WEAVING

the proce of interlacing yarn threads or similar flexible filaments by means of a loom, thus producing cloth or other fabric. Two sets of threads are used, cro ing each other at right angles, the longitudinal set being called the warp, and the transverse set the weft. Besides fabrics made from one warp and one weft, there are others with two warps and one weft or two wefts and one warp; two, three, and other ply fabrics constructed from two or more warps and wefts; tapestries and similar fabrics made by intersecting two or more warps and wefts in a special manner; and gauzes in which one part of the warp is twisted round another part. In fabrics such as velvets, plushes, or Turkey carpets, a part of the weft or warp stands up vertically from the groundwork. The power-loom was invented in 1785 by Epmunp Carrwricut, an English clergyman. Modern power-looms embody practically the same principles as the hand-loom. They are provided with arrangements for automatically stopping the loom when a thread breaks, or when the shuttle fails to act properly. There are also automatic contrivances for ejecting empty shuttles, and for boring in to use full ones, or replenishing the empty ones. When two or more colors are to be used in the weft, two or more shuttles are placed in a rotating box, which automatically brings a shuttle of the right color into position for being thrown at the right time. The most intricate patterns can be woven by the Jacquard loom. In this loom the healds are arranged so that each is independent of the others, in order that any desired combination of warp-threads can be raised or lowered at any time, the actual combination being determined by the arrangement of a series of perforations in an endle band of cards, the holes being pierced in accordance with the pattern to be woven.