Weaving Process

Before their use on the loom, wrap and filling yarns must be prepared for weaving. In preparation for weaving, each wrap end (yarn) must be threaded through its own drop wire, heddle eye, and reed dent. The Drop wire is a device that will stop the loom if an end should break, the heddle eye is the opening in a heddle that carries the yarn, and the reed comb like device that will push each filling yarn close against the completed fabric.

Placing the wrap yarns on the loom is done either by drawing-in or by tying-in. Heddle wires are held in frames called harnesses. The number of harnesses required for the loom is determined by the weave.

Yarn that is to be used for filling must be packaged in some from that allows it to be unwound easily for transport through the shed is called a shuttle and is made up of a wooden carrier into which a quill or pirn is placed.

Once the filling yarns have been prepared and the wrap beam containing the sized yarns is placed at the back of the loom. The warp yarns are conveyed to a cylinder called the cloth beam which is in front.

The loom goes through a series of motions

• Shedding: raising and lowering of warp yarns by means of harness to form shed, opening between warp yarns through which weft yarn passes
• Picking: inserting of weft yarn by the shuttle through the shed
• Beating up: packing the weft yarn into the cloth to make it compact
• Taking up: winding newly formed cloth onto the cloth beam, Letting off: releasing yarn from warp beam

Classification of Woven Fabrics

• Basic/Simple Weaves
• Compound/Complex/Novelty Weaves

Basic/Simple Weaves: 3 basic weaves

• Plain Weave
• Twill Weave
• Satin Weave

Compound/Complex/Novelty Weaves

• Dobby Weave
• Jacquard Weave
• Double Cloth & Double Weave
• Pique
• Pile Fabrics
• Surface Figure Weaves