WEAVING terms | Part 1

Advancing the warp: Releasing the pawl(=a pivoted curved bar or lever) on the ratchet on the warp beam and winding(=twisting) some of the woven cloth onto the cloth beam.

Balanced Weave: A fabric with the same number of wefts(=the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving.) per inch as warps(=opposite to wefts) per inch. Bubbling: Allowing some looseness in the weft to provide the extra length needed for the weft to be beaten in without causing draw-in. Changing the shed(=the temporary opening or gap created between separated upper and lower warp threads): Lifting the foot and placing it on a different treadle to cause a different shed to be formed. Draw-in: The narrowing of the weaving at the selvages(=an edge on woven fabric that prevents it from unravelling(=undoing)) due to the natural shrinking of the web. Excessive draw-in is caused from the weft being too tight. EPI: Ends per inch, or the number of warps per inch. Fell: The edge of the weaving where the last weft has been beaten in. Finishing: The final treatments of the woven piece such as washing, fulling or pressing. Heading: The first weaving of waste thread which will be discarded. In rug weaving, tapestry and some placemats, it is the first few wefts which strengthen the edge. Inlay: inlay, also known as laid-in or brocading, is when designs are created on a plain woven fabric by use of a second or supplementary weft. Discontinuous inlay is when the supplemental weft is used in certain areas only, and continuous inlay is when the supplemental weft moves across the cloth from selvage to selvage (pick-up weaves). One shuttle weave: A weave which is woven with one shuttle(=a tool used to carry the weft (crosswise) yarn back and forth through the shed), allowing the weaver to develop a rhythm of movement as the shuttle does not have to be set down between shots. Opposites: A treadling sequence where one weft shot is followed by treadling the opposite shed. The opposite of 2 3 is 1 4. Pattern Weave: A weave which requires two shuttles, two wefts, and often different colors or threads. The pattern is usually threaded or treadled differently from plain weave. PPI: Picks per inch, or the number of wefts per inch. Selvage: The woven edge of a fabric. Selvage Loops: The extensions of the weft beyond the selvage from the weft tension being too loose. Shed: The opening created on a loom where the weft passes. Shot (pick): A single pass of weft through the shed. Tabby: Plain weave and ground weave for a pattern weave. See also Loom Anatomy And The Way It Works