Warp and weft
In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizontal weft (also called the woof) is drawn through (inserted over and under) the warp thread.[1] In the terminology of weaving, each warp thread is called a warp end; a pick is a single weft thread that crosses the warp thread (synonymous terms are fill yarn and filling yarn).[2][3]
In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution facilitated the industrialisation of the production of textile fabrics with the picking stick[4] and the flying shuttle, the latter of which was invented by John Kay, in 1733.[citation needed] The mechanised power loom was patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, which allowed sixty picks per minute.[4]
Etymology
[edit]The word weft derives from the Old English word wefan, to weave. Warp means "that across which the woof is thrown". (Old English wearp, from weorpan, to throw, cf. German werfen, Dutch werpen).[5]
Warp
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The warp is the set of yarns or other things stretched in place on a loom before the weft is introduced during the weaving process, and the longitudinal set in a finished fabric with two or more sets of elements.[6]
The term is also used for a set of yarns established before the interworking of weft yarns by some other method, such as finger manipulation, yielding wrapped or twined structures.[citation needed] Very simple looms use a spiral warp, in which the warp is made up of a single, very long yarn wound in a spiral pattern around a pair of sticks or beams.[7]
The warp must be strong to be held under high tension during the weaving process, unlike the weft which carries almost no tension.[citation needed] This requires the yarn used for warp ends, or individual warp threads, to be made of spun and plied fibre.[citation needed] Traditionally natural fibres such as wool, linen, alpaca, and silk were used.[according to whom?][citation needed] However, improvements in spinning technology during the Industrial Revolution created cotton yarn of sufficient strength to be used in mechanized weaving.[citation needed] Later, synthetic fibres such as nylon or rayon were employed.[citation needed]
While most weaving is weft-faced, warp-faced textiles are created using densely arranged warp threads.[citation needed] In these, the design is in the warp, requiring all colors to be decided upon and placed during the first part of the weaving process, which cannot be changed.[citation needed] Such limitations of color placement create weavings defined by length-wise stripes and vertical designs.[citation needed] Many South American cultures, including the ancient Incas and Aymaras, employed backstrap weaving, which uses the weight of the weaver's body to control the tension of the loom.[8][failed verification][full citation needed]
Weft
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Because the weft does not have to be stretched on a loom like the warp,[citation needed] it can generally be less strong.[citation needed] Originally used were spun yarns from fibres such as wool, flax and cotton.[citation needed] As of this date,[when?] viscose-type (e.g., rayon) fibres, and synthetic fibres such as polyester and polyamide (nylon) are used.[citation needed]
Handlooms were the original weaver's tool, with the shuttle being threaded through alternately raised warps by hand.[citation needed] In modern applications, the weft is threaded through the warp using a shuttle, air jets,[clarification needed] or rapier grippers.[citation needed]
Appearances in literature
[edit]Literally
[edit]The terms warp and woof are also found in some English translations of the Bible, in the discussion of mildews found in cloth materials (e.g., in Leviticus 13:48–59).[non-primary source needed][citation needed]
As metaphor
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
The expression warp and weft (also warp and woof) is used metaphorically the way the word fabric might be; for instance, "the warp and woof of a student's life" equates to "the fabric of a student's life".[9][better source needed] The expression is also used similarly for the underlying structure upon which something is built.[clarification needed][citation needed]
The expresion "warp and weft" is sometimes used even more generally in literature to describe perceived basic dichotomies of the world in which one lives, e.g., the dichotomies of up and down, in and out, blacka dn white, sun and moon, yin and yang, etc.[citation needed][dubious – discuss]
In other fields
[edit]In computing, a warp is a block of parallel threads executed on a GPU or similar SIMD device.[according to whom?][citation needed]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "Weft". The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Washington, DC: George Washington University. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ Burnham (1980), pp. 170, 179
- ^ Barber (1991), p. 79.
- ^ a b Aspin, Chris (1981). The Cotton Industry. Shire Library. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-85263-545-2.
- ^ "warp | Search Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "Warp | The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum | The George Washington University". museum.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ Burnham (1980), p. 132
- ^ Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez, Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands.[full citation needed]
- ^ "warp and woof". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
References
[edit]
- Barber, E. J. W. (1991). Prehistoric Textiles. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00224-X.
- Burnham, Dorothy K. (1980). Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology. Royal Ontario Museum. ISBN 0-88854-256-9.
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