Page 79 - Shawl Weaving Artisan - TT

Textile & Handloom Related Theory for Exercise 1.5.40-42

Shawl Weaving Artisan - Weaving and Designing

Introduction to textile weaves and design

Objectives: At the end of this lesson you shall be able to
• explain weaves and designs used in textiles
• explain plain weave and its derivatives
• brief rib weave and matt weave
• understand the principles behind various ornamentation techniques applicable to plain weave.

Introduction to textile weaves and designs be lifted for successive weft insertion to produce a
particular weave/design pattern. This depends on the
Weaving is a fabric production technique in which the weave and it’s drafting plan.
two sets of yarns are interlaced at right angles to form a
textile. Woven fabric design (or) weave are composed 1 Straight draft: In a straight drafting order, a slanting
of warp and weft threads, interlaced with one another line is formed by crosses across the point paper as
according to the form of design that are desired. The shown in Fig 1. This means that each end of the
repeat or pattern is the smallest unit of weave, repeating design works differently. As such each end needs to
on a specified number of ends and picks, which when be drawn through different heald shaft.
repeated produces the required design. The weave
influences the aesthetics as well as the properties of the
woven fabrics. The interlacement patterns of the woven
fabrics are manipulated using the drafting order and the
lifting plan.
The weaves are constructed on a graph/point paper using
(X) cross marks and blanks. A cross mark in the point
paper means that the warp is lifted over the pick, whereas
a blank means the weft end passing over the warp end.
Woven fabric structures may be broadly divided into two
principle categories: 2 Pointed draft: As the name indicates, in a pointed
1 Simple structures: in which there are one series draft a pointed line is formed by the (x) notation
of ends and picks and the constituent threads are (Fig 2). The weave repeat contains ends working with
responsible for both aesthetic and performance of similar interlacements. As such for a weave repeating
the fabric. on seven ends only four heald shafts are required.
2 Compound structures: in which there are more than
one series of ends and picks, some of which may be
responsible for the body of the fabric and the other
threads may be employed entirely for ornamental
purposes.
Weaves, draft and lifting plan
Weaves are the pattern of interlacement of the
corresponding warp and weft threads. A weave repeats
on a definite number of ends and picks and the number
of ends and picks in a repeat may be equal or unequal. 3 Skip draft: Skip drafts system is useful in weaving
very dense set fabrics, where normally a small number
A draft indicates the number of healds used to produce of healds are required. This system reduces friction
a given design and the order in which the warp ends are and rubbing between the ends by using more healds
threaded through the mail eyes of the healds. Drafting than the minimum necessary. In a skip draft, more
order determines how the warp ends are drawn through than one heald shafts are controlled by the shedding
the healds, that is which ends is passed through which mechanism. For example, plain weave textile can be
heald. Number of heals depends on the number of ends woven with two healds, but when producing textiles
working differently. This implies that if the interlacement with high number of end and picks per unit area. It
pattern of threads is same then they should be drawn is often suitable to use four healds to reduce the
through the same heald shaft. jamming of threads in the heald. The skip draft for a
Lifting plan is the selection of healds to be raised or plain weave textile is shown in Fig 3.
lowered on each successive insertion of the weft. Lifting
plan indicates the order in which the heald shafts should

69