Beginner's Guide For Weaving

Weaving has its roots dating back to prehistoric times. The art of weaving came into existence almost 30, 000 years back, when human beings developed string by twisting together the plant fibers.

The Techniques of Weaving. Weaving is a craft technique of lacing together two threads/yarns to form a cloth or a fabric. Out of the two threads, one is called the warp and the other, filling or weft. Warps are moved up and down through the wefts at right angles, forming cloth. The raising and the lowering of the warp threads in different sequences may result in the different types of weaves, namely:

o Plain Weave. It is also known as calico, tabby, taffeta, or homespun weave. In this type of weave, a weft passes over every alternate warp at right angles. Both the sides of a plain weaved cloth are similar. Plain weave can be done in two ways:

1. Balanced Plain Weave. In this method of weaving, both the warp and the filling threads are of the same type & size. Even the number of threads per inch remains the same. This results in only one on one crossing of the weft over the warp, giving the weave a checkerboard like appearance.

2. Basket Weave. This type of weaving deals with more than one type of warps and wefts. As the name suggests, in Basket Weave, jacquard weaving each group of filling passes over an equal number of warps, giving it a crisscross appearance.

o Twill Weave. Twill Weave has different patterns on its front and backsides. In this type of weaving, single filling thread passes over one or more warp threads. An offset is kept between rows, giving a diagonally ribbed weaved pattern. Famous denim is Twill Weaved fabric.

o Satin Weave. Satin Weave is one of the most popular weaving techniques. It is also quiet expensive due to its glistening appearance. In this type of weaving, two or more fillings float over a single warp, a technique just the opposite of the Twill Weave.

Nowadays, weaving is not only limited to fabrics, but also extends to metals, in the form of nets, fences, etc.

oThe Loom. Though hand spinning is a popular craft for weaving, the turnout quantity and the turnaround time, both are low. Weaving fast and at a large scale requires the aid of looms. A loom is a frame-like structure, used to hold the warp threads tightly at their place and the weft threads are woven over them. The important, integral components of a loom are:

o Heddle. Each thread on the loom passes through it, separating each warp thread so that the filling thread can be passed through them.

o Harness. Its role is to control the movement of heddles.