Hand weaving

“ This free weaving leads directly to weaving with splints. These are much thinner than slats and can be obtained at the kindergarten supply stores. Many beautiful things can be made with splints. They are easily dyed at home and many pleasing combinations of color can be obtained in this way. Celluloid strips make beautiful boxes and baskets. ”

“ In our efforts to place the hand-weaving industry on a better footing, we are endeavouring to improve the primitive methods of indigenous weavers both in regard to warping and weaving. In respect to weaving we have met with considerable success, as we have demonstrated that the output of the fly-shuttle loom is fully double that of the native hand loom, and it is in consequence slowly making its way in the weaving centres of Southern India. ”

“ Weaving Gray Goods
Principle of Weaving
The modern power loom represents one of the most remarkable achievements of industrial development. Into its perfection have gone the inventions and improvements of centuries, and volumes could, and [Pg 32] have been written on the subject of modern weaving. Nevertheless, the old-fashioned hand-loom has not yet gone out of existence, and still finds its use in the development of new designs.
Spooling
Weaving is, of course, the process whereby yarn is made into cloth, and its fundamental principle is that of the warp and weft structure. ”

“ Lois Bates, in her "Kindergarten Guide," says that "in the manufacturing districts of England great numbers of the children who pass through the elementary schools are employed in mills where weaving is carried on, or enter textile schools to learn designing in cloth. If this occupation of mat-weaving could be continued until the children had a thorough knowledge of its principles, how much intelligence might be brought to bear on the actual weaving and how much more pleasure might the worker draw from labor that is often looked upon as so much mechanical drudgery!" ”

“ When the weaving is done and the mat lifted from the loom, the ends of the wool warp strings can be run in along the sides with a tape needle. If the warp be of twine, it is better to tie the end to the next warp string and allow the fringe to cover the knot; or, as in the case of silkoline, the woof strips can be caught over the warp strings with silk of the same color in order to hide them. Only experience can teach the tightness with which a warp should be strung. Worsted, carpet thread and twine will stretch as the work progresses, and raffia will not. ”

“ It has been hitherto excluded from the domain of needlework, because of the different use of the needle employed in it. [Pg 240] It has always been woven on a loom, and is, in fact, embroidery combined with the weaving; for the shuttle, or slay, or comb completes each row of stitches. It belongs as much to our art as does tambour work, which is done with a hook instead of a needle. Tapestry weaving is the intelligent craft of a practised hand guided by artistic skill. The forms of the painted design must be copied by a person who can draw ”

“ The following weaving game can be played in several ways. This extract is from the "Kindergarten Guide," by Lois Bates: "Six children stand in a row; a tall one at each end for the border of the mat and the other four representing the strips. The child who is to be the weaver holds one end of a long tape, while the other is fastened to the left shoulder of the first child. The weaver weaves the tape in and out among the children, placing the second row lower down. ”

“ Mechanical weaving has now reached a perfection that the hand-loom can not attain. There is greater regularity in the product, less waste of material, and great saving of labor—one weaver in the lighter fabrics easily attending to two or three looms. The power loom is worked without muscular effort, dexterity in the repairing of broken yarns being the chief requirement of the operatives. Consequently, women have almost universally superseded men in its operation. ”

“ After preliminary work with the felt mats and slats the children find themselves able to weave quite independently, particularly if demonstration cards or sample mats are placed before the class. An infinite variety of patterns, which later will be useful in wool-weaving, can be found in the "Kindergarten Guides." In weaving patterns having a center, it is better to weave two strips at once, pushing one to the top and one to the bottom of the mat. ”

“ Their mode of weaving, which is chiefly performed by women, is by suspending the warp; the weft being held in the hand, as a ball, is passed between the threads of the warp alternately, and pressed more or less close according to the purpose for which the mat is intended. ”

“ THE three principal movements in weaving are shedding, picking, and beating up the weft. By shedding is meant opening the warp threads to allow the shuttle containing the weft to pass over certain ends and under others. In the common [Pg 49] hand loom the shed is made by the weaver operating treadles with his feet. Fig. 35 shows the method of connecting the shafts or staves with the treadles for weaving a plain cloth. ”

“ In weaving, use two woof threads of white and four of green to make the square correct. The [Pg 92] kindergarten designs make pretty holders. If you have woven a holder, it will be finished when it is removed from the loom and the warp strings have been fastened. If you wish your holder to be very thick, weave two of these pieces, lay a square of felt or flannel between and sew or crochet the edges together. If the work is to be a mat, knot a pretty fringe all around it. ”

“ The felt and paper mats prepare the way for loom-weaving; the free paper weaving, and the slats and splints for basketry. A few suggestions on the use [Pg 24] of the slats and splints have been given for two reasons: First, for the training which they afford in dexterity and great delicacy of touch, to say nothing of exemplary patience; and second, because the preliminary training for basketry should be given in the lower primary grades. The time necessary to train clumsy fingers can hardly be taken from the regular work in grades where basketry is a prescribed course. ”

“ From the ancient world the art of weaving passed through Europe and became known in England after the Roman conquest. No doubt primitive weaving with vegetable fibres, and perhaps with wool, was known in a very crude way before that time. How the art developed, and how improvement followed improvement, makes very interesting reading for the student of textile fabrics. ”

“ If the warp be too loose the work will be uneven and the strings will slip out of the notches. If it be too tight it will be difficult to finish the last two or three inches and the woof threads will look crowded. The best test is to place the hand upon the warp before commencing to weave. ”

“ This is the heavy thwacking sound heard in hand-weaving. [221]
On the accurate poise of the batten depends largely the evenness of the completed woof. If the material is heavy, the batten should be swung high, thus having a good sweep and much force in its blow. The batten should be so poised as to swing back itself into place after each blow.
The weaver, with foot on treadle, sits on a narrow, high bench, which is fastened from post to post of the loom. James Maxwell, the weaver-poet, wrote under his portrait in his Weaver's Meditations, printed in 1756:—
"Lo! ”

“ If one prefers, a piece of burlap may be stretched across the loom and secured to the rods, instead of weaving a foundation, as suggested.
Stitches for pile weaving
Stitches for pile weaving
The first stitch
Stitches for pile weaving are very easily made. This illustration showing examples of stitches for pile weaving illustrates the methods used in the stitches, and may be used for Axminster or Wilton rugs, for boxes, sachet cases, and other articles. The tape [Pg 133] needle is the kind used for weaving when the large needle cannot be used. ”

“ Make good baskets first, simple in shape, strong in texture, suited to the purpose for which they are intended; unconsciously they will grow beautiful. The most intricate basket will fail in its purpose if the joinings are careless or flaws in workmanship permitted. If originality is within the weaver, it will find its expression, once the principles of weaving are second nature." (C. S. Coles.) This is also true of rug and mat weaving, for the aim of all training should be to bring out the best there is in a child. ”

“ Weaving.—The difficulties in the way of power-loom linen weaving, combined with the obstinate competition of hand-loom weavers, delayed the introduction of factory weaving of linen fabrics for many years after the system was fully applied to other textiles. ”

“ Care should be taken not to twist the strips in weaving. The method of splicing the strips and fastening the warp strings is explained in Chapter V. The rug may be finished with a wool or silk fringe of the predominating color, or a fringe of the combined colors. If desired, it may be left plain, catching the woof strips together at each end to conceal the warp strings. When a mistake has been made, run the needle back under the same strings instead of pulling out what is wrong. It prevents stretching and a destruction of the material. ”

“ It is not necessary to weave the loom full each time, as the last inch is very slow work, but when the weaving [Pg 49] is near the head piece draw out the rods, lift it from the notches, pass it down to the foot piece so that the part which was at the head is now at the foot, untie the knots so that the work will lie close to the foot piece and knot the warp strings as before at the head piece. ”

“ It is interesting to note that teachers in all parts of the country, working independently of each other, have come to practically the same conclusions, viz., that under present conditions, weaving seems the best basis for a systematic course in industrial work that shall train head and heart as well as hand. It is also of great interest to remember that the signboards along the pathway of race development, by means of work, exchange of labor and its products, all point to this idea as the entering gateway. [Pg 12] Weaving is the first industry of all primitive peoples. ”

“ Stories of the weaving birds, particularly the African weaver, are interesting. It is said that two birds work together, one on the inside of the nest and the other on the outside, passing the grass and twigs in and out, until the home is completed. The children will enjoy, too, stories of weaving in other lands, material for which can be easily obtained. ”

“ Boxes of all kinds can be made of raffia woven in panels. It will make the box stronger and firmer to overhand a piece of rattan around the edges of the panels before joining them in the form of a box. Thread a worsted needle with a narrow strip of raffia and buttonhole the edges of the panels together; or, sew them over and over and cover with a braid of raffia. Spiral-weaving is pretty for this finishing. It is described in an article entitled "Straw-Weaving," in "American Homes" for September, 1900, a magazine published in Knoxville, Tenn. ”

“ One has the opportunity, too, of noticing whether the eight white sheep on the tiny hands are really white enough to do the weaving. A smiling allusion to some small black sheep will bring them back clean for the next session. ”

“ Cut the woof strips several inches longer than the width of the loom. Weave the first strip, leaving a piece at each side. Thread a tape needle with one end and weave it in and out the three warp threads on the rod. Then cut it off close to the edge. Finish off all the ends in this way. When the work is removed from the loom, press the edges flat with a warm iron. It is a little easier to keep the pattern right by weaving in this way, and the work resembles the real matting more nearly. Use a tape needle for weaving raffia. ”

“ Weavers, like many other classes in Southern India, are eminently conservative. Even so trifling an innovation as the introduction of a new arrangement for maintaining tension in the warp during the process of weaving gave rise a short time ago to a temporary strike among the hand-loom weavers at the Madras School of Arts.
For the following note on the weaving industry, I am indebted to Mr. A. Chatterton. “The hand-weavers may be divided into two great classes— (1) plain weavers, who weave cloths or fabrics with a single shuttle, which carries the weft from selvage to selvage ”

“ A weaver is placed under the left-hand horizontal group and simple weaving is woven over one group and under another until four rows are completed. The spokes are then separated into groups of twos by bringing the weavers over and under every two spokes instead of four. This may be finished32 either in simple weaving with one weaver, or by inserting another weaver, in pairing. ”

“ The weaver on the left holds a spool in her hand, evidently a piece of stick with the weft thread wound round it, which she is pushing through with her fingers. The weaver on the right holds a beater-in as shown in the Beni Hasan drawing. The breast beam is held in position by two pegs near the right one of which there is a curved article of indeterminate use.
Fig. 12.—Study of a Bedawin Arab weaving, from a sketch taken in the Forties of last Century, by Frank Goodall, R.A. The original sketch is in Bankfield Museum. The weaver appears to be provided with one heddle and a beater-in. ”

“ WEAVING. The process of weaving consists in interlacing, at right angles, two or more series of flexible materials, of which the longitudinal are called warp and the transverse weft. Weaving, therefore, only embraces one section of the textile industry, for felted, plaited, netted, hosiery and lace fabrics lie outside this definition. Felting consists in bringing masses of loose fibres, such as wool and hair, under the combined influences of heat, moisture and friction, when they become firmly interlocked in every direction. ”