Editing Weaving (section)

==History==

Weaving was known in all the great civilisations, but no clear line of causality has been established. Early looms required two people to create the shed and one person to pass through the filling. Early looms wove a fixed length of cloth, but later ones allowed warp to be wound out as the fell progressed. Weaving became simpler when the warp was [[Sizing#Textile warp sizing|sized]].

===Africa===
Around the 4th century BCE , the cultivation of cotton and the knowledge of its spinning and weaving in [[Meroë]] reached a high level. Export of textiles was one of the main sources of wealth for [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]. [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksumite]] King [[Ezana]] boasted in his inscription that he destroyed large cotton plantations in Meroë during his conquest of the region.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gB6DcMU94GUC&q=cultivation+cotton+Meroe&pg=PA310 |title=Ancient civilizations of Africa |author=G. Mokhtar |publisher=Unesco. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa |page=310 |via=Books.google.com |access-date=2012-06-19 |isbn=978-0-435-94805-4 |date=1981-01-01}}</ref>

===Latin America===
{{Main|Textile arts of indigenous peoples of the Americas|Andean textiles}}
[[File:Tzutujil.weaving.jpg|left|thumb|An indigenous woman of the Maya Tzutujil culture weaves using a back-strap loom.]]
[[File:Andean Weaving Museum of Anthropology UBC Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Example of weaving characteristic of [[Andean civilizations]]]]
[[File:Tejedora de fibras.jpg|thumb|Natural fiber weaver in [[Nuevo León]], Mexico]]
The [[Indigenous people of the Americas]] wove textiles of [[cotton]] throughout tropical and subtropical America and in the South American [[Andes]] of wool from [[camelids]], primarily domesticated [[llamas]] and [[alpacas]]. Cotton and the camelids were both domesticated by about 4,000 BCE.<ref>Rajpal, Vijay Rani; Rao, S. Rama; Raina, S. N. (2016). ''Gene Pool Diversity and Crop Improvement''. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. p. 117.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Llamas and Alpacas in South America |url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/domestications/qt/Llama-And-Alpaca.htm |work=ThoughtCo |author=Hirst, K. Kris |date=29 September 2014 |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref>  American weavers are "credited with independently inventing nearly every non-mechanized technique known today."<ref>Stanfield-Mazzi, Maya (2012). [http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0022.xml "Textile Traditions of the Andes"]. Retrieved 6 October 2016.</ref>

In the [[Inca Empire]] of the Andes, both men and women produced textiles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Graubart |first=Karen B. |date=2000 |title=Weaving and the Construction of a Gender Division of Labor in Early Colonial Peru |journal=American Indian Quarterly |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=537–561 |doi=10.1353/aiq.2000.0017 |jstor=1185889 |s2cid=143772318 |issn=0095-182X}}</ref> Women mostly did their weaving using [[backstrap loom]]s to make small pieces of cloth and vertical frame and single-[[heddle]] looms for larger pieces.<ref>McEwam, Gordon F. (2006). ''The Incas: New Perspectives''. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. p. 167; Cartwright, Mark (1 February 2015). [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/791 "Inca Textiles"]. ''Ancient History Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 7 October 2016.</ref> Men used upright looms. The Inca elite valued ''[[cumbi]]'', which was a fine tapestry-woven textile produced on upright looms. The elite often offered {{lang|qu|cumbi}} as gifts of reciprocity to lords (other elite) in the Empire. In regions under direct control of the Inca, special artisans produced ''cumbi'' for the elite. Women who created ''cumbi'' in these regions were called ''acllas'' or ''mamaconas'' and men were called ''cumbicamayos''.<ref name=":0" /> Andean textile weavings were of practical, symbolic, religious, and ceremonial importance and used as currency, tribute, and as a determinant of social class and rank. Sixteenth-century Spanish colonists were impressed by both the quality and quantity of textiles produced by the Inca Empire.<ref>Morris, Craig; Von Hagen, Adriana (1993). ''The Inka Empire and its Andean Origins''. American Museum of Natural History. New York: Abbeville Press. pp. 185-191.</ref>  Some of the techniques and designs are still in use in the 21st century.<ref>Meisch, Lynn A. [http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/features/112333/the-mur-a-code "The Murúa Code"]. ''Natural History Magazine''. Retrieved 7 October 2016.</ref>

Whereas European cloth-making generally created ornamentation through "suprastructural" means—by adding embroidery, ribbons, brocade, dyeing, and other elements onto the finished woven textile—pre-Columbian Andean weavers created elaborate cloth by focusing on "structural" designs involving manipulation of the warp and weft of the fabric itself. Andeans used "tapestry techniques; double-, triple- and quadruple-cloth techniques; gauze weaves; warp-patterned weaves; discontinuous warp or scaffold weaves; and plain weaves" among many other techniques, in addition to the suprastructural techniques listed above.<ref>{{cite book |title=Archaeometry of Pre-Columbian Sites and Artifacts: Proceedings of a Symposium Organized by the UCLA Institute of Archaeology and the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, California, March 23–27, 1992 |year=1994 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-0-89236-249-3 |editor=David A. Scott, Pieter Meyers |page=8}}</ref>

===East Asia===
[[File:Yōshū Chikanobu Filial Piety.jpg|right|thumb|A woman weaving. [[Ukiyo-e]] woodblock print by [[Toyohara Chikanobu|Yōshū Chikanobu]], 1890]]
The weaving of [[silk]] from silkworm cocoons has been known in [[China]] since about 3500 BCE. Silk that was intricately woven and dyed, showing a well developed craft, has been found in a Chinese tomb dating back to 2700 BCE.

Silk weaving in China was an intricate process that was very involved. Men and women, usually from the same family, had their own roles in the weaving process. The actual work of weaving was done by both men and women.{{sfn|Feng|2001|p=461}} Women were often weavers since it was a way they could contribute to the household income while staying at home.<ref name="Rothschild2015 p27">{{Cite book |title=Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers |last=Rothschild |first=Harry |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2015 |page=72}}</ref> Women would usually weave simpler designs within the household while men would be in charge of the weaving of more intricate and complex pieces of clothing.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=2013 |title=Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker, eds., Medieval Clothing and Textiles 8. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Boydell Press, 2012. Pp. 197. $60 |isbn=978-1-84383-736-7 |journal=Speculum |volume=88 |issue=2 |page=608 |doi=10.1017/s0038713413001814 |issn=0038-7134 |last1=Netherton |first1=Robin |last2=Owen-Crocker |first2=Gale R.}}</ref> The process of [[sericulture]] and weaving emphasized the idea that men and women should work together instead of women being subordinate to men. Weaving became an integral part of Chinese women's social identity. Several rituals and myths were associated with the promotion of silk weaving, especially as a symbol of female power.  Weaving contributed to the balance between men and women's economic contributions and had many economic benefits.<ref name="Rothschild2015 p27" />{{sfn|Li|1981|p=135}}

There were many paths into the occupation of weaver. Women usually married into the occupation, belonged to a family of weavers and or lived in a location that had ample weather conditions that allowed for the process of silk weaving. Weavers usually belonged to the peasant class.{{sfn|Feng|2001|pp=407–409}} Silk weaving became a specialized job requiring specific technology and equipment that was completed domestically within households.{{sfn|Li|1981|p=131}} Although most of the silk weaving was done within the confines of the home and family, there were some [[Guild|specialized workshops]] that hired skilled silk weavers as well. These workshops took care of the weaving process, although the raising of the silkworms and reeling of the silk remained work for peasant families. The silk that was woven in workshops rather than homes were of higher quality, since the workshop could afford to hire the best weavers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bell |first=Lynda Schaefer |date=2000 |title=Of Silk, Women, and Capital: Peasant Women's Labor in Chinese and Other Third World Capitalisms |journal=Journal of Women's History |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |page=83 |doi=10.1353/jowh.2000.0002 |s2cid=143870818 |issn=1527-2036}}</ref> These weavers were usually men who operated more complicated looms, such as the wooden draw-loom.{{sfn|Li|1981|p=27}} This created a competitive market of silk weavers.

The quality and ease of the weaving process depended on the silk that was produced by the silk worms. The easiest silk to work with came from breeds of silk worms that spun their [[Cocoon (silk)|cocoons]] so that it could be unwound in one long strand.<ref name=":3" /> The reeling, or unwinding of silk worm cocoons is started by placing the cocoons in boiling water in order to break apart the silk filaments as well as kill the silk worm [[pupa]]e. Women would then find the end of the strands of silk by sticking their hand into the boiling water. Usually this task was done by girls aged eight to twelve, while the more complex jobs were given to older women.{{sfn|Li|1981|p=29}} They would then create a silk thread, which could vary in thickness and strength from the unwound cocoons.<ref name=":3" />

After the reeling of the silk, the silk would be dyed before the weaving process began. There were many different looms and tools for weaving. For high quality and intricate designs, a wooden [[Loom|draw-loom]] or pattern loom was used.{{sfn|Li|1981|p=27}} This loom would require two or three weavers and was usually operated by men. There were also other smaller looms, such as the waist loom, that could be operated by a single woman and were usually used domestically.{{sfn|Li|1981|p=27}}

[[Sericulture]] and silk weaving spread to Korea by 200 BCE, to [[Khotan]] by 50 CE, and to Japan by about 300 CE.

The pit-treadle loom may have originated in India though most authorities establish the invention in China.<ref name="Broudy1979">{{cite book |author=Broudy, Eric |title=The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shN5_-W1RzcC |year=1979 |publisher=University Press of New England |isbn=978-0-87451-649-4 |pages=111–112}}</ref> [[Lever|Pedals]] were added to operate [[Heddle#Single and double heddle looms|heddles]]. By the Middle Ages such devices also appeared in [[Persia]], Sudan, Egypt and possibly the Arabian Peninsula, where "the operator sat with his feet in a pit below a fairly low-slung loom". In 700 CE, horizontal looms and vertical looms could be found in many parts of Asia, Africa and Europe.  In Africa, the rich dressed in cotton while the poorer wore wool.<ref name=Pacey>{{cite book |title=Technology in world civilization: a thousand-year history |first=Arnold |last=Pacey |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |year=1991 |isbn=0-262-66072-5 |pages=40–1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7e8rHL1lf4C&pg=PA41}}</ref>
By the 12th century it had come to Europe either from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]] or [[Al-Andalus|Moorish Spain]] where the mechanism was raised higher above the ground on a more substantial frame.<ref name=Pacey/><ref name="Jenkins2003">{{cite book |editor=Jenkins, D.T. |title=The Cambridge History of Western Textiles, Volume 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZljldSpV28UC |year=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-34107-3 |page=194}}</ref>
<gallery>
Equipment for unravelling silk cocoons. Khotan.jpg|Equipment for unraveling silk cocoons. [[Khotan]]
Women weaving silk. Kashgar.jpg|Women weaving silk. [[Kashgar]]
Viet Nam – The Colors of Traditional Brocade and Silk 3.jpg|A traditional Vietnamese brocade and silk products weaver using a handloom
</gallery>

===Southeast Asia===
In the [[Philippines]], numerous pre-colonial weaving traditions exist among different [[Ethnic groups of the Philippines|ethnic groups]]. They used various plant fibers, mainly [[abacá]] or [[banana]], but also including [[Gossypium arboreum|tree cotton]], [[buri palm]] (locally known as {{Lang|fil|buntal}}) and other palms, various grasses (like {{Lang|fil|amumuting}} and {{Lang|fil|tikog}}), and [[barkcloth]].<ref name="tatler">{{cite web |last1=Sorilla |first1=Franz IV |title=Weaving the Threads of Filipino Heritage |url=https://ph.asiatatler.com/life/weaving-the-threads-of-filipino-heritage |website=Philippine Tatler |access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="wise">{{cite web |last1=Perez |first1=Tina |title=Puerto Princesa: City in a Forest |url=http://www.mrswise.tk/2017/02/puerto-princesa-city-in-forest.html |website=Mrs. Wise |access-date=13 December 2018 |date=16 February 2017}}</ref> The oldest evidence of weaving traditions are [[Neolithic]] stone tools used for preparing barkcloth found in archeological sites in [[Archaeology of the Philippines|Sagung Cave]] of southern [[Palawan]] and [[Archaeology of the Philippines|Arku Cave]] of [[Peñablanca, Cagayan]]. The latter has been dated to around 1255&ndash;605 BCE.<ref name="natmus">{{cite web |title=Bark-Cloth Beater 
|url=http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Beater.html |website=National Museum Collections |publisher=National Museum of the Philippines |access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

Other countries in Southeast Asia have their own extensive history of weaving traditions. Weaving was introduced to Southeast Asia at the same time rice agriculture was introduced from China.<ref name="Novellino">{{cite journal |last1=Novellino |first1=Dario |title=Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia: Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge |journal=IVth International Congress of Ethnobotany |date=2005 |pages=307–316 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330260207}}</ref>  As it was introduced alongside rice farming, weaving is more popular in communities where rice is being farmed as compared to communities that rely on hunting, gathering, and animal farming.<ref name="Novellino" />

Each country has its own distinctive weaving traditions or has absorbed weaving traditions from their neighboring countries. The most common material used for weaving is cotton that is interwoven with threads made of different materials.<ref name="Novellino" /> Brunei is famous for its Jong Sarat, a cloth usually used in traditional weddings, uses silver and gold threads interwoven usually with cotton threads. Similarly, Indonesia has the Songket, also used in traditional weddings, which also utilizes gold and silver wrapped thread to create elaborate designs on their weaved textiles. On the other hand, Cambodia has the Ikat, which utilizes the method of dyeing thunks of thread tied with fiber to create patterns while weaving. In addition to using threads, weavers of  Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam combine silk and other fibers with cotton for weaving. While in Laos, natural materials are used, like roots, tree bark, leaves, flowers, and seeds, but for dyeing the textile that has been already weaved.<ref name="SouteastAsia">{{cite web |title=Silk Weaving in the ASEAN Region. |url=https://www.visitsoutheastasia.travel/activity/silk-weaving-in-the-asean-region/ |website=Southeast Asia |publisher=ASEAN}}</ref> These countries in Southeast Asia have more weaving traditions but these techniques are the popular ones.

To create threads of cotton for weaving, spindle whorls were commonly used in Southeast Asia. It is made from either clay, stone or wood and has a variety of appearances regarding its shape and size. Spindle whorls were said to emerge in Southeast Asia along with expansion of rice agriculture from Yangtse, China. Additionally, its increasing appearance in certain regions of Southeast Asia back then may be also a sign of the enlargement of cotton thread and textile production. Due to its low cost and portability because of its small size, it was favored among rural weaving communities in countries of Southeast Asia.<ref name="Buckley">{{cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Christopher |title=The origins of Southeast Asian weaving traditions: The perspective from archaeology |journal=Asian Archaeology |volume=7 |issue=2 |date=August 2023 |pages=151–162 |url=https://pennds.org/archaeobib/files/original/1fa8ccd5f736957d81d069fd66b47454.pdf}}</ref>

Weaved textiles in Southeast Asia are mostly made with looms. The foot brace loom is the earliest loom introduced to Southeast Asia from China, having its first appearance in Vietnam.<ref name="Buckley">{{cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Christopher |title=The origins of Southeast Asian weaving traditions: The perspective from archaeology |journal=Asian Archaeology |volume=7 |issue=2 |date=August 2023 |pages=151–162 |url=https://pennds.org/archaeobib/files/original/1fa8ccd5f736957d81d069fd66b47454.pdf}}</ref> Although, it was only used in certain areas of Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, and Cambodia.<ref name="lovms">{{cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Christopher |title=Looms, Weaving and the Austronesian Expansion |journal=Spirits and Ships: Cultural Transfers in Early Monsoon Asia |date=2017 |pages=273–324 |url=https://www.academia.edu/9974664}}</ref> Another loom that is widely used across Southeast Asia is the ground level body tension loom, also known as the belt loom, as a part of it needs to be attached to a belt-like strap on the weaver’s waist to control and hold the tension of the warped threads.<ref name="Novellino" /> It is usually operated at the ground level and the weaver is able to control the threads by leaning backwards and forward. The body tension loom was developed from the foot-brace loom to eventually accommodate weaving of larger and wider cloth types.<ref name="lovms">{{cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Christopher |title=Looms, Weaving and the Austronesian Expansion |journal=Spirits and Ships: Cultural Transfers in Early Monsoon Asia |date=2017 |pages=273–324 |url=https://www.academia.edu/9974664}}</ref>

<gallery>
Piña-Seda- Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Philippines 13.jpg|Contemporary Philippines weaver demonstrating pineapple-plant fiber and silk cloths being woven in a traditional loom.
Piña-Seda- Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Philippines 12.jpg|Pineapple-plant fiber and silk threads being woven in a traditional loom.
USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Philippines; Kalahan Educational Foundation) (40246611432).jpg|''[[T'nalak]]'' cloth by [[T'boli people|T'boli]] dream weavers. Like most indigenous pre-colonial Filipino textiles, they were typically made from [[abacá]] fibers.
</gallery>

===Medieval Europe===
[[File:Mendel I 004 v.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Weaver, [[Nürnberg]], {{Circa|1425}}]]
The predominant [[fibre]] in Europe during the [[Medieval Period|medieval period]] was [[wool]], followed by [[linen]] and [[Urtica dioica|nettlecloth]] for the lower classes. [[Cotton]] was introduced to [[Sicily]] and [[Spain]] in the 9th century. When Sicily was captured by the [[Normans]], they took the technology to [[Northern Italy]] and then the rest of Europe. [[Silk]] fabric production was reintroduced towards the end of this period and the more sophisticated silk weaving techniques were applied to the other staples.<ref name="pabacker">{{Harvnb|Backer|2005}}.</ref>

The weaver worked at home and marketed his cloth at [[trade fair|fairs]].<ref name="pabacker"/> [[Warp-weighted loom]]s were commonplace in Europe before the introduction of horizontal looms in the 10th and 11th centuries. Weaving became an urban craft and to regulate their trade, craftsmen applied to establish a [[guild]]. These initially were [[merchant guild]]s, but developed into separate [[trade guild]]s for each skill. The cloth merchant who was a member of a city's weavers guild was allowed to sell cloth; he acted as a middleman between the tradesmen weavers and the purchaser. The trade guilds controlled quality and the training needed before an artisan could call himself a weaver.<ref name="pabacker"/>

By the 13th century, an organisational change took place, and a system of [[Putting-out system|putting out]] was introduced. The cloth merchant purchased the wool and provided it to the weaver, who sold his produce back to the merchant. The [[Merchant capitalism|merchant]] controlled the rates of pay and economically dominated the cloth industry.<ref name="pabacker"/> The merchants' prosperity is reflected in the wool towns of eastern England; [[Norwich]], [[Bury St Edmunds]] and [[Lavenham]] being good examples.  Wool was a political issue.<ref name=BHO>
{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33013 |title=The estate of merchants, 1336–1365: IV – 1355–65 |editor=Unwin, George |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1918 |work=Finance and trade under Edward III: The London lay subsidy of 1332 |access-date=18 November 2011 }}</ref> The supply of thread has always limited the output of a weaver. About that time, the spindle method of spinning was replaced by the great wheel and soon after the treadle-driven [[spinning wheel]]. The loom remained the same but with the increased volume of thread it could be operated continuously.<ref name="pabacker"/>

The 14th century saw considerable flux in population. The 13th century had been a period of relative peace; Europe became overpopulated. Poor weather led to a series of poor harvests and starvation. There was great loss of life in the [[Hundred Years War]]. Then in 1346, Europe was struck with the [[Black Death]] and the population was reduced by up to a half. Arable land was labour-intensive and sufficient workers no longer could be found. Land prices dropped, and land was sold and put to sheep pasture. Traders from [[Florence]] and [[Bruges]] bought the wool, then sheep-owning landlords started to weave wool outside the jurisdiction of the city and trade guilds. The weavers started by working in their own homes then production was moved into purpose-built buildings. The working hours and the amount of work were regulated. The putting-out system had been replaced by a [[factory system]].<ref name="pabacker"/> <!-- Dubious POV -->
<!--In the medieval period, weaving was considered part of the set of ''[[mechanic arts|seven mechanical arts]]''.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}-->

The migration of the [[Huguenot Weavers]], [[Calvinist]]s fleeing from religious persecution in mainland Europe, to Britain around the time of [[Revocation of the Edict of Nantes|1685]] challenged the English weavers of cotton, woollen and worsted cloth, who subsequently learned the Huguenots' superior techniques.<ref name=Hug>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22161 |title=Industries: Silk-weaving |editor-first=William |editor-last=Page |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1911 |work=A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton |access-date=18 November 2011 }}</ref>

===Colonial United States===
[[Colonial America]] relied heavily on [[Great Britain]] for manufactured goods of all kinds. British policy was to encourage the production of raw materials in colonies and discourage manufacturing. The [[Wool Act 1699]] restricted the export of colonial wool.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46972 |title=An Act for continuing severall Laws therein mentioned, and for explaining the Act intituled An Act to prevent the Exportation of Wooll out of the Kingdoms of Ireland and England into Forreigne Parts and for the Incouragement of the Woollen Manufactures in the Kingdom of England |work=Statutes of the Realm, 1695–1701, vol. 7 |date=1820 |pages=600–02 |access-date=16 February 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Garraty, John A. |author2=Carnes, Mark C. |title=A Short History of the American Nation |edition=8th |year=2000 |publisher=Longman |isbn=0-321-07098-4 |chapter=Chapter Three: America in the British Empire |chapter-url=http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/uhs/WebSite/Courses/APUSH/1st%20Sem/Garraty%20Short%20History%20Chapters%201-18/chapter_threei.htm |access-date=2013-10-27 |archive-date=2008-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517130635/http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/uhs/WebSite/Courses/APUSH/1st%20Sem/Garraty%20Short%20History%20Chapters%201-18/chapter_threei.htm  }}</ref>
As a result, many people wove cloth from locally produced fibres. The colonists also used wool, [[cotton]] and [[flax]] (linen) for weaving, though [[hemp]] could be made into serviceable canvas and heavy cloth. They could get one cotton crop each year; until the invention of the [[cotton gin]] it was a labour-intensive process to separate the seeds from the fibres. Functional tape, bands, straps, and fringe were woven on box and paddle looms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Faulkner Weaver |first=Susan |title=Handwoven Tape: Understanding and Weaving Early American and Contemporary Tape |year=2016}}</ref> <!--It generally took an entire year to produce cloth from raw materials, including processing, spinning, weaving and finishing. Flax and hemp were harvested in the summer, and the stalks [[Flax#Preparation for spinning|retted]] to obtain the long fibers within. Sheep could be [[sheep shearing|sheared]] of wool up to twice yearly, depending on their breed. The relative ease of processing wool and its durability, meant that a great proportion of weaving was wool cloth. {{citation needed|date=October 2011}}-->

A plain weave was preferred as the added skill and time required to make more complex weaves kept them from common use. Sometimes designs were woven into the fabric but most were added after weaving using wood block prints or embroidery. <!--Later, the use of multi-harness looms enabled color or texture patterns to be directly woven into the fabric.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}-->

===Industrial Revolution===
{{Main|Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution}}
[[File:Weaving shed-Marsden.png|thumb|By 1892, most cotton weaving was done in similar weaving sheds, powered by steam.]]
Before the [[Industrial Revolution]], weaving was a manual craft and wool was the principal staple. In the great wool districts a form of factory system had been introduced but in the uplands weavers worked from home on a [[putting-out system]]. The wooden looms of that time might be broad or narrow; broad looms were those too wide for the weaver to pass the shuttle through the shed, so that the weaver needed an expensive assistant (often an [[apprentice]]).  This ceased to be necessary after [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]] invented the [[flying shuttle]] in 1733. The shuttle and the picking stick sped up the process of weaving.{{sfn|Guest|1823|p=8}} There was thus a shortage of thread or a surplus of weaving capacity. The opening of the [[Bridgewater Canal]] in June 1761 allowed cotton to be brought into Manchester, an area rich in fast flowing streams that could be used to power machinery. Spinning was the first to be mechanised ([[spinning jenny]], [[spinning mule]]), and this led to limitless thread for the weaver.

[[Edmund Cartwright]] first proposed building a weaving machine that would function similar to recently developed cotton-spinning mills in 1784, drawing scorn from critics who said the weaving process was too nuanced to automate.<ref name=BBC2>{{cite news |title=Historic Figures: Edmund Cartwright |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cartwright_edmund.shtml}}</ref> He built a factory at [[Doncaster]] and obtained a series of patents between 1785 and 1792.  In 1788, his brother Major [[John Cartwright (political reformer)|John Cartwight]] built Revolution Mill at [[Retford]] (named for the centenary of the [[Glorious Revolution]]).  In 1791, he licensed his loom to the Grimshaw brothers of [[Manchester]], but their Knott Mill burnt down the following year (possibly a case of arson).  Edmund Cartwight was granted a reward of £10,000 by [[UK Parliament|Parliament]] for his efforts in 1809.<ref>English, W. (1969). ''The Textile Industry''. pp. 89–97.</ref><ref>Chaloner, William Henry (1963). ''People and Industries''. pp. 45–54.</ref>  However, success in power-weaving also required improvements by others, including H. Horrocks of [[Stockport]].  Only during the two decades after about 1805, did [[Power loom|power-weaving]] take hold. At that time there were 250,000 hand weavers in the UK.{{sfn|Timmins|1993}}  Textile manufacture was one of the leading sectors in the [[Great Britain|British]] [[Industrial Revolution]], but weaving was a comparatively late sector to be mechanised.  The loom became semi-automatic in 1842 with Kenworthy and Bulloughs [[Lancashire Loom]]. The various innovations took weaving from a home-based [[artisan]] activity (labour-intensive and man-powered) to [[steam engine|steam]] driven [[factory|factories]] process. A large metal manufacturing industry grew to produce the looms, firms such as [[Howard & Bullough]] of [[Accrington]], and [[Tweedales and Smalley]] and [[Platt Brothers]]. Most power weaving took place in weaving sheds, in small [[Mill town|towns]] circling [[Greater Manchester]] away from the cotton spinning area. The earlier combination mills where spinning and weaving took place in adjacent buildings became rarer. Wool and [[worsted]] weaving took place in [[West Yorkshire]] and particular [[Bradford]], here there were large factories such as Lister's or Drummond's, where all the processes took place.{{sfn|Bellerby|2005|p=17}} Both men and women with weaving skills emigrated, and took the knowledge to their new homes in New England, to places like [[Pawtucket, Rhode Island|Pawtucket]] and [[Lowell, Massachusetts|Lowell]].

Woven '[[Greige goods|grey cloth]]' was then sent to the finishers where it was bleached, dyed and printed. [[Natural dye]]s were originally used, with [[synthetic dye]]s coming in the second half of the 19th century. A demand for new dyes followed the discovery of [[mauveine]] in 1856, and its popularity in fashion. Researchers continued to explore the chemical potential of [[coal tar]] waste from the growing number of [[Gasworks|gas works]] in Britain and Europe, creating an entirely new sector in the [[Chemical industry#Expansion and maturation|chemical industry]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nenadic |first1=Stana |last2=Tuckett |first2=Sally |year=2013 |title=Colouring the Nation: Dyeing and printing techniques |url=https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/our-research/highlights-of-previous-projects/colouring-the-nation/research/dyeing-and-printing-techniques/the-rise-of-synthetic-dyes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421193631/http://www.nms.ac.uk:80/collections-research/our-research/highlights-of-previous-projects/colouring-the-nation/research/dyeing-and-printing-techniques/the-rise-of-synthetic-dyes |archive-date=2017-04-21 |access-date=2021-06-13 |website=National Museums of Scotland |publisher=[[National Museums of Scotland]]}}</ref>

The invention in [[France]] of the [[Jacquard loom]], patented in 1804, enabled complicated patterned cloths to be woven, by using punched cards to determine which threads of coloured yarn should appear on the upper side of the cloth. The jacquard allowed individual control of each warp thread, row by row without repeating, so very complex patterns were suddenly feasible. Samples exist showing calligraphy, and woven copies of engravings. Jacquards could be attached to handlooms or powerlooms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 June 2019 |title=A revolutionary invention in Programming patterns: the story of the Jacquard loom |url=https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/jacquard-loom |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20200410101455/https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/jacquard-loom |archive-date=2020-04-10 |access-date=2021-06-13 |website=Science and Industry Museum |publisher=[[Science and Industry Museum]]}}</ref>

A distinction can be made between the role and lifestyle and status of a handloom weaver, and that of the power loom weaver and craft weaver. The perceived threat of the power loom led to disquiet and industrial unrest. Well known protests movements such as the [[Luddite]]s and the [[Chartism|Chartists]] had handloom weavers amongst their leaders. In the early 19th-century power weaving became viable. Richard Guest in 1823 made a comparison of the productivity of power and handloom weavers:

<blockquote>A very good Hand Weaver, a man twenty-five or thirty years of age, will weave two pieces of nine-eighths shirting per week, each twenty-four yards long, and containing one hundred and five shoots of weft in an inch, the reed of the cloth being a forty-four, Bolton count, and the warp and weft forty hanks to the pound, A Steam Loom Weaver, fifteen years of age, will in the same time weave seven similar pieces.{{sfn|Guest|1823|p=47}}</blockquote>

He then speculates about the wider economics of using power loom weavers:
[[File:Powerloom weaving in 1835.jpg|thumb|Women featured weaving at power looms in 1835.]]
<blockquote>...it may very safely be said, that the work is done in a Steam Factory containing two hundred Looms, would, if done by hand Weavers, find employment and support for a population of more than two thousand persons.{{sfn|Guest|1823|p=48}}</blockquote>With the Industrial Revolution came a growth in opportunity for women to work within textile factories. However, in spite of their gender, their work was perceived to have a lower social and economic value than work done by their male counterparts.<ref name=":1" />

===Modern day===
[[File:Webereiklasse Webmeister Kurt Wanke, Bauhaus Dessau.jpg|thumb|Weavers of the [[Bauhaus]] workshop in a photo taken by Lux Feininger.]]
In the 1920s the weaving workshop of the [[Bauhaus]] design school in Germany aimed to raise weaving, previously seen as a craft, to a fine art, and also to investigate the industrial requirements of modern weaving and fabrics.<ref>Smith, T'ai (2014). ''Bauhaus weaving theory: From feminine craft to mode of design''. Minnesota: [[University of Minnesota Press]].</ref> Under the direction of [[Gunta Stölzl]], the workshop experimented with unorthodox materials, including cellophane, fibreglass, and metal.<ref name=met>Winton, A.G. (2007). [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm "The Bauhaus, 1919–1933"]. ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 11 December 2016.</ref>  From expressionist tapestries to the development of soundproofing and light-reflective fabric, the workshop's innovative approach instigated a modernist theory of weaving.<ref name="met" /> Former Bauhaus student and teacher [[Anni Albers]] published the seminal 20th-century text ''On Weaving'' in 1965.<ref>Albers, Anni (1965). ''On Weaving''. Middletown, Connecticut: [[Wesleyan University Press]].</ref> Other notables from the Bauhaus weaving workshop include [[Otti Berger]], [[Margaretha Reichardt]], and [[Benita Koch-Otte]].

In the Bauhaus, the weaving workshop was considered "the women's department", and many women were forced to join against wishes to study another art form.<ref name=":2" /> Some weavers, like [[Helene Nonné-Schmidt]] believed that women were made to weave because they could only produce work in 2-D. She thought women lacked the spatial imagination and genius men had to work in other mediums.<ref name=":4" />

Hand weaving of [[Persian carpet]]s and [[kilim]]s has been an important element of the tribal crafts of many of the subregions of modern day [[Iran]]. Examples of carpet types are the [[Kerman carpet|Lavar Kerman]] carpet from [[Kerman]] and the [[Seraband rug]] from [[Arak, Iran|Arāk]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-23 |title=Types Of Persian Rugs |url=https://www.catalinarug.com/rug-encyclopedia/origins-of-rugs/part-2-types-of-persian-rugs/ |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=Catalina Rug |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Seraband rug {{!}} Persian, Hand-Knotted & Wool {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Seraband-rug |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In Southeast Asia, some communities are working to revive weaving traditions as a way to address poverty, improve living conditions, support local communities, and to promote environmental sustainability. Several initiatives have been established to support this effort, such as the Maybank Women Eco-Weavers program by the Maybank Foundation which currently operates in Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia. This program helps create opportunities for women weavers throughout the Southeast Asia region to improve their livelihoods and to give them financial independence.<ref name="maybankk">{{cite web |title=Weaving Communities |url=http://www.maybank.com/en/blogs/2023/09/20.page. |website=Maybank |access-date=December 9, 2024}}</ref>

Additionally, similar programs exist in Taiwan and in the Philippines. In Taiwan, The Lihang Studio and S’uraw Education was founded by Yuma Taru to revive the Atayal weaving culture and to promote indigenous education in weaving and dyeing. In the Philippines, the Kyyangan Weavers Association was established in the Ifugao Province as a way to conserve and promote the Ifugao weaving culture and other traditional practices. Also, this association collaborates with academic institutions, government agencies and other non-government organizations on research and product development to be able to offer economic opportunities for communities.<ref name="TaiInsight">{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Shau-lou |title=Revitalising Indigenous Weaving Cultures across Borders: Conversations and Collaborations between Taiwan and the Philippines |url=https://taiwaninsight.org/2023/02/10/revitalising-indigenous-weaving-cultures-across-borders-conversations-and-collaborations-between-taiwan-and-the-philippines/ |website=Taiwan Insight |access-date=9 December 2024}}</ref>