Narrow cloth
Videos
"Narrow cloth" is cloth of a comparatively narrow width, generally less than a human armspan; precise definitions vary.
Weaving narrow cloth on a back-strap loom. A lone weaver without a flying shuttle must be able to span the cloth they are weaving with their arms.
Weaving raffia on an upright loom in Babouantou, Cameroon.
Weaving jamdani on a two-person loom.
Tanmono, traditional narrow Japanese fabric bolts. This is cotton dyed with indigo before weaving (kasuri) Behind is a yukata (type of kimono) made from this cloth.
Flying shuttle
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The flying shuttle or fly shuttle is a type of weaving shuttle. It was a pivotal advancement in the mechanisation of weaving during the initial stages of the Industrial Revolution, and facilitated the
Narrow cloth
…with a person on each side of the loom, usually the master weaver and an apprentice, throwing the shuttle back and forth between them. In 1733, the flying shuttle was invented. Flying shuttles made it possible for a single hand weaver to weave widths greater than their armspan, halving the labour required to make…
From above, showing conical pirn, and end-feed mechanism (the yarn slips off the end of the pirn, which need not rotate).
Flying shuttle in the shuttle race
Holding the reed beater bar in the left hand, and the (picking-stick-mounted) string tugged to return the flying shuttle in the right hand. See video below.
Narrow tanmono loom with an obvious shuttle race on a top-mounted beater bar. Late 1800s Japan.