine is used, in which case 
 all the lifting, both of figure and 
 binder, is done by it. 
 
 The reed, for the loom thus 
 fitted up, would require eight 
 hundred dents, and each dent to 
 have two threads from the main 
 warp, and one from the binder 
 entered in it. 
 
 Some examples of the kind 
 of weaving to be done with the 
 above loom may now be given. 
 In the first place, tabby cloth, 
 quite plain and even, made by 
 lifting single threads alternately, 
 can be woven, all the threads 
 of both warps being used. This 
 would require all the shafts to be 
 tied up to the treadles as shown 
 at fig. 121, no. I. No. 2 gives 
 the sketch plan of the enter- 
 ing and tie-up of a tabby of two 
 threads. No. 3 shows the plan 
 and tie-up for three-thread tabby. 
 Tabby of four threads could not 
 be made unless there were six- 
 teen shafts in the figure harness, 
 and above that number of threads 
 would make too coarse a tabby 
 to be of any service. 
 
 Double or treble cloth could be 
 made either with single, double, or 
 treble threads, and with or with- 
 out pattern. Also double cloth, 
 
 298 
 
Varieties of 
 Weaving 
 
 possible on 
 
 Shaft 
 Harness 
 
 FIG. 122. Curtain Border. 
 
 one portion having double threads and the other 
 portion having single threads, could be woven, and 
 double cloth of two different textures, one tabby 
 and the other satin, could be devised. 
 
 Figs. 122 and 122 A will show the great utility of 
 being able to weave a perfect plain cloth, with a 
 border introduced at regular intervals. The illus- 
 trations are from such a web. It was made for a 
 heavy curtain to fill an archway, and both surfaces 
 were alike. The border being double cloth, it was 
 possible to make the front and back exactly alike, 
 even as to the position of the colours, which in single 
 weaving must always be reversed. The letters of 
 a motto or a monogram might in this way be woven 
 so as to be read rightly on both sides. 
 
 We must now examine three samples of woollen 
 hangings recently made on a loom constructed 
 according to the plan just specified. 
 
 Woollen 
 Hangings 
 woven on 
 
 Shaft 
 Harness 
 
 FIG. I22A. Curtain Edging. 
 
 299 
 
Woollen 
 
 Hangings 
 
 woven on 
 
 Shaft 
 
 Harness 
 
 Examples 
 of Wool 
 Tissues 
 
 Plate xv was woven for a church hanging in 
 scarlet, blue, and green wool on a ground of fine cream- 
 coloured, mercerised cotton. The ground is a treble- 
 thread tabby, but shows very little on the face of the 
 web only, in fact, in the bold outlines of the con- 
 ventional lily and the large leaf forms which compose 
 the trellis of the design. The lily is in scarlet wool, 
 and is only tied down by a satin, which is made on 
 the simple cords of the figure harness. This loose 
 tie allows it to stand well above the general surface 
 of the cloth. The green vase and foliage, and 
 the dark blue background, are tied by a four- 
 headle, single-thread twill, made by the binder 
 harness. 
 
 It is often found more convenient to weave this 
 kind of material face upwards as the present example 
 was made. 
 
 The order of the weaving was : (i) A tabby shoot 
 of coarse mercerised cotton in a shed made by the 
 tie-up of no. 3, fig. 121. (2) For this shoot all the 
 cords of the figure harness are raised except the 
 background of the design. For the binder the first 
 and fifth binder shafts are raised. Into the shed thus 
 formed the dark blue weft is shot. (3) All cords 
 raised in the figure, except, the foliage and a portion 
 of the trellis leafage. The third shuttle carries a 
 light green weft, and the same binders are raised as 
 for the blue shoot. The spaces between the scarlet 
 lilies (about two-thirds of the design) are woven 
 with three shuttles, but when the lily is reached a 
 fourth shuttle must be added. In this part of the 
 design all the figure cords are raised except those 
 forming the lily itself. Here all the binder headles 
 are left down, as the binding of this part of the 
 
 300 
 
design is by four threads of the figure harness, in Examples 
 the same manner as shown in fig. 116. of Wool 
 
 The next example, plate xvi, is a portion of a Tissues 
 very heavy wool and spun-silk hanging. In this 
 web the binder does not show on the surface, except 
 in the treble-thread tabby ground, as the few ties 
 required on the figure are made by lifting one of 
 the group of four threads raised by the cords of the 
 simple, and are arranged for by the designer on the 
 draught. The binder harness is, however, useful, as 
 it ties in the wool at the back and keeps it flat ; it 
 also helps to force out the figure and make it stand 
 well up from the ground. It will be observed that 
 the two colours of the figure are so interwoven 
 that there are very few long floats of weft which 
 require being tied down. Whenever a float of 
 more than seven squares of the ruled paper is 
 made a binder is raised for the tie. Three wefts, 
 carried by three shuttles, are used in this tissue, and 
 four shoots are necessary to complete one line of 
 the draught. 
 
 The warp consists of three thousand two hundred 
 threads of spun silk, warped double. Their being 
 warped double, makes the necessary number of 
 threads (1600) for entering in the figure harness, and 
 the binder must also have double threads like the 
 cane warp. The spun silk for both warps is white. 
 
 The weft for the tabby ground is coarse, strong- 
 spun silk, four or five ends being twisted together. 
 This is also white. The weft for the figure is 
 soft wool spun rather finely, several ends (six or 
 eight) being also lightly twisted together. One 
 shoot of the figure is green and the other a very 
 dark indigo blue. One repeat of the bold design 
 
 301 
 
Examples 
 of Wool 
 Tissues 
 
 fills out the whole width of the twenty-four-inch 
 web. 
 
 The order in which the wefts are shot is : (i) The 
 white silk in a tabby shed made by the shafts only, 
 of both harnesses ; (2) the same weft in the alter- 
 nate tabby shed ; (3) the figure harness alone 
 being used, the green wool is shot into the shed 
 first raised by the simple cords, and is followed (4) 
 by the dark blue in the next figure shed. This 
 completes one line of the design as draughted. 
 This web is also woven face upwards, and the tie-up 
 has to be so made, that, the cords lift first the 
 ground and the blue part of the figure, and secondly 
 the ground and the part of the figure coloured 
 green. 
 
 Fig. 123 is particularly interesting, as it shows the 
 great extent to which the changing of the weft in 
 lateral stripes may be carried, with advantage. It is 
 difficult in black and white to indicate the variety 
 of colours used in this pattern, which is arranged to 
 weave with one ground and two figure shuttles 
 only ; but the changing colours are indicated to 
 some extent by dots, lines, and cross-hatchings. 
 Fifteen changes of colour are made in one vertical 
 repeat, and the effect of lateral striping is entirely 
 hidden. The weft changes are shown in the two 
 vertical stripes at the side of the illustration. 
 
 The ground in this case is a tabby of double 
 threads only, and is of fine linen. The tabby is 
 made by both harnesses working together, as 
 draughted at no. 2, fig. 121. As in the last 
 example, there is no binder on the figure except in 
 the few places where the length of the floating 
 loops renders it necessary. Where thus required 
 
 302 
 
Plate XV. Wool Hanging designed, draughted, and arranged for weaving 
 by the Author for St. Christopher's Church, Haslemere. The 
 
 colours are scarlet, blue, green, and white. 
 See page 300. 
 
Examples 
 
 of Wool 
 
 Tissues 
 
 FIG. 123. 
 
Examples they are made by drawing one cord of the 
 
 of Wool simple. 
 
 Tissues This pattern is woven face downwards, which 
 
 makes it very light, both as to the tie-up and the 
 drawing of the simple cords, but it needs the binder 
 harness all raised while the figure is being woven. 
 
 The first shoot is one of tabby with white linen 
 weft. The second is fine black or very dark green 
 wool, two or three ends being wound together. 
 This colour runs nearly all through the design, 
 there being only three small spaces where it is 
 changed, once to yellow, at A, and twice to green, 
 at B, B. The third shoot begins with blue at C, 
 and changes at D to green, at E to purple, at F to 
 a different blue, at G to another green, at H to rose- 
 pink, at I to green, at K to brown, at L to blue- 
 purple, at M to green, and finishes the repeat at N 
 with scarlet. 
 
 It must be understood that all these examples of 
 tissue weaving could be made on the loom as fitted 
 up for damask weaving that is, with a long-eyed 
 harness in front of the figure harness, if to the latter 
 were added another set of headles to work the 
 separate warp of the binder. In fact, this was the 
 kind of mounting on which the old brocatelles and 
 tissues were made. The split harness is, however, a 
 great improvement, and has many advantages, not 
 the least of which is its occupying so little space in 
 the loom. 
 
 The - There is another kind of harness for silk damask 
 Compound weaving which was also invented by a working 
 
 Harness weaver of Bethnal Green ; this is called the com- 
 pound harness. It is most ingenious, and has been 
 extremely useful in connection with the Jacquard 
 304 
 
 The Split 
 Harness not 
 
 Indispens- 
 able for 
 Tissue 
 weaving 
 
Plate XVI. Portion of Hanging of woven wool and coarse silk. 
 
 Designed, draughted, and arranged for weaving by the Author. 
 See page 301. 
 
machine, for use with which it was invented, but as The 
 it is not suitable for use with the draw-loom it is Compound 
 not necessary to describe it here. Harness 
 
 The next group of samples for examination 
 require for their weaving a still further development 
 of the monture, which must be explained in the 
 next chapter. 
 
 305 
 
Divided 
 Monture 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 THE COMPOUND MONTURE 
 
 Advantages of dividing the Monture Description 
 of the Compound Monture Examples of Com- 
 pound Monture Weaving Old English Brocade 
 Eighteenth-century Striped Brocade French Late 
 Seventeenth Century Brocade. 
 
 Advantages THE scope of tissue-weaving may be immensely 
 of the increased by building the monture in two or more 
 divisions, to be governed by separate sets of simple 
 cords, and acting on separate warps, all combin- 
 ing to make one web. This compound build of 
 monture was often used by the tissue weavers of 
 the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, 
 and enabled them to produce an almost unlimited 
 variety of webs. It is also even more largely used 
 in modern pattern-weaving by power, which to a 
 very great extent consists of warp effects. Warp 
 effects, in power-looms where very long lengths 
 of the same patterned material must be woven at 
 the highest possible speed, are the most economical, 
 as when once the loom is set up, no matter how 
 complicated the pattern may be, the actual loom- 
 tending is very simple. In the draw-loom some- 
 times, montures with as many as four divisions 
 seem to have been used, but generally two divisions 
 36 
 
were deemed sufficient. The weavers of the best 
 periods for the most part used weft rather than 
 warp effects in their webs.* The advantages of weft 
 effects have already been dwelt upon in the previous 
 chapter. 
 
 For the demonstration of the utility of the 
 compound monture let us make an addition to 
 the split shaft harness for silk-weaving described in 
 Chapter XVIL, p. 278. The comber-board is there 
 described as pierced with twenty-four rows of holes, 
 two hundred and thirty-three being in each row. 
 These are lifted in fours by the simple cords, which 
 number four hundred and six, in order to make 
 three comber repeats in twenty-one inches. The 
 leashes, in the twenty-four rows, are also separately 
 suspended on twenty-four shafts. This is the figure 
 harness complete. In Chapter XVIII., p. 287, four 
 extra shafts were added for a separate binder, on 
 which four rows more, of similar leashes were hung, 
 but were not connected as those of the figure 
 harness were with the comber-board. This com- 
 pleted the monture for making brocatelles and 
 brochd tissues. On the loom so arranged, brocading 
 in detached spaces could not be done, as the binder 
 warp would be in the way whether it were lifted 
 or not. If left down it would hide or mar the 
 brocaded ornament, while if it were raised it would 
 
 * There is a design for silk brocade in the print room 
 of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, 
 which has a note at the back to the effect that four 
 simples were required for its production. As it is only 
 a sketch design, not a draught on ruled paper, it is im- 
 possible to say how the divisions were made or why they 
 were required. 
 
 30? 
 
 Advantages 
 of the ' 
 Divided 
 Monture 
 
 Description 
 
 of the 
 
 Compound 
 
 Monture 
 
Description 
 
 of the 
 
 Compound 
 
 Monture 
 
 MvMUUOTv 
 
 make the manipulation of the 
 brocading shuttle very tiresome. 
 In fact, a weaver of to-day 
 would despairingly say it was 
 impossible. For making true 
 brocaded tissues, then, some 
 addition to the shaft harness 
 and binder is needed, and this 
 need is met by arranging the 
 figure harness as a compound 
 monture. 
 
 Fig. 124 represents a pierced 
 hardwood comber-board slip 
 one inch wide and ten inches 
 long. Twenty-one of such 
 slips would be required to fill 
 the frame of our comber-board. 
 The twenty-four rows of holes 
 in division A are already occu- 
 pied by the leashes of the figure 
 harness as described. For the 
 compound monture the comber- 
 board would have to be ex- 
 tended above the binder shafts 
 as shown in division B, where 
 six more rows of holes are seen 
 to be pierced'; and below these 
 new holes the six shafts of the 
 binder harness are already sus- 
 pended by their long loops. 
 These leashes must now all be 
 connected with the comber- 
 board in the same manner as 
 directed for those of the figure 
 
 FIG. 124 
 
 A Comber-board Slip 
 308 
 
harness (see p. 278, fig. 115). At the top of the Description 
 loom the pulley-box must be doubled in capacity, or of the 
 a second box having the same number of pulleys Compound 
 placed in front of it. Tail and simple cords must Monture 
 also be added to complete this addition. Sometimes 
 the second simple was arranged on the opposite side 
 of the loom, but more often the simples were 
 placed side by. side, so as to be worked together 
 when required. All such details of the construc- 
 tion were, of course, subject to individual require- 
 ment and convenience.* All these additions being 
 made, it only remains to join the leashes of the 
 front harness, in regular order, to the cords of the 
 front pulley-box, care being taken to connect them 
 in the same repeats as the main figure harness. 
 As the binder warp equals only one-fourth of the 
 figure harness, it follows that the leashes of the 
 former must be joined up singly instead of in 
 fours.t 
 
 The additions being complete, the compound 
 shaft harness will enable the weaver (i) to raise 
 the binder threads all together or in separate rows 
 by the shafts as freely as before, and also to use the 
 main figure harness simple by itself, also as before ; 
 so that any web that has already been made can be 
 
 * It is only possible in such a book as the present to 
 show the general principles on which these complicated 
 machines were made. In practice they were subject to 
 innumerable modifications. 
 
 t This is not an arbitrary arrangement. The harnesses 
 in both divisions may be exactly alike. In fact, any com- 
 bination may be planned on the same principle and have 
 special advantages. 
 
 309 
 
Description 
 
 of the 
 
 Compound 
 
 Monture 
 
 Eymplcs of 
 
 Compound 
 
 Monture 
 
 Weaving 
 
 repeated. (2) To raise any single thread of the 
 binder or a combination of them, at any place, to 
 make ties for a brocaded figure. (3) To utilise 
 the binder warp in order to make small designs, 
 diapers, checkers, spots, or what not, as a back- 
 ground to the main design.* (4) To lift any 
 portion of the binder out of the way of any other 
 weaving that may be going on. (5) To weave 
 damask-like figures in the background of the 
 brocade, as was so often done with fine effect in 
 the French and Italian webs. 
 
 It is difficult to select a few examples of tissues 
 woven on compound montures out of the great 
 number available, any one of which might be 
 chosen on account of some special point of interest 
 in its technique. The space, however, now at our 
 disposal precludes the extended examination which 
 this part of the subject deserves. Three examples 
 must suffice ; these have been chosen as diverse as 
 possible, and will give some idea of the capacity of 
 the drawloom in its highest state of development. 
 Ample opportunity for further study of tissue- 
 weaving is afforded by the fine collection of draw- 
 loom woven fabrics in the Victoria and Albert 
 Museum, which is particularly rich in seventeenth- 
 and eighteenth-century examples, French, Italian, 
 and English. There is also in the print room of 
 the same museum a wonderful and most instructive 
 collection of designs for this class of weaving, dating 
 from the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
 The value of these drawings is much enhanced by 
 
 * This kind of background effect is particularly 
 characteristic of English eighteenth-century weaving. 
 3 IO 
 
Plate XVII. Brocade, probably Old English. The lower portion of 
 the photograph shows the method of brocading with small 
 
 shuttles at the back. 
 See page 311. Author's Collection. 
 
the designers' and weavers* notes which are written Examples of 
 on their margins. Compound 
 
 The first example for present examination is a pure Monture 
 brocade, probably old English (plate xvn). The Weaving 
 cream-coloured ground is a rich plain tabby, very Old English 
 finely and closely woven, there being eighty shoots Brocade 
 of weft to an inch. Two shoots of weft are laid 
 between each line of the brocading, and there are 
 two shoots of brocading to each line of the draught 
 on ruled paper. The quaint floral and landscape 
 design occupies the whole twenty-one inches of 
 the width of the web, and is draughted for six 
 hundred cords. The most convenient ruled paper 
 for this size of design, would be divided into twelve 
 lateral spaces in each of the fifty large squares on to 
 which the design had been first sketched, and as 
 each line is repeated, as we have seen, in the 
 weaving, the proportional number of vertical spaces 
 would be eight. This would therefore be said to 
 be drawn on 12 x8 ruled paper. The colours are 
 so arranged, that, although there are a great variety of 
 them, as they are brocaded in, there is no necessity 
 for more than four tie-ups for each line of the 
 design on the simple, or for four cards if the 
 lifting were done by a Jacquard machine. For the 
 latter, however, each card would have to be dupli- 
 cated, as when more than one card is used for each 
 line the second and third, or whatever number are 
 required, must follow in unbroken sequence. The 
 Jacquard machine cannot be turned back to the 
 first card of the line without great trouble ; ac- 
 cordingly a second sequence identical with the first 
 has to be laced in the endless band of cards. This 
 repetition, however, could be done quite easily on 
 
 3 11 
 
Old English the draw-loom providing the cords were drawn 
 Brocade by a human drawboy.* 
 
 The tie-up for this design would be very simple, 
 as only a few cords here and there would have to 
 be drawn at each line. 
 
 All the colours would have to be painted in on 
 the draught quite distinctly, in order that the tie- 
 up might be read in correctly by the weaver, and 
 also that it should be a clear guide to him in the 
 brocading. Two draughts would have to be made, 
 one painted in, exactly as the design is to appear 
 when woven, only without the binders ; the other 
 having all the shapes exactly copied, but without 
 colour, and the binder ties indicated. In the colour 
 draught, the colours to rise in each tie-up would 
 have to be indicated by letters or numerals, I, 2, 3, 
 or 4. The colour draught would be for the back or 
 main division of the monture, and the binder draught, 
 for the front division. The effect on the loom of this 
 arrangement, when the tie-up was made, would be 
 that the back division of the simple would draw up 
 the figure in large on the main warp without any ties 
 (see effect of shaft harness, p. 287, fig. 117, no. i). 
 Now if the cords of the front harness be drawn 
 simultaneously with those of the back, all the 
 threads of the second warp will be lifted from the 
 figure, except those required for binders. As there 
 
 * With regard to two or more colours being tied up 
 in one line for brocading, it should be pointed out, that, 
 as each colour is put in with a small shuttle separately, 
 it follows, that if sufficient space is left between the 
 parts lifted, any reasonable number of colours can be 
 brocaded in one line. With a skilful weaver a very 
 little space between the colours is sufficient. 
 
 312 
 
Old English are six shafts for the binder warp, the twill tie 
 Brocade may be either a three- or six-shaft twill. The 
 one used in the example (plate xvii) is on six 
 shafts. 
 
 The weaving would proceed as follows : Shoots 
 I and 2 will be a tabby of the ground and binder 
 together. The brocading shed will next be made 
 by drawing the first tie-up of both the simples to- 
 gether. The brocading wefts in the first shed 
 being laid in the places indicated in the draught, 
 the second tie-ups will open the second brocading 
 shed ; this also being laid, the third tie-ups will open 
 the final shed, for the first line of the design. The 
 third and fourth tabby shoots follow next in order, 
 and the same sheds are to be repeated for the bro- 
 cading. When the two lines of brocading are thus 
 woven, with two tabby shoots between them, one 
 line of the design, as draughted, will have been 
 woven. The weaving of brocades requires great 
 care and skill, especially when, as in this example, 
 several colours are put in at one drawing of the 
 simple. The weaver has to follow the coloured 
 draught very attentively until he has learned the 
 position and entry of the different colours. Need- 
 less to say, brocading must be done face downwards, 
 and the small brocading shuttles are left standing 
 on the back of the web in exact order, like a fleet 
 of little boats, and pass through the shed in regular 
 succession. The lower portion of plate xvn shows 
 the back of the old English brocaded silk, and will 
 greatly assist in the explanation. 
 
 The dainty and characteristic eighteenth-cen- 
 tury brocaded and striped silk of French weaving 
 (fig. 125) could be woven on two differently 
 
 3*4 
 
Plate XVIII. Figured Velvet. The ornament is composed of 
 
 cut and terry pile. This specimen is beautifully 
 
 designed and perfectly woven. 
 See page 321. Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. 
 
French 
 Striped 
 Brocade 
 
 mounted looms : (i) On a loom arranged for Eighteenth- 
 damask-weaving, with two separate harnesses in century 
 front, one to work tabby and the other to weave 
 a satin, with two spaced warps on separate rollers, 
 and with the harnesses also spaced, and both entered 
 in the monture. (2) On a divided shaft harness, 
 with one simple and with the warps spaced and 
 arranged on two rollers. If made in the latter way 
 the weaving would be much simpler, and there 
 would be a great deal less strain on the silk, which 
 is always an advantage. The design must first be 
 briefly described, and then the method of preparing 
 the monture for it. The design is shown squared 
 out in preparation for the draughting. The broad 
 stripes on which the large bouquets are placed are 
 of rich satin of a pale blue colour. The narrower 
 stripes, one of which, in the centre, has a wavy 
 ribbon with a garland of small flowers adorning it, 
 and the other, the half of which is seen at each 
 edge of the drawing, are both white tabby- woven 
 silk. The two narrow stripes near each edge are of 
 the same satin as the wide one, and only differ from 
 it in their colour, which is pink, with white edges. 
 These are arranged in the warping. The fine 
 stripes on which the large bouquets are placed 
 are floating white silk weft, as are also the edges 
 of the wavy ribbon and the fine stripes of various 
 lengths which are placed at its side. The bouquets, 
 sprays, and garland are all brocaded in exquisitely 
 delicate tints of pink, creamy yellow, and green. 
 It is not necessary to give a specification of the 
 monture for reproducing this example, but only to 
 indicate broadly the method of its building. The 
 comber-board would be in two divisions, and as there 
 
 315 
 
French 
 Striped 
 Brocade 
 
 Eighteenth- would be an equal number of shafts for both divi- 
 century s ions the same number of rows of holes would 
 require piercing in the board. In the back division 
 holes would only be pierced in the spaces required 
 for the satin stripes, and in the front division holes 
 would be made for the tabby stripe spaces. In this 
 web there would be no binders for the brocading, as 
 the smallness of the spaces brocaded renders them 
 unnecessary. The cords from both divisions of the 
 shaft harness could be brought into one simple, as 
 the figures are all raised simultaneously. The 
 first tie-up of the simple would be of the fine 
 stripes in the centre of the broad satin one, and 
 the fine vertical lines and edges of the wavy 
 ribbon. The second, third, and fourth tie-ups 
 would be for the three sheds of the brocading. 
 
 The order of the sheds, for the shoots of white silk, 
 in weaving would be as follows : (i) The tabby and 
 satin groundwork on shafts alone of both warps 
 together ; (2) the first tie-up on the simple cords 
 would be drawn and the second shoot of tabby and 
 satin groundworks lifted. When these shoots had 
 been made, the first tie-up of the brocading figure 
 would be lifted by the simple cords and the brocad- 
 ing done ; then the second and third tie-ups and 
 their brocading, in succession. This would finish 
 one line of the design. At the fourth pair of ground 
 shoots with the white weft, the one round of ties 
 of the eight-shaft satin would be complete, and the 
 fifth pair would begin with the first tabby and first 
 satin shafts again together. 
 
 The third and last example to be examined is 
 the fine late seventeenth century French brocade 
 which is reproduced in colours as the frontispiece 
 
 316 
 
Brocaded 
 Tissue 
 
 of this Part of the book. It is a superb piece of French Late 
 weaving, and a fine specimen of appropriate and Seventeenth 
 economical design. The fragment from which the Century 
 photograph is taken is only fifteen inches high and 
 ten and a half inches wide, yet this gives nearly 
 two repeats of a fairly bold design. The figure 
 is turned over in repeating vertically, so that the 
 real design is barely eight inches, and yet on 
 looking at a whole piece of the brocade we should 
 have "no wearisome sense of repetition," which 
 is a quality in design that William Morris com- 
 mended so highly when describing the early Sicilian 
 webs.* Then again the design is so perfectly 
 adapted to the method of its production that no artist 
 who was unacquainted with the technique of weav- 
 ing could invent a pattern so suitable for working 
 out in the loom. 
 
 The ground of the web is a lilac silk tabby, very 
 rich and warped with double threads. The graceful 
 ornament, consisting of a twiste'd ribbon and con- 
 ventional flowers and foliage, is all brocaded in, by 
 means of a multitude of small shuttles. The silks 
 used for the wefts are of exquisitely delicate-coloured 
 dyes, and are varied in a most artistic way in the 
 repeats. The dark green and red wefts are fine 
 chenille threads, which give a velvet-like texture to 
 the portion of the work where they are used. A 
 part of the floral ornament is brocaded with a 
 curiously twisted silk thread, which gives a metallic 
 
 * A fine description of the early Sicilian damasks may 
 be found in a lecture on textile fabrics by the late 
 William Morris. The report of the lecture is in the 
 Art Library, South Kensington. 
 
 3 1 ? 
 
French Late 
 
 Seventeenth 
 
 Century 
 
 Brocaded 
 
 Tissue 
 
 appearance wherever it is used.* The intricate 
 brocading is not tied down with a binder, but is left 
 loose or floating, the designer having so arranged the 
 draught that none of the loops are inconveniently 
 long. 
 
 It was not only on account of its exceeding 
 beauty that this example was chosen for this 
 particular illustration, but on account of the 
 peculiarity of the embellishment of the background 
 of the figure. This background pattern, is put in 
 by means of the second or front division of the 
 monture working on the second warp, which is used 
 for this purpose instead of as a binder. This orna- 
 ment is woven in the tobine manner described at 
 the end of Chapter XIV. As will be gathered 
 from that description, tobine effects are generally 
 confined to narrow stripes, vertical or lateral, as small 
 squares and oblongs, but here we have a kind of key 
 pattern and spaces between it of plain tabby, and it 
 does not interfere with the brocading, although it is 
 in a line with it. All this shows that some means 
 has been devised for raising and depressing the 
 tobine warp at any place required by the design 
 and between any one of the tabby shoots. In order 
 to effect this, the front division of the monture is 
 fitted up with ordinary leashes without shafts. The 
 extra warp, of the same colour as the main one, is 
 about one-fourth of its richness, and the simple cords 
 draw from four to six leashes with every cord. The 
 shapes of the brocading figure have to be tied up on 
 
 * The French weavers were very ingenious in twisting 
 threads of silk and metal, and many beautiful effects in 
 their webs are due to this special wefting. 
 
 318 
 
the front simple and drawn simultaneously with French Late 
 
 those of the back. The tobine pattern on the Seventeenth 
 
 ground is worked in by the tie-up of the front simple Century 
 
 while the ground itself is being woven. This tie- Brocaded 
 
 up of the front division of the harness would all Tl ssue 
 have to be worked out on a separate draught from 
 that of the brocading.* 
 
 * These tobine effects for groundwork patterns 
 became very common and characteristic of English 
 Spitaifields weaving in the eighteenth century. In 
 French work they occur chiefly in stripes. 
 
 3*9 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 FIGURED-VELVET WEAVING 
 
 Pile and Terry Figured Velvet The Draught 
 The Monture The Preparation of the Loom 
 The Bobbin Frame Italian and Spanish Velvets. 
 
 Figured- THE weaving of plain velvet has been fully described 
 velvet in Chapter XIV. It will therefore require but 
 
 Weaving few words to explain the method of making figured 
 velvet, which, as far as the actual weaving goes, is 
 done in precisely the same manner. In one respect 
 the weaving of figured velvet is not so difficult 
 as when the pile is plain, as small defects in the 
 cutting out of the rods are not so apparent. 
 
 The design for figured velvet is draughted in 
 exactly the same way as designs for damask 
 weaving. Each square of the ruled paper repre- 
 sents a group of from four to eight threads of the 
 pile. When both cut, and terry, velvet are in one 
 design they are treated as two colours, and require 
 two successive tie-ups on the simple. 
 
 The leashes of the monture for velvet weaving 
 are more heavily weighted than for damask or tissue 
 weaving. They are also mounted on shafts as in the 
 tissue shaft harness. When both terry and cut pile 
 are being woven the grooved rod is first placed in 
 its shed, and the terry one next to it, before the 
 
 720 
 
intervening shoots of ground are made. This is the 
 only difference in the weaving process. The shafts 
 raise and depress the pile altogether between the 
 shoots, and the cords of the simple raise the pile as 
 required for the design. Plate xvm is taken from 
 a very fine example of cut and terry figured velvet 
 in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 
 
 Although the actual weaving is so similar there is 
 a great difference in the preparation of the loom for 
 figured velvet. Each separate group of threads, 
 lifted for the design by the cords of the simple, has to 
 have a small warp of its own, individually weighted 
 with a tiny piece of lead wire. Eight hundred or 
 a thousand of these, mounted in a frame at the back 
 of the loom, is no uncommon number. It will be 
 remembered that the take-up of the pile warp is so 
 great that the warp has to be at least six times the 
 length of the ground warp. It will therefore 
 be readily seen, that parts of the design, where more 
 or less pile is raised would take up different lengths 
 of warp. Some of the bobbins are found to run 
 out sooner than others, and when they do so they 
 are immediately replaced and the new threads of 
 silk joined to the original ones. In this way the 
 pile warp is kept even, whatever the nature of the 
 design may be. 
 
 Figured-velvet weaving seems to have reached its 
 highest perfection in Italy and Spain during the 
 sixteenth century. The webs then produced have 
 never been surpassed, or even equalled, although 
 if good silk, of fine colour were used, in a properly 
 set up hand-loom, there is no reason why velvet, 
 the most sumptuous of all textiles, should not be 
 made as well as ever, 
 
 Y 321 
 
 Figured- 
 velvet 
 Weaving 
 
 The Pile- 
 bobbin 
 Frame 
 
 Sixteenth- 
 century 
 Velvet 
 
CONCLUDING NOTE 
 
 Concluding IT may be surprising, and perhaps somewhat 
 Note disappointing, to some readers to find that this 
 description of the methods of weaving and weaving 
 appliances, comes to an end at this point. We have 
 traced the history and development of the craft, 
 from its earliest beginning, up to the time when the 
 Jacquard machine was introduced and began to 
 supersede the traditional draw-loom for pattern- 
 weaving. This ending, although perhaps somewhat 
 abrupt, is not unintentional, for it was just at that 
 time that weaving, to a great extent, ceased to be 
 an artistic craft. It was then that the loom ceased 
 to be a tool, more or less complicated, which the 
 weaver himself could keep in order and cunningly 
 adjust, alter, and adapt to any particular work he 
 might have in hand. 
 
 With the exception of the fly-shuttle, chiefly 
 useful for weaving wide webs, the Jack-in-the-box, 
 and the split or shaft harness, descriptions of which 
 have been given, no real improvement has been 
 made in weaving or weaving appliances since the 
 middle of the eighteenth century. 
 
 As regards the Jacquard machine, the chief 
 advantage (?) it offers is the facility with which 
 designs can be changed in the loom, the endless 
 
 322 
 
band of cards taking the place of the weaver's 
 tie-up. This facility for change only resulted in 
 the multiplication of patterns ; patterns, for the most 
 part inferior to the traditional ones already in use. 
 The Jacquard machine is also responsible, to a great 
 extent, for the separation of the art of designing 
 from the craft of weaving. 
 
 The speed of weaving has been by means of the 
 power-loom, of course, vastly increased, but although 
 this is in some respects a commercial advantage, the 
 quality of the weaving is far below that of the earlier 
 times, and the ruthless, rigidly perfect mechanism 
 of the machine loom has had a disastrous effect on 
 the weaver as a craftsman. 
 
 There can be no question that the best weaving 
 was done before these innovations of the engineer 
 and mechanician were made. It would therefore 
 seem, that the right road to improvement in weaving, 
 as in all the crafts, can only be found by those who 
 are willing to return to the traditional methods and 
 simpler ideals of the earlier masters of craftsmanship. 
 
 323 
 
GLOSSARY* 
 
 Batten, the frame of a reed. Glossary 
 
 Beam, a roller. 
 
 Beaming, winding on a warp. 
 
 Beaming drum, the essential part of beaming machine. 
 
 Beaming posts, supports for a beam. 
 
 Binder, the tie for floating weft. 
 
 Binder harness, headles for lifting binders. 
 
 Bobbin, a reel. 
 
 Bobbin-carrier, a reel-holder for warping. 
 
 Bobbin frame, part of a warping mill. 
 
 Box batten, batten with fly-shuttle boxes. 
 
 Breast roll, front beam of a loom. 
 
 Brocade, a brocaded web ; originally, silk wefted with 
 
 gold or silver thread. 
 
 Brocading, weaving detached ornaments in a web. 
 Brocatelle, tissue with satin ties in figure. 
 Broch'e, web to imitate brocading. 
 
 Cane, a new warp. 
 
 Cane n?//or roller, the back roller of a loom. 
 
 Cane sticks, sticks for fastening the warp in beam. 
 
 * This glossary does not pretend to comprise all the 
 technical terms used in weaving. These are of infinite 
 variety, and often have totally different meanings in 
 districts separated but a very short distance one from 
 another. 
 
 325 
 
Carding, preparing fibre for spinning. 
 
 Cards or cardings, fibre prepared for spinning. 
 
 Cloth beam, the breast roller. 
 
 Comber-board, a board perforated to hold the leashes of 
 
 a monture. 
 Comber repeat, repetition of a design which does not 
 
 turn over. 
 
 Comber slip, a portion of the comber-board. 
 Compound harness, two or more harnesses working together. 
 Compound monture, monture with two or more sets of 
 
 leashes. 
 Cords, the simple on which the pattern is tied up in a 
 
 draw-loom. 
 
 Counter-march, a short lower lever in a loom. 
 Couper, the top levers of a loom. 
 Cross, the crossing threads of a warp. 
 Cross, porrey, the cross retained while weaving. 
 Cross, portee, the cross at the finishing end of a warp. 
 Cross sticks, smooth rods for preserving the cross. 
 
 Damask, a system of weaving introduced from Damascus. 
 
 Dent, one space in a reed. 
 
 Design, a pattern ; one square of ruled paper. 
 
 Diaper, a system of weaving small patterns. 
 
 Distaff, appliance used in spinning. 
 
 Doubling, winding two or more threads together. 
 
 Draught, drawing on ruled paper. 
 
 Drawboy, a boy employed to draw the cords of a simple. 
 
 Drawbo'fs fork, implement for drawing the cords in a 
 
 draw-loom. 
 Drawboy machine, machine for drawboy's work. 
 
 Entering, threading warp in leashes or reed. 
 
 Entering hook, thin hook for drawing thread through 
 
 mails. 
 
 Eye, centre loop of a leash. 
 326 
 
Fancy web, see Tissue. Glossary 
 
 Figured velvet, velvet with pattern. 
 
 Figure harness, the monture or pattern headles. 
 
 Float, a loop of weft passing over two or more threads. 
 
 Fly-shuttle, a shuttle driven by a picking stick. 
 
 Friction brake, appliance for regulating weight. 
 
 Gatherer, a part of the heck-block. 
 
 Gating, adjusting a loom. 
 
 Ground, the plain part of a web. 
 
 Ground harness, headles which form the ground of a 
 
 web. 
 Guiding cords, supports for the pattern loops on the 
 
 simple. 
 
 Hand-shuttle, a shuttle for throwing by hand. 
 
 Hand-stick, a short stick on which warps are wound. 
 
 Harness, a collection of headles. 
 
 Headle or heddle, a collection of leashes. 
 
 Headle frame, a frame for knitting headles upon. 
 
 Headle gauge y a tool for making leashes. 
 
 Inlaying, see Brocading. 
 
 Jack-in-the-box, invention which reduces the number of 
 
 treadles required in a loom. 
 Jacquard machine, a machine perfected by M. Jacquard 
 
 to supersede the drawboy in pattern-weaving. 
 
 Lam, see Headle 
 
 Leaf, see Headle. 
 
 Lease, see Cross. 
 
 Leashes, loops of a headle. 
 
 Lingo, the weight of a leash. 
 
 Long march, the long levers below a loom. 
 
 327 
 
Glossary Loom, any arrangement for supporting a warp and 
 keeping it in order for weaving. 
 
 Mat/, the glass or metal eye of a leash. 
 
 Monture, the mounting of a loom for pattern-weaving. 
 
 Necking cords, cords joining pulley cords and leashes in a 
 monture. 
 
 Pecker, part of the drawboy machine. 
 
 Pickers, tweezers. 
 
 Picking-stick, the handle of the fly-shuttle motion* 
 
 Pile, the cut portion of a velvet. 
 
 Plan and tie-up, a sketch showing entry of harness and 
 
 tie-up of treadles. 
 
 Plug, a tube on which weft is wound for the fly-shuttle. 
 Point repeat, a design repeating in opposite directions. 
 Pole, the pile warp of velvet. 
 Porrey, the warp between headles and cross-rods. 
 Portee, a collection of threads warped together. 
 Pulley, a grooved wheel. 
 Pulley-box, the upper part of a draw-loom. 
 Pulley cords, cords in a pulley-box. 
 
 Quill, a tube on which weft is wound for a hand-shuttle. 
 
 Race, the beading on the race-block of hand-batten. 
 
 Race-block, the lower part of a batten. 
 
 Race-board, that on which the shuttle runs. 
 
 Raddle, implement for evenly spreading warp. 
 
 Ratchet and wheel, a toothed wheel and catch. 
 
 Reed, a comb-like implement for keeping warps even and 
 
 beating weft together. 
 Reed hook, hook for entering reed. 
 Retting, steeping flax in water. 
 Reverse satin, a satin with weft predominating. 
 328 
 
Rising shed, a shed in which part of the warp rises, the Glossary 
 
 rest being stationary. 
 
 Rocking shaft, part of the drawboy machine. 
 Ruled paper, paper for draughting. 
 
 Satin, a web with infrequent intersections. 
 
 Satinette, a short tied satin. 
 
 Selvage, the edge of a web. 
 
 Selvage bobbin, reel for mounting separate selvages in a 
 
 loom. 
 
 Shaft, a flat lath. 
 
 Shed, the opening in the warp for the shuttle. 
 Shed-stick, a flat stick for opening the warp. 
 Shedding motion, a contrivance for opening the warp. 
 Shoot or shute, weft ; also throwing the shuttle, 
 Short march, see Counter-march. 
 Shuttle, a tool for carrying weft. 
 Shuttle-box, part of a fly-shuttle batten. 
 Simple, the pattern cords of a draw-loom. 
 Sinking shed; shed made by drawing threads down. 
 Skein, a loosely wound length of thread. 
 Skutchlng, cleaning retted flax. 
 Slot, an elongated perforation. 
 Spacing, arranging threads or leashes in groups. 
 Spinning, twisting fibre to make thread. 
 Spinster, a female spinner. 
 
 Tabby or taffeta, plain weaving. 
 
 Tail cords, the upper cords of a draw-loom. 
 
 Take-up, the 'gradual winding of cloth on to breast 
 
 roller. 
 
 Tapestry, tabby weaving, in mosaic, with loose weft. 
 Tartan, a web striped in warp and weft. 
 Temple, implement for keeping out the edges of a 
 
 web. 
 Terry velvet, see Velvet. 
 
 i 329 
 
Glossary Thread monture, a monture with single threads in the 
 
 mails. 
 
 Tif 9 a binder on loose weft. 
 Tie up, connecting parts of a loom together for forming 
 
 patterns automatically. 
 
 Tissue, a web having one or more binder warps. 
 Tobine, ornaments formed by one or more headles 
 
 rising and sinking together. 
 Trevette, a knife for cutting velvet pile. 
 Tumbler, a top lever of a loom. 
 Turning on, beaming. 
 Twill, a web with a diagonal tie. 
 
 Union damask, damask woven of linen and wool. 
 
 Vateau, implement for spreading the warp on cane roller. 
 
 Velvet, cut, a woven fabric with cut pile. 
 
 Velvet, figured, see Figured velvet. 
 
 Velvet knife, see Trevette. 
 
 Velvet rod, a grooved rod for the pile. 
 
 Velvet, terry, velvet with uncut pile. 
 
 Warp, longitudinal threads of a web. 
 Warping, preparing a warp. 
 Warping board, for making small warps. 
 Warping mill, for warping large warps. 
 Web, a piece of finished weaving. 
 Weft, the crossing thread of a warp. 
 Whorl, a spindle weight. 
 Woof, weft. 
 
 Yarn, thread of any kind. 
 
 330 
 
INDEX 
 
 AMENHETEP II., 133 
 
 Automatic pattern-weaving, 138, 
 
 139, 140 
 Automatic shedding motion, 86 
 
 BATTEN and reed, origin of, 95 
 Batten, fixing in loom, 99 
 Batten, fly-shuttle or box, 117- 
 
 119 
 
 Batten, hand-, 97 
 Batten in position, 114 
 Beam, or roller, 60 
 Beaming, 60, 61, &c. 
 Beaming posts, how fitted up, 77 
 Beni Hasan, wall paintings of 
 
 looms at, 19 
 Bethnal Green, James Gough of, 
 
 276 
 
 Bethnal Green weavers, 271 
 Binders for brocading, 150, 310 
 Board for weaving, the simplest 
 
 loom, 23, 24, 25, 26 
 Bobbin-carrier, description, 34, 35, 
 
 36 
 
 Bobbin frame, 47, 48, 54 
 Borders of needlework, 132 
 Box or fly-shuttle batten, 117, 
 
 118, 119 
 
 Boxwood shuttles, 112 
 Breast roll or roller, 63, 90 
 British Museum, collection ol 
 
 textiles, 133 
 Brocade, French, seventeenth 
 
 century, 315 
 
 Brocading, 148-152 
 
 Brocading in open and close warps, 
 
 149 
 Brocading on compound monture, 
 
 310 
 Brocading on old English loom, 
 
 15* 
 
 Brocading similar to embroidery, 
 
 159 
 
 Brocading with cut threads, 148 
 Brocading with extra headle, 153 
 Brocatelle, draughting for, 286, 
 
 287, 288 
 Brocatelle, methods of weaving, 
 
 285,289 
 
 Brocatelle, satin of, 286 
 Brocatelles, ground tied up or 
 
 cut in, 286 
 Broch6 effects in large and small 
 
 patterns, 293, 294, 295, 302 
 Broken twill,; or satinette, 168 
 
 CAIRO Museum, Egyptian tapestry, 
 
 33 
 
 Calculating number of threads of 
 
 warp, 54 
 
 Camber, or comber, repeats, 256 
 Cane reeds, 97 
 
 Cane roll or roller, 63, 67, 88, 90 
 Cane sticks, 63, 66 
 Cap of batten, 99, 104 
 Carders and carding, 10 
 Cards for turning on, 71 
 Cards of Jacquard machine, 270 
 
 331 
 
 Index 
 
Index Carrier for bobbin, 34, 35, 36, 37 
 Cashmere shawl weaving, 157 
 Catching the shuttle, its import- 
 ance, 126, 127 
 Characteristics of ancient weaving, 
 
 !33 
 
 Chenille, weft, 316 
 Chinese and pattern-weaving, 131 
 Chinese origin of satins, 168 
 Chinese silk-weaving, 87 
 Chinese weaving inventions, 86 
 Circe's loom, 24 
 Classic tapestry, 136 
 Coarse warps for pattern webs, 
 
 265 
 
 Colour effect of satins, 188 
 Colours distinct in double-cloth 
 
 weaving, 188 
 Comb, or reed, 95 
 Comber-board, the, 253 
 Comber, or camber, design repeats, 
 
 256 
 
 Comber slips, 257, 308 
 Compound monture weaving, 310, 
 
 3" 
 
 Coptic webs and borders, 137 
 Cords, the term used in describing 
 
 width of design, 261 
 Cotton, its introduction, use, and 
 
 adulteration, 6 
 Cotton, preparation, 9 
 Counting threads of a warp, 37 
 Course of threads in the harness, 
 
 103 
 
 Cross, or lease, 88 
 Cross-pieces of loom frame, 90 
 Cross-rods, 72, 88 
 Cut threads, brocading with, 148 
 
 DACCA muslin, 12 
 Damasks, 180 
 Damasks, large designs, 274 
 Damasks, linen, 182 
 Damask of Louis XIII. period, 
 274 
 
 332 
 
 Damask-weaving, 156, 210, 211, 
 
 212, 274 
 
 Damask-weaving, entering for, 
 
 211 
 
 Damask-weaving, shed for, 214, 
 
 216 
 
 Darning patterns in webs, 132 
 Decoration of ancient webs, 132 
 Dents of reed, 97, 103 
 Designs, ancient, for weaving, 
 
 132 
 
 Designs, regulation of length, 282 
 Designing for brocading, 153. 
 Details of turning on, 68-71 
 Diaper-weaving, 199 
 Diaper-weaving, examples of, 201, 
 
 202 
 Diaper-weaving, place of origin, 
 
 199 
 
 Dissecting designs, 174 
 Distaff, 12, 13, 14, 15 
 Distribution of warp in raddle, 66 
 Divided monture, advantages of, 
 
 37 
 Domestic looms, warps suitable 
 
 for, 67 
 Double - cloth pattern - weaving, 
 
 number of headles required, 
 
 205 
 
 Double-cloth tabby weaving, 189 
 Double-cloth weaving, 179, &c. 
 Double-harness pattern-weaving, 
 
 199 
 
 Double-knotted leash eyes, no 
 Double-woven tissues, 299 
 Doubling stand, 123 
 Draught for thread monture 
 
 weaving, 273 
 
 Draught of Spjtalfields tissue, 291 
 Draught, the, its preparation, 265 
 Draughting, 283 
 Draughting enterings of harness, 
 
 163 
 Draughting for figured velvet, 
 
 320 
 
Draughting for thread monture, 
 
 268 
 
 )raughting, how counted, 261 
 draughting on ruled paper, 161, 
 
 162, 163 
 Drawboy's fork, 263 
 )rawboy's work, 262 
 )rawboy machine, 230-248 
 )rawboy machine, advantages of, 
 
 238 
 Drawboy machine, drawing cords 
 
 of, 244 
 )rawboy machine, Spitalfields 
 
 weavers disappointed with, 238 
 )rawboy machine, suitable design 
 
 for its use, 245 
 )rawboy machine, working of, 
 
 244 
 )rawloom harness or monture, 
 
 2 53 ^ 
 
 Drawloom, the, 42, 252- 
 )rawloom, the, its importance in 
 
 textile work, 252/306 <^ 
 )rawloom methods used in 
 
 power-loom weaving, 306' 
 Drawlooir, part of, superseded by 
 
 Jacquard machine, 254 - 
 Drawloom, variety of webs woven 
 
 on, 289 * 
 Drawing threads for darning in, 
 
 133 
 Drum for beaming or turning on, 
 
 73> &c - 
 
 Dunfermline, table-cloth woven 
 at, its fineness, 256 
 
 SARLY Christian weaving, 133 
 iast African weaving, 142, 143 
 iastern spinners, 12 
 Egyptian looms, 19, 20, 21 
 Egyptian webs, 131 
 igypto-Roman webs, 137 
 Embroidery, 132 
 English loom, old, described, 88 
 Enterer, the, 103 
 
 Enterer's assistant^ 102 
 
 Entering hooks, 102 
 
 Entering of harness, usual method, 
 
 102, 103, 163, 164 
 Entering the reed, 97, 103 
 Entering the warp in. the heck, 
 
 55. 
 Entering warps in various orders, 
 
 1 60 
 
 Essential part of a loom, 24 
 Euripedera, reference to brocading, 
 
 159 
 
 Extended twills, 169 
 Eyes of brocading leashes, 155 
 Eyes of harness, 103 
 
 FIGURE harness, the, 206 
 Figured-velvet grounds, 321 
 Figured-velvet weaving, 320 
 Finding broken threads on the 
 
 warping mill, 58 
 Fine linen of Egypt, 85 
 Fineness of spun thread, 12 
 Finishing off a warp on the mill, 
 
 57 
 
 First attempts at ornament in 
 
 Egypt, 132 
 
 First thread of warp, 103 
 Fitting the friction brake, 105 
 Fittings of heck-block, 45, 46,47, 
 
 .5, 5 2 
 
 Fixing cross-rods for entering, 
 100 
 
 Fixing the headles for entering, 
 100 
 
 Flax, its use and preparation, 6 
 
 Flax, retting, 7 
 
 Fly-shuttle and fittings, 114, 115, 
 116 
 
 Fly-shuttle plugs, 117 
 
 Fork of drawboy, 263 
 
 Frame for bobbins, 47, 48 
 
 Frame for making headles, 109 
 
 French eighteenth-century weav- 
 ing, 3'3 3*4 
 
 333 
 
 Index 
 
Index French eighteenth-century web, 
 
 description of, 315, 316 
 Friction brakes for beaming drum, 
 
 74 
 Friction brakes for cane roller, 90 
 
 GATHERER for heck-block, the, 52 
 Gating the loom, 104 
 Greek looms, 20, 21 
 Greek spinster, 12 
 Grooves in the batten, 104 
 Ground harness, entering of warp, 
 
 212 
 
 Ground harness, long eyes, 212 
 Ground patterns, 167, 168 
 Guiding cords, 260 
 
 HAND-SHUTTLE, the, 112 
 Hand-shuttle and fittings, 113 
 Hand-spuming, 12 
 Handstick for taking off warps, 
 
 38,64 
 Harness, the, its proper place in 
 
 the loom, 105 
 Harness, compound, 304 
 Harness, ground, 214 
 Harness of loom, 99, 102 
 Harnesses, effect of two, 213 
 Harnesses for satin, 182 
 Headle frame, 109 
 Headle, or heddle, the, 92 
 Headle-rod, the, 85 
 Headle weaving, its limitations, 
 
 *5 * 
 
 Headles, spaced, 247 
 Headles, their position in the 
 
 loom, 99 
 Heck, the, 50 
 
 Heck-block, the, 45, 46, 47, 50 
 Heck-block regulator, 52 
 Herodotus' mention of weaving, 
 
 22 
 
 Homer's reference to variegated 
 . webs, 146 
 
 334 
 
 Homespun cloth designs, 141 
 Hooks for entering, 102 
 Horizontal looms, 86 
 Horizontal position of the warp, 
 its advantages, 92, in 
 
 INDIAN and English looms alike in 
 
 two points, 92 
 Indian brocading, 148 
 Indian cotton weavers, 141 
 Indian design, plan and tie-up, 
 
 204 
 
 Indian double-cloth design, 203 
 Indian, English, and French looms 
 
 compared, 88 
 Indian looms, their antiquity, 
 
 87 
 
 Indian muslins, 149 
 Inlay, 148 
 
 Italian damask, traditional design, 
 266 
 
 ACK-IN-THE-BOXj the, 230-238 
 
 ack-in-the-box, tie-up to, 236 
 acquard cards, 270 
 acquard machine, 229, 230, 276 
 acquard machine, effect of, 3 
 acquard machine for commercial 
 
 weaving, 230 
 Jacquard machine, introduction 
 
 of, 2 
 Jacquard machine, results of it 
 
 invention, 252 
 
 Jennings' shedding motion, 230 
 Jennings, Theodore, 230 
 Joining in a new warp, 102 
 
 KEEPING account of the warp on 
 
 mill, 58 
 Knife for velvet-weaving, 224, 
 
 225 
 Knitting spaced leashes, 109 
 
LAKE-DWELLERS, spinning and 
 
 weaving, 6 
 Lam, 93 
 
 Laying the weft, 126 
 Leaf, 93 
 
 Lease, or cross, 25, 26, 32, 88 
 Leash, 92 
 
 Leash eyes for silk-weaving, no 
 Leash making, 106 
 Leashes, long-eyed, their use, 155, 
 
 270 
 
 Leashes of monture, 254 
 Length of designs for simple 
 
 looms, how limited, 174 
 Linen and fine wool broche, 302 
 Linen, damasks, 182 
 Linen thread, preparation of, 7, 
 
 8,9 
 
 Lingoes, 254 
 Long eyes in leashes, 155 
 Loom, entering warp of, 100 
 Loom frame, strength a necessity, 
 
 88 
 
 Loom posts, 67 
 Loom, the essential part, 24 
 Looms, ancient pictures of, 18, 19, 
 
 20, 21, 22 
 Looms and appliances in art, 12, 
 
 J 3 
 
 Looms, Indian, antiquity of, 87 
 Looms, simplest, 23, 24, 25, 26 
 Loop for turning cane roller, 67 
 Loop, the weaver's most useful, 
 
 38-41 
 Lute-string, or lustring, grounds, 
 
 294 
 
 MACHINE-MADE reeds, 97 
 Mails, or eyes, 51, 254 
 Marches, counter-, 214 
 Marches, long, 198 
 Materials for brocading, 149 
 Measuring lengths of warp on the 
 mill, 49 
 
 Mechanical pattern-weaving un- 
 known to ancients, 132 
 
 Mediaeval tapestry, 137 
 
 Mending broken threads on the 
 warping mill, 58, 59 
 
 Metal reeds, 97 
 
 Monture, the, 253 
 
 Monture building, 254 
 
 Monture, divided, or compound, 
 advantages of, 306, 307, 310, 
 
 3", 3" 
 
 Monture for coarse threads, speci- 
 fication of, 296, 297, 298 
 Monture, necking cords of, 259 
 Monture, the leashes of, 254 
 Monture, the shaft, 276 
 Morris, William, 317 
 Muslin, Dacca, 12 
 
 NECKING cords of monture, 259 
 Needlework borders, 132 
 Nippers and pickers, 125 
 
 OLD English brocade, draughting 
 
 for, 311 
 
 Old English loom described, 88 
 Opening in warp, or shed, 81 
 Order of working treadles, 165 
 Origin of the loom, 18 
 Ornament, brocaded, 149 
 
 PAPER quills, 113 
 
 Pattern loom, the most perfect 
 
 mechanical, 264 
 Pattern weaving, 131 
 Pattern weaving, complex, 249, 
 
 251 
 Pattern weaving, delicate silk, 
 
 283 
 Pegs of warping mill, their relative 
 
 positions, 49 
 Penelope's loom, 23 
 Perforating the comber-board, 277 
 
 335 
 
 Index 
 
Index Persian decorations, 141 
 
 Picker and picking stick, 118, 
 
 119 
 Pictures of ancient looms, 18, 19, 
 
 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 
 Pile, or pole, of velvet, 223 
 Plaids, Scotch, 146 
 Plain cloth, its construction, 4 
 Plain cloth weaving, 82 
 Plan and tie-up, 165 
 Plugs for fly shuttles, 117 
 Point design repeats, 174, 198, 
 
 256 
 
 Portee and portee cross, 37 
 Portee cross on warping mill, 57 
 Portee cross secured, 64 
 Porrey cross, 71 
 Ptolemaic period, 133 
 Pulley-box, the, 253, 309 
 Pulley cords, 253 
 
 QUILL, the, on which the weft is 
 
 wound, 112, 113 
 Quill-holder, the, 112 
 Quill- or plug-winder, 124 
 
 RACK-BLOCK, 97, 99 
 
 Raddle, 61 
 
 Raddle, length of, 66 
 
 Raddle, selection of, 63 
 
 Raddle stands, 64 
 
 Ratchet and wheel of breast roller, 
 
 9 
 
 Raw materials used in weaving, 
 
 5>'8 
 
 Reed, or comb, 95 
 Reed and batten, origin of, 95 
 Reed cap, 104 
 Reed dents, 97, 103 
 Reed hook, 102 
 Reed laths, 97 
 Reed making, 96 
 Reed making by machinery, 97 
 Reeds, cane and metal, 97 
 
 33 6 
 
 Regulation of the heck-block, 52 
 Repeating patterns automatically, 
 
 140 
 
 Repeats in loom unalterable, 261 
 Retting flax, 7 
 Reverse satin, 181 
 Rocker of batten, 99 
 Rococo silk broche dissected, 292 
 Rods, cross-, 72, 88 
 Roller, roll, or beam, 60 
 Roller, breast, 63, 90 
 Roller, cane, 63, 88, 90 
 Roller, second, its position in 
 
 loom, 219 
 Roman looms, 21 
 Roman period, 133 
 Rubber, the, 125 
 Ruled paper described, 161, 167 
 Ruled-paper drawings, 182 
 
 SATIN, Chinese origin of, 168 
 
 Satin, five-headle, 182 
 
 Satin, its peculiarity, 180 
 
 Satin not necessarily silk, 180 
 
 Satin, reverse, 181 
 
 Satin ties and the development of 
 weaving, 175 
 
 Satin woven face downward, 184 
 
 Satins, colour effects of, 188 
 
 Satins, varieties of, 182, 183, 184 
 
 Selvages, good, 126, 127 
 
 Selvages, separate, 186 
 
 Selvages, separate, not necessary 
 in tabby weaving, 185 
 
 Selvages, their arrangement, 186, 
 187, 188 
 
 Selvages, their importance, 127, 
 185 
 
 Separate leashes, how made, 108 
 
 Separate warping of binders, 285 
 
 Shaft harness, invention of, 276 
 
 Shaft-monture weaving, example 
 of, 280, 281 
 
 Shafts used in monture for figured- 
 velvet weaving, 320 
 
Saawl-weaving in Cashmere, 157 
 shears, 125 
 
 Q hed or opening in warp, 82 
 <hed, a rising, 192, 193, 194 
 ihed, a rising and sinking, 195, 
 
 196 
 
 Shed for brocading, 154 
 Shed making for damask webs, 
 
 213,216 
 Shed, patterns suitable for rising 
 
 and sinking, 197, 198 
 Shed, rising and sinking, with 
 
 stationary bottom, 214 
 Shed-stick, the, 82 
 Shedding motions, 94, 164, 191 
 Shedding motions, automatic, 229 
 5ihoot, also shute, woof, or weft, 4 
 hhushan, the palace of, 141 
 Shute, ; also shoot, woof, or weft, 4 
 Shuttle-boxes, 118 
 Shuttle, boxwood, 1 1 2 
 Shuttle race, 99, 104 
 Shuttle race of box batten, 1 1 8 
 Sicilian damasks and tissues, 267, 
 
 316 
 
 side cords for entering loom, 100 
 Silk damask weaving with two 
 
 harnesses, 247 
 
 Bilk, preparation for weaving, 6-9 
 Jiilk weaving, seventeenth, eigh- 
 teenth, and nineteenth centuries, 
 
 .43 
 
 Dimple or pattern cords, 260 
 Simplest patterns, the, 139 
 Single-harness patterns, 160 
 Skein-winder, 121, 122 
 Skutching or stripping flax, 8 
 Slip-loops, how made, 106 
 Spacing warp on cane roller, 69 
 Spindle, 12, 13, 14, 15 
 Spinners, Eastern, 12 
 Spinning, primitive, n, 12 
 Spitalfields tissue, 290 
 Spitalfields weaving, sample of 
 fine, 271 
 
 Split harness, 276 
 Split harness, section of, 278 
 Split harness, shafts for, 279 
 Split or shaft harness, the working 
 
 of, 279 
 Spreading warps on warping mill, 
 
 48 
 Stretching the warp in the loom, 
 
 60 
 
 Striped Indian warps, 141 
 Striped warp designs, 142, 143, 
 
 144, 145 
 Stripes of ornament on tabby 
 
 grounds, 176 
 Swords of batten, 99 
 
 TABBY and other grounds for 
 
 designs, 270 
 Tabby ties on two harnesses of 
 
 different counts, 298 
 Taborettes, 227 
 Tail cords of drawloom, 260 
 Take-up of the cloth, 128 
 Taking off warps, 38 
 Taking the cross on warping mill, 
 
 56 
 
 Tapestry akin to embroidery, 138 
 Tapestry, classic, 136 
 Tapestry looms fitted with two 
 
 ratchets and wheels, 91 
 Tapestry, mediaeval, 137 
 Tapestry- weaving, 131 
 Tartan designs, 146 
 Temple, the, when necessary, 120 
 Tension of warp, how adjusted, 
 
 92 
 
 Tension of weft, 113 
 Terry velvet, 226 
 Textile decoration, 133 
 Textiles in Victoria and Albert 
 
 Museum, 310 
 Textiles mentioned in ancient 
 
 history and poetry, 137 
 Textiles of Greece and Rome, 85 
 Thothrae* IV., 133 
 
 337 
 
 Index 
 
Index Thread monture, 264. 
 
 Thread monture for silk-weaving, 
 
 271 
 Threading or entering the harness 
 
 and reed, 103 
 
 Throwing the shuttle, 113, 114 
 Tie-up of pattern, 139 
 Tie-up of tabby ornamented webs, 
 
 177 
 
 Tie-up of treadles to beadles, 94 
 Tissues, numerous wefts and 
 
 shuttles used in, 292 
 Tissues of linen, cotton, wool, and 
 
 spun silk, 296 
 
 Tissues of seventeenth and eigh- 
 teenth centuries, 277 
 Tobine effects, 228, 318, 319 
 Treadles connected with headles 
 
 of harness, 105 
 Treadles of loom, 93 
 Treadles, working of, for twill, 
 
 ground, 213 
 Trevette for velvet weaving, 224, 
 
 225 
 
 Turning on, process of, 60, 68-71 
 , Twills, extended, 169 
 ^.Twills, right- and left-handed, 167 
 Two-harness method, fine results 
 
 of, 207 
 Tying up headles and treadles, 165 
 
 VARIEGATED webs of Sidon, 146 
 Vase paintings of looms, 23 
 Vateau, 61 
 Velvet, ancient, its superiority, 
 
 227 
 
 Velvet, pile bobbins for, 321 
 Velvet, breast roller for, 220 
 Velvet, figured warping for, 321 
 Velvet ground, twills, &c., 219 
 Velvet, ground warp for, 223 
 Velvet pile or pole, its position in 
 
 loom, 219, 220 
 Velvet power-loom, 227 
 Velvet rod, 224 
 
 338 
 
 Velvet, small-pattern, 227 
 Velvet, take-up of pile warp, 
 
 219 
 Velvet warps, their proportion, 
 
 223 
 Velvet weaving, actual process, 
 
 224 
 Velvet weaving, figured, cut, and 
 
 terry, 3 20 
 
 Velvet weaving, plain, 219 
 Velvet weaving, speed of, 222 
 Velvet weaving, weighting leashes 
 
 for, 320 
 Victoria and Albert Museum col-j 
 
 lection of textiles, 133 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, 
 
 examples of tissues, 310 
 
 WARP, 88 
 Warp and weft, their proportions, 
 Warp, counting threads of, 37 
 Warp, its preparation, 26, 81 
 Warp, joining in a new, 102 
 Warp, opening in, 81 
 Warp patterns, 140 
 Warp, why so called, 4 
 Warping, ancient and simi 
 
 method, 27-32 
 Warping board, 27-32 
 Warping mill, Chapter IV., 42, 
 Watson, Dr. J. F., on Indi< 
 
 brocading, 148 
 Weaver's beam, 60 
 Weaver's ingenuity, 230 
 Weavers, old, their capacity, 231 
 Weaving a most complicated ar 
 
 82 
 Weaving, ancient designs for, 13: 
 
 '33 
 Weaving, ancient method of wid< 
 
 120 
 
 Weaving, board for, 23-26, 150 
 Weaving, damask-, 156, 210, 21 
 
 212,213,274 
 Weaving, development of, 2 
 
Weaving face downwards, 304 
 Weaving from two warps, 217 
 Weaving, importance of, i 
 Weaving mentioned by Herodotus, 
 
 22 
 Weaving, modern developments, 
 
 217 
 Weaving on hand-loom, 125, 126, 
 
 127 
 
 Weaving, primitive, 18, 85 
 Weaving with fly-shuttle, 127 
 Weaving wool hangings, 300, 301 
 Weaving, universal, 3 
 Webs of Egypt, 1 3 1 
 Webs of Sicily, 317 
 Weft, also woof, shute, or shoot, 4 
 Weft effect designs, 145 
 
 Weft effects, their advantage, 
 
 296 
 
 Weft stripes, 132 
 Wefting, 82 
 
 Wefting of ancient textiles, 1 34 
 Weight box of loom, 91 
 Weighting shuttles, 118 
 Winding quills and plugs, 128 
 Woof, also called weft and shoot, 
 
 or nhute, 4 
 Wool for weaving, preparation of, 
 
 6,9 
 Wool hanging for heavy church 
 
 curtain, 300 
 
 Wool hangings, grounds of, 301 
 Workshop for beaming, 76, 78, 
 
 79 
 
 Index 
 
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