Fiber Art WeAVING

what is it exactly? WEAVING is a method of fabric production (this is what we call fiber art); this is when two distinct sets of threads, fabric strips, string, yarn, paper, etc. are interlaced at right angles to form a piece of woven fabric or cloth.

A Brief History of Weaving

where did weaving originate? In pre-historical time, as far back as 10,000 BC there is evidence of cloth production in the Paleolithic Era (the stone age), however it is predominantly believed to have been widespread by Biblical times.

In Egypt, China, and near the East, not all were making the same type of cloth, but all are using different types of weaving techniques. The predominant fibers being used during this time were flax, wool, linen, silk, and cotton.

Both horizontal and vertical looms could be found all over Asia, Africa, and Europe. In Medieval Europe, weaving became the most important of craft trades due to the supply and demand of raw materials needed to create cloth.

The Industrial Revolution (19th Century) Cloth weaving became a machine-driven industry with the development of steam and water powered looms. Two inventions that contributed to advancements in weaving during the 19th century: The Fly Shuttle The Jacquards Loom

The Fly Shuttle A fly shuttle is a mechanical device using ropes and pulleys to deliver the weft thread into the warp threads. The weft yarn is wound on to a narrow canoe-shaped instrument usually made of wood, which holds the bobbin. After the shuttle is loaded with the weft-filled bobbin, the weaver places the shuttle onto the shuttle race, a small, narrow shelf that the shuttle glides along as it goes in and out of the weft. This invention increased the volume of cloth production and forced technological advancement in the spinning industry to supply larger amount of yarns. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khiEAEqdkZY

The Jacquard Loom This machine used a punch card mechanism to operate the loom and is credited to modern computer science. This complicated machine was added to the top of the weaving loom. A series of cards with holes punched in them is continuously ran through the machine. The machine enabled the weaving loom to move individual warp threads up and down according to the pattern of holes punched into the cards. Various complex, colored, patterned cloths were woven, through the use of this punch card system.

Re-cap: The Industrial Revolution dramatically changed the role of the weaver through the inventions of The Fly Shuttle and The Jacquard Loom. Large volumes of inexpensive cloth were now readily available due to machine power. Textile workers were among the founders of the modern labor movements because someone had to run the machines therefore, more jobs became available.

what are the affects of weaving today? Today most of our textile needs are supplied by commercially woven cloth. Large complex cloth industries uses automated machines to produce our textiles. However, there are still artisans making woven cloths on hand looms, in home studios or small weaving businesses, who keep alive the skills and traditions of the early weavers.

Cultures and Weaving

South America

Peru Peruvian Andes textiles are woven intricate patterns with vibrant colors. In the culture of the Incas, they determined the status of a person by the weave of the clothes he or she wore. The tighter the weave and more complicated the pattern, greater status rank.

Guatemala Guatemalan weavers create complex, bright-colored blanket and clothing, including shirts called huipiles, belts they sometimes wrap around their heads like turbans and skirts.

Africa

Ghana The most well-known type of West African cloth is probably “kente” cloth. It is woven by Ashanti of Ghana. (highly prestigious silk cloth, made exclusively for the king and his court)

United States and England

England Weaving was not allowed by the British in Colonial America. Colonist were supposed to send unfinished goods like cotton and flax to Britain and buy finished cloth back from England.

Southwestern United States The Navajo are known for weaving beautiful wool rugs, blankets, and tapestries. Traditional these rugs feature symbolic geometric shapes.

Alaska

Northwestern Coastal Indians Chilkat blankets were traditionally woven by the Tlingit Indians out of mountain goat hair and cedar bark. They were five-sided, deeply fringed and were worn as capes during important ceremonies. The Chilkat blanket-weaving tradition largely died out a hundred years ago, and the antique ones now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.