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WEAVING

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 440 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WEAVING . The See also:

process of Weaving consists in interlacing, at right angles, two or more See also:series of flexible materials, of which the See also:longitudinal are called warp and the transverse weft. Weaving, therefore, only embraces one See also:section of the textile See also:industry, for felted, plaited, netted, See also:hosiery and See also:lace fabrics See also:lie outside this See also:definition. Felting consists in bringing masses of loose See also:fibres, such as See also:wool and See also:hair, under the combined influences of See also:heat, moisture and See also:friction, when they become firmly inter-locked in every direction. Plaited fabrics have only one series of threads interlaced, and those at other than right angles. In nets all threads are held in their appointed places by knots, which are tied wherever one See also:thread intersects another. Hosiery fabrics, whether made from one or many threads, are held together by intersecting a series of loops; while lace fabrics are formed by passing one set of threads between and See also:round small See also:groups of a second set of threads, instead of moving them from See also:side to side. Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations, See also:woven fabrics are varied in texture and have an enormous range of application. The demands made by prehistoric See also:man for fabrics designed for clothing and shelter were few and See also:simple, and these were fashioned by interlacing strips of fibrous material and See also:grasses, which in their natural See also:condition were See also:long enough for the purpose in See also:hand. But, as he passed from a See also:state of savagery into a civilized being, his needs See also:developed with his culture, and those needs are still extending. It no longer suffices to See also:minister to individual necessities; luxury, See also:commerce and numerous See also:industries must also be considered. The invention of See also:spinning (q.v.) gave a See also:great impetus to the introduction of varied effects; previously the use of multicoloured threads provided See also:ornament for simple structures, but the demand for variety extended far beyond the limits of See also:colour, and different materials were employed either separately or conjointly, together with different schemes of interlacing.

Eventually the See also:

weaver was called upon to furnish articles possessing lustre, softness and delicacy; or those that combine strength and durability with diverse colourings, with a snowy whiteness, or with elaborate ornamentation. In See also:cold countries a demand arose for warm clothing, and in hot ones for cooler materials; while commerce and industry have requisitioned fabrics that vary from normal characteristics to those that exceed an See also:inch in thickness. In See also:order to meet these and other requirements the See also:world has been searched for suitable raw materials. From the See also:animal See also:kingdom, wool, hair, See also:fur, feathers, See also:silk and the pinna fibre have long been procured. From the See also:vegetable kingdom, See also:cotton, See also:flax, See also:hemp, jute, See also:ramie and a See also:host of other less known but almost equally valuable materials are derived. Amongst minerals there are See also:gold, See also:silver, See also:copper, See also:brass, See also:iron, See also:glass and See also:asbestos. In addition, strips of See also:paper, or skin, in the See also:plain, gilt, silvered and painted conditions are available as well as artificial fibres. All of the fore-going may be used alone or in See also:combination. From such varies •aw materials it is not surprising that woven fabrics should See also:present an almost endless variety of effects; yet these See also:differences are only in See also:part due to the method of weaving. The processes of See also:bleaching (q.v.), See also:mercerizing (q.v.), See also:dyeing (q.v.), See also:printing (see TEXTILE PRINTING) and See also:finishing (q.v.) contribute almost as much to the See also:character and effect of the resultant product as do the See also:incorporation in one fabric of threads spun in different ways and from fibres of different origin, with paper, See also:metal, beads or even See also:precious stones. i Both these See also:species seem to have been first described and figured in 1600 by Aldrovandus (See also:lib. xv. cap. 22, 23) from pictures sent to him by Ferdinando de' See also:Medici, See also:duke of See also:Tuscany.

End of Article: WEAVING

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