

WEAVING. 



over from France, on the revocation of the edict 

 of Nantz. and brought with them an extensive 

 knowledge of many manufactures with which we 

 had been hitherto unacquainted. Of these, many 

 went to Ireland, and numbers settled in Spital- 

 fiflds, London, where they established the manu- 

 facture of silk. 



The cloth manufacture made very little progress 

 in Scotland till after the union. About the year 

 a branch of the silk from Spitalfields was 

 r-tahlished at Paisley, when it was soon brought 

 to such a degree of perfection, especially in the 

 light and more fanciful fabrics, that Paisley silks 

 obtained a preference in all the markets of Europe; 

 and laid the foundation for that extensive branch 

 of fancy weaving which has since spread itself over 

 the west of Scotland. 



About the year 1767, Richard Hargreaves, a 

 weaver in Lancashire, invented the cotton jenny 

 for spinning wool; and about two years after- 

 wards, the late Sir Richard Arkwright applied 

 power to the spinning of warps, which greatly ac- 

 celerated the cotton manufacture in England. 



Weavingis performed upon a loom which is merely 

 a frame for the purpose of stretching out the warp 

 or web that is to be made into cloth. The web, 

 which is of any convenient length, is kept 

 stretched between two beams. The one beam on 

 which the web is wound, is called the yarn roll, 

 and the other on which the cloth is wound, the 

 cloth beam or roll. The Indian loom is, probably, 

 the most ancient now to be seen in action, and 

 when we take into account its wonderful simplicity, 

 we may well be astonished at the beautiful fabrics 

 produced upon it. The Indians prepare their cot- 

 ton for spinning, by separating it with the string 

 of a bow, which is kept vibrating by the hand un- 

 til its fibres are opened into a tine down or fleece. 

 The method of spinning, even their very finest 

 yarn, is still by the distaff and spindle. In 

 weaving muslins of the most delicate fabric and 

 texture, their apparatus is equally simple. The 

 warp is stretched between two rollers, under the 

 shade of some convenient tree, and over a pit that 

 has been dug for the purpose. What constitutes 

 their heddles is suspended from a bough; and two 

 loops, into which the two great toes are introduced, 

 are formed on cords below, and serve instead of 

 treadles or other mounting. The woof is inserted 

 by a kind of long shuttle, which also performs the 

 office of our reed and lay, by which we shut up 

 the woof. In weaving their more fanciful and 

 complicated patterns, the warp is also wound upon 

 a roll, which is frequently suspended between two 

 trees; and, being equally stretched in a vertical 

 position by another roll below for receiving the 

 cloth, the woof is inserted by a long needle, which 

 is dexterously employed by the operator in seclud- 

 ing such of the warp threads as are raised by our 

 mountings. This process has some resemblance to 

 our method of reading an extensive flower on the 

 simple of a harness. When the threads of woof 

 are thus interwoven with the warp, which are often 

 linked into each other in a very curious manner, 

 they are drawn close to the face of the cloth by 

 another instrument similar to a comb. 



In the common hand loom, the beams upon 

 which the warp is extended, are kept parallel 

 by the frame of the loom I I, and as the cloth 

 beam G, winds the web off the yarn roll E as it 

 is woven, it is obvious that to draw alike they 

 must be perfectly true. 



Fig. 1. 



The following is a description of the several 

 parts of the hand loom. 



A, Tho lieddle hearer, from which the rinks or jacks 

 arc suspended. 



B, The haldlex. 



11, ', The jacks or rinks attached to the upper shafts of the 

 heddles, which enables them to move upwards ami 

 downwards, when acted upon by tin; treadles. 



j-. The knee (Jtafts attached to the under shafts of the 

 heddles. 



y, The marc/ten connected with the knee shafts above, and 



the treadles below. 

 I, t, the treadles. 



C, C, The sii-ai-ds of the lathe or luy; the boxes for receiving 

 the shuttle, are seen on the o'utside of them; tho pick- 

 ing pin for driving the shuttle is lying on the cloth roll, 

 the cords suspended from the side's of the loom, are tor 

 supporting the driving' cord. 



D, The rocking-tree to which the lathe is attached by con! t, 

 and which vibrates upon bars at the sides of the loom. 



F, A lever and we:/!/it. to which a rope passing round the 

 yarn roll, is made fast in order to k/>ep the web at :i 

 proper tension. 



z, A board on which the weaver sits when at work. 



p, the pirn or bobbin bojc. 



In front of the loom, about fifteen inches from 

 the cloth beam, is an apparatus fig. 2, for the pur- 

 Fig. 2. 



pose of shedding the web, or opening the threads of 

 the warp for the weaver to throw in the shuttle and 

 interlace the weft. This apparatus is called the 

 heddles, B, and consists of a framing of cords 

 laced over two wooden shafts. There is a cord 

 or single heddle for each thread in the web, and 



