WEAVING. 



[Plate II. Weaving, fg. 2.) is made in two parts, fo that a 

 part of the trough I near the pecker, where the {huttle lies 

 during the time it is at reft, can be removed, and another 

 trough fubftituted, which contains a different (huttle. For 

 the purpofe of making the change with facility, a moveable 

 fl\uttle-box n is fufpended by two perpendicular ilems o from a 

 wire or centre of motion m attached to the lay, as is fliewn by 

 the dotted lines. The moveable box is juft on the fame 

 level with the (huttle-trough I, and is divided by partitions 

 into two or three feparate troughs, each exaftly the width 

 of the regular trough, and as long as is neceflary to contain 

 a fliuttle. The pecker i, and the wire upon which it Hides, 

 remain exaftly as before defcribed ; but by fwinging the 

 moveable box n on its centre any one of its compartments 

 may be brought to line with the real place for the (huttle- 

 trough in which the pecker runs. The moveable box muft 

 have proper catches to hold it exaAly in its true pofitions. 



In working with this contrivance a (liuttle of a different 

 colour muft be placed in each cell or divifion of the move- 

 able box n ; and when the weaver defires to change the (huttle 

 he pulls the connefting ftring. This moves the (huttle- 

 troughs either backwards or forwards, fo as to carry away 

 that (huttle which had been juft before in ufe, and place 

 another before the pecker. Then if he pulls the pecker- 

 handle j the new (huttle will be thrown acrofs the (huttle-race, 

 juft as the old one was in the former itillance. If only one 

 moveable (huttle-box is ufed there will be fome limitation in 

 the pattern, becaufe the ftripes of different colour muft al- 

 ways confill of an even number of the fame coloured thread, 

 as two, four, fix, &c. This may be obviated, and a greater 

 change of (buttles may be introduced, by ufing two move- 

 able fhuttle-boxes, one at each end of the (huttle-race : in 

 that cafe the two moveable boxes are provided with cranks 

 and ftrings, fo that the weaver can reach either of them 

 with cafe. 



Chech are produced by the combined operations of the 

 warper and the weaver. 



Tweeleil cloths are fo various in their textures, and fo 

 complicated in their formation, that it is difficult to convey 

 an adequate idea of the mode of conftruAing them without 

 the aid of feveral drawings. 



In examining any piece of plain cloth, it will be obferved 

 that every thread of the weft croffes alternately over and 

 then under every thread of the warp which it comes to ; and 

 the fame may be faid of the warp : in (hort, the threads of 

 the warp and weft are thus interwoven at every point where 

 they crofs each other, and are therefore tacked alternately. 

 Tweeled cloth is rather different, for only the third, 

 fourth, fifth, fixth, &c. threads crofs each other, to form 

 the texture. 



Hence two, three, four, or more, of the fucceflive threads 

 or (hoots of the weft will be found to pafs under or over the 

 fame thread of the warp ; or, in other words, by tracing any 

 thread of the warp it will be found to pafs over two, three, 

 four, or more threads of the woof at once, without any 

 interweaving the v/arp. Then it crolTes and paffes between 

 the threads of the weft, and proceeds beneath two, three, 

 four, or more threads, before it makes another palfage be- 

 tween the threads of the weft. 



Tweeled cloths are of various defcriptions, and produce 

 different kinds of patterns ; becaufe at all the interfefting 

 points where the threads aftually crofs or interweave both 

 threads of warp and weft are feen together, and thefe pomts 

 are therefore more marked to the eye, even if the warp and 

 weft are of the fame colour. Thefe points in plain tweels form 

 parallel lines extending diagonally acrofs the breadth of the 

 cloth, with a different degree of obliquity, according to the 

 Vol. XXXVIII. 



number of weft-threads over or under which the warp- 

 threads pafs before an interfedion takes place. In the 

 coarfeft kinds every third thread is croffed : in finer fabrics 

 they crofs each other at intervals of four, five, fix, feven, 

 or eight threads ; and in fome very fine tweeled filks the 

 crofTing does not take place until the fixteenth interval. 



Tweeling is produced by multiplying and varying the 

 number of heddles, or, as the weavers exprefs it, the number 

 of leafcs in the harnefs, which is the name given to the 

 whole number of heddles employed in a loom ; by the ufe 

 of a back-harnefs or double-harnefs, by increafing the num- 

 ber of threads which pafs through each fpht of the reed, 

 and by an endlefs variety of modes in drawing the yarns 

 through the heddles ; alfo by increafing the number of trea- 

 dles, and changing the manner of treading them. 



The number of treadles requifite to raife all the heddles 

 which muft be ufed to produce very extenfive patterns, 

 would be more than one man could manage ; for if he placed 

 his foot by miftake on a wrong treadle he would disfigure 

 his pattern. In thefe cafes, recourfe is had to a mode of 

 mounting or preparing the loom, by the application of 

 cords to the different heddles of the harnefs ; and a fecond 

 perfon is employed to raife the heddles in the order required, 

 by pulling the ftrings attached to the refpeftive heddles of 

 the back-harnefs, and each heddle is returned to its firft po- 

 fition by means of a leaden weight underneath. This is the 

 moft comprehenfive apparatus ufed by weavers, for all fan- 

 ciful patterns of great extent, and it is called the Draw- 

 Loom. See that article. 



The manner of mounting the harnefs of looms, to pro- 

 duce all the principal varieties of fabrics, is detailed in our 

 articles Design, Draught, and Cording 0/ Zoomj ; alfo 

 Damask, Diaper, Dimitv, Dornock, Fustian, and Ta- 

 pestry. A perufal of thofe articles will render it unnecef- 

 fary for us to proceed farther on that fubjeft in the prefent 

 article. We (hall however defcribe a moft valuable inven- 

 tion, which has of late years come into ufe, as a fubftitute 

 for the fecond perfon or draw-boy, who muft be employed 

 in the draw-loom, by which loom alone all the complicated 

 patterns can be woven. 



Machine called the Draw-Boy, becaufe it performs the OJjiee of 

 a Draw-Boy in Weaving. — The faving of labour is not the 

 only advantage of this machine ; the certainty of its opera- 

 tion and fecurity from miftake are obvious. The weaver 

 produces the required aftion upon the moft complicated 

 harnefs by two treadles only, which he works alternately, 

 juft with the fame motion as in plain cloth-weaving. The 

 machine, when once fet up, performs every thing elfe. 



Like moft other inventions, this was at firft imperfect, 

 but has been gradually improved. We do not know its hif- 

 tory, but we have feen great numbers of machines, for 

 carpet-weaving and coarfe goods, which have been fome 

 years in ufe. The machine is fituated in a fmall fquare 

 frame, not larger than a chair, which ftands at the fide of 

 the loom, and cords from all the di(ferent heddles are con- 

 dufted from the draw-loom down to this frame, where they 

 are arranged in order. Each cord has a knot anfwering to 

 the handle, which the boy muft pull in the common draw- 

 loom ; and there is a piece of mechanifm aftuated by the 

 treadles which at every ftroke felefts the proper cord, and 

 draws it down fo as to raife the heddles belonging to it. 

 The next time it changes its pofition and takes another 

 cord, and fo on until tlie whole number of cords has been 

 drawn and the pattern completed. 



Thefe original machines have a great defedl, vi%. that 



they only proceed with regularity to raife up all the heddles, 



until all the cords have been drawn, and one feries of changes 



F f has 



