And Aphrodite came to comfort them
With incense, luscious honey, and fragrant wine;
And Heré gave them beauty of face and soul
Beyond all women; purest Artemis
Endowed them with her stature and white grace;
And Pallas taught their hands to flash along
Her famous looms.
The "Daughters of Pandarus" (from the "Odyssey," Lib. XX).
Translation by Mrs. Browning.
Among the home industries which the arts and crafts societies have
lately revived, perhaps none invite more interest or deserve greater
honour than weaving with the hand loom. Weaving is an ancient art. If
we were to seek its origin we should have to go back to the time when
men adopted homespun clothing in place of rude coverings made from the
skins of animals. That was a great change, for it meant the beginning
not only of the textile industries but of civilization itself. It is no
wonder that the distaff and the loom were highly honoured in ancient
mythologies. Not less honour is due the spinning wheels and looms
of our grandmothers, which played an important part in the early
beginnings of our own history. The New England colonists spoke with
pride of communities which showed progress in the weaving of cloth;
and this was then largely a home industry in the hands of honourable
women. It was a work of necessity, but not without love and devotion.
Many evidences remain in beautiful coverlets or bedspreads, in towels
of homespun flax, in durable linen sheets and table-cloths--examples
of unfailing patience, great ingenuity, and marvellous skill--handed
down from generation to generation to their present fortunate and proud
possessors.
[Illustration: Weaving a Rug. Plate VII]
_The Primitive Loom._--In the Orient, where our choicest rugs are made,
two trees growing near each other, some strings and pieces of bamboo,
and a few simple accessories, are all the worker requires. This is a
primitive loom. The modern hand loom is the same in principle; and the
looms of our factories do not differ from it essentially. While it is
true that their productive power has been enormously multiplied, this
great improvement, which was actually one of the chief causes of a
great industrial revolution, was due mainly to the inventive genius of
two men who harnessed the motive powers of nature to the English hand
looms.
[Illustration: Shuttle and bobbin]
_Warp and Woof._--The fundamental process in all weaving is essentially
the same; and it is exceedingly simple. It consists in passing one set
of threads between two other sets of threads which cross each other
alternately and are moved first up and then down to allow the passage
of the shuttle with its bobbin and thread. The set of threads which
cross each other and which, by being moved up and down, interlock the
thread which is passed between them, is known as the _warp_. The thread
which the shuttle carries across and between the warp threads is called
the _woof_. By careful selection of materials, by skilful design in the
dyeing and arrangement of these materials, and by proper management of
the warp and woof to express the design, the most beautiful Oriental
rugs are fashioned; and, though we may not be able to reproduce these
in our homes, very beautiful and very useful things may be made upon
the hand loom by those who have the necessary enthusiasm and patience.
[Illustration: The hand loom]
[Illustration: The reed]
_What the Hand Loom is._--The hand loom consists of four uprights or
posts, joined on two sides at the top and bottom by cross pieces.
Attached to the lower cross piece are two other uprights, one on each
side of the loom, bolted in such a manner as to give free play back
and forth. This is the beater. These cross pieces are grooved on their
inner edges, and into this groove is slipped the reed, which is a frame
divided into sections by short, stiff wires, making from 10 to 25 or
more sections to the inch. It is called a reed because it was formerly
made from reeds. The sections of the reed are called dents, and through
each one is to be threaded a single strand of the warp. From the upper
cross pieces extend two other uprights, one on each side, to a height
of about two feet above the general framework. They are united at
the top by a round piece called the roll, over which, near each end,
are passed cords attached to pulleys which in turn carry other cords
fastened by means of screw eyes to inch-wide sticks extending across
the width of the loom. These sticks are in pairs and carry cords or
wires of uniform length through the centre of each of which a thread
of the warp is passed by means of an eye in each wire, as through the
dent of the reed. This is called the harness. There must be at least
two of them, and there may be more. Two are necessary for the simplest
weaving of a plain surface, and more than two if the work is to be more
complex, as is required for scarfs with fancy borders, cushions, or
any figured products of the loom. Near each end of the loom are two
rollers to which the two ends of the warp threads are attached when the
loom is set up for weaving. These rollers are called beams. Over one of
them the woven product passes as the loom is operated, while the other
holds the unwoven warp. At the back of the loom is still another cross
piece, underneath which pedals are fastened. These pedals connect by
chains with the harnesses in such a manner that when the foot is placed
on one of them the cords attached to it play over the pulleys, throwing
the harness and the warp threads which it carries below the level of
the other set or sets of warp threads. An ingenious device of cogs at
the side of the loom holds the work taut and enables the worker to let
out fresh warp and also to roll up completed work.