: Jacquard Weaving and Designing by Bell T F - Decoration and ornament; Weaving; Jacquard weaving

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INDEX 301

JACQUARD WEAVING AND DESIGNING

Though the term 'jacquard weaving' is properly applied to work done by the jacquard machine, it will here be taken to apply to all harness weaving, or work that extends beyond the range of shafts, or leaves of heddles.

The question arises, When is the limit to the number of shafts that ought to be used reached? It apparently used to be when no more could be got into the loom, as up to ninety-six shafts were used; and this seems to be quite enough for any weaver to get the yarn through, or for any loom to hold, but it must be remembered that at present the appliances are much more suited to the work than they formerly were; and now, except in woollen or worsted goods, where it is desirable to use shafts on account of their firmness in comparison with that of a harness, from twelve to sixteen shafts are as many as it is generally thought desirable to have in a power loom. I have seen thirty-five shafts, all in one tier or set, working diaper very conveniently in a hand loom, and more than double that number of leaves working worsted in a power loom; but whether the latter was desirable, or not, I must leave to the judgment of the manufacturer who possessed it.

Many ingenious inventions have been made for the purpose of simplifying the working of a large number of shafts, but as a description of them would be out of place here, we may pass on to the draw loom, which appears to be the first form of harness of which we have an accurate description. How the cloths of Babylon were woven, in which

Men's figured counterfeits so like have been That if the party's self had been in place, Yet Art would vie with Nature for the grace--

is not known, though in Gilroy's report of Arphaxad's description of his loom to Deioces, king of the Medes, it is stated to have been accomplished by means of carved blocks of wood acting on needles, which wrought the harness or heddles and thus formed the pattern; but as Gilroy has admitted that the introduction to his work on weaving is a pure invention of his own, for the purpose of making it appear that the Ancients were acquainted with motions similar to those on our modern looms, or as a 'take-off on those who angle hourly to surprise, and bait their hooks with prejudice and lies,' we need not dwell further on the subject. In any case, figured cloths must have attained considerable excellence in very early ages. The curtains of the Tabernacle were embroidered with figures, and the veil of the Temple was, according to Josephus, embroidered with all sorts of flowers, and interwoven with various ornamental figures, the door curtain being embroidered with blue and purple and scarlet. The ephod of the High Priest was similarly embroidered.

The Egyptians worked coloured patterns in the loom so rich that they vied with the Babylonian cloths, which were embroidered with the needle. The method of working is unknown, but cloths taken from the tombs in Egypt, which may be seen in South Kensington Museum and in the Gobelins tapestry manufactory, Paris, appear to be made on a principle similar to that of the Gobelins tapestry; the warp is of flax and the weft of coloured wool: and the looms depicted on the catacombs in Egypt are very similar in appearance to tapestry looms.

Embroidering was practised in Egypt prior to the Exodus of the Israelites; and gold and silver threads or wires were used both for embroidering and weaving, being known nearly 4,000 years.

The Babylonish garment taken by Achan, whose sin brought much woe upon the Israelites, is said, by Josephus, to have been a Royal garment woven entirely of gold; but it might only have been embroidered with gold, and was probably wrought in the plain of Shinar, as it was not till long after that Babylon was celebrated for its manufactures.

Pliny says that weaving cloth with gold thread was invented by Attalus, an Asiatic king, and that the Babylonians were most noted for their skill in weaving coloured cloths. This was in Homer's time, about 900 B.C., when weaving and embroidering appear to have attained great excellence, and to have been very gorgeous. At that time the labour of the loom was considered an accomplishment, which ladies and even princesses tried to excel in.

As before stated, the draw loom is the first form of machine for figured weaving of which we have any record. It is not known where it was invented, but it probably passed from China to Western Asia with the silk manufacture. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans do not appear to have known it. The Chinese have still in use a draw loom in which the drawboy stands on the top and draws up the parcels of twines which have been previously arranged for him. After being established in Damascus , the draw loom passed on to Europe, where the Chinese method of working was used till 1604, when M. Simblot, in France, connected to the neck a separate series of cords, called the 'Simple' , so that the drawboy could work when standing at the side of the loom. It is said to have been introduced into England in 1567. The next improvement was to dispense with the drawboy's services, and for this purpose a patent was taken out in 1687, by Joseph Mason, for 'a draw boy engine by which a weaver may performe the whole worke of weaving such stuffe as the greatest weaving trade in Norwich doth now depend upon without the help of a draught boy.' In 1779 William Cheape patented a plan to dispense with the drawboy by having the 'simple' above his head, and drawing it down with knots which were held in notches, as described in Fig. 2.

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