Weaving_ Power loom

At this point, the thread is woven. Depending on the era, one person could manage anywhere from 3 to 100 machines. In the mid nineteenth century, four was the standard number. A skilled weaver in 1925 would run 6 Lancashire Looms. As time progressed new mechanisms were added that stopped the loom any time something went wrong. The mechanisms checked for such things as a broken warp thread, broken weft thread, the shuttle going straight across, and if the shuttle was empty. Forty of these Northrop Looms or automatic looms could be operated by one skilled worker.^[22]

A Draper loom in textile museum,Lowell, Massachusetts

The three primary movements of a loom are shedding, picking, and beating-up.

• Shedding: The operation of dividing the warp into two lines, so that the shuttle can pass between these lines. There are two general kinds of sheds-"open" and "closed." Open Shed-The warp threads are moved when the pattern requires it-from one line to the other. Closed Shed-The warp threads are all placed level in one line after each pick.
• Picking:The operation of projecting the shuttle from side to side of the loom through the division in the warp threads. This is done by the overpick or underpick motions. The overpick is suitable for quick-running looms, whereas the underpick is best for heavy or slow looms.
• Beating-up: The third primary movement of the loom when making cloth, and is the action of the reed as it drives each pick of weft to the fell of the cloth. ^[23]

The Lancashire Loom was the first semi-automatic loom. Jacquard Looms and Dobby Looms are looms that have sophisticated methods of shedding. They may be separate looms, or mechanisms added to a plain loom. A Northrop Loom was fully automatic and was mass produced between 1909 and the mid 1960s. Modern looms run faster and do not use a shuttle: there are air jet looms, water jet looms and rapier looms.

Weaving-Fabric manufacture

The weaving process uses a loom. The lengthway threads are known as the warp, and the cross way threads are known as the weft. The warp which must be strong needs to be presented to loom on a warp beam. The weft, passes across the loom in a shuttle, that carries the yarn on a pirn. These pirns are automatically changed by the loom. Thus, the yarn needs to be wrapped onto a beam, and onto pirns before weaving can commence. ^[21]

• Winding

After being spun and plied, the cotton thread is taken to a warping room where the winding machine takes the required length of yarn and winds it onto warpers bobbins

• Warping or beaming

A Warper

Racks of bobbins are set up to hold the thread while it is rolled onto the warp bar of a loom. Because the thread is fine, often three of these would be combined to get the desired thread count.[citation needed].

• Sizing

Slasher sizing machine needed for strengthening the warp by adding starch.

• Drawing in, Looming

The process of drawing each end of the warp separately through the dents of the reed and the eyes of the healds, in the order indicated by the draft.

• Pirning (Processing the weft)

Pirn winding frame was used to transfer the weft from cheeses of yarn onto the pirns that would fit into the shuttle

rawing the fibres are straightened

Several slivers are combined. Each sliver will have thin and thick spots, and by combining several slivers together a more consistent size can be reached. Since combining several slivers produces a very thick rope of cotton fibres, directly after being combined the slivers are separated into rovings. These rovings are then what are used in the spinning process. Generally speaking, for machine processing a roving is about the width of a pencil.Next, several slivers are combined. Each sliver will have thin and thick spots, and by combining several slivers together a more consistent size can be reached. Since combining several slivers produces a very thick rope of cotton fibres, directly after being combined the slivers are separated into rovings. These rovings (or slubbings) are then what are used in the spinning process. ^[11]

Generally speaking, for machine processing, a roving is about the width of a pencil.

• Drawing frame: Draws the strand out
• Slubbing Frame: adds twist, and winds on to bobbins
• Intermediate Frames: are used to repeat the slubbing process to produce a finer yarn.
• Roving frames: reduces to a finer thread, gives more twist, makes more regular and even in thickness, and winds on to a smaller tube

Carding

Carding: the fibres are separated and then assembled into a loose strand (sliver or tow) at the conclusion of this stage.

The cotton comes off of the picking machine in laps, and is then taken to carding machines. The carders line up the fibres nicely to make them easier to spin. The carding machine consists mainly of one big roller with smaller ones surrounding it. All of the rollers are covered in small teeth, and as the cotton progresses further on the teeth get finer (i.e. closer together). The cotton leaves the carding machine in the form of a sliver; a large rope of fibres.^[9]

Note: In a wider sense Carding can refer to these four processes: Willowing- loosening the fibres; Lapping- removing the dust to create a flat sheet or lap of cotton; Carding- combing the tangled lap into a thick rope of 1/2 in in diameter, a sliver; and Drawing- where a drawing frame combines 4 slivers into one- repeated for increased quality.

Preparatory Processes- Preparation of yarn

• Ginning, bale-making and transportation is done in the country of origin.
• Opening and cleaning

Platt Bros. Picker

Cotton mills get the cotton shipped to them in large, 500 pound bales. When the cotton comes out of a bale, it is all packed together and still contains vegetable matter. The bale is broken open using a machine with large spikes. It is called an Opener.In order to fluff up the cotton and remove the vegetable matter, the cotton is sent through a picker, or similar machines. A picker looks similar to the carding machine and the cotton gin, but is slightly different. The cotton is fed into the machine and gets beaten with a beater bar, to loosen it up. It is fed through various rollers, which serve to remove the vegetable matter. The cotton, aided by fans, then collects on a screen and gets fed through more rollers till it emerges as a continuous soft fleecy sheet, known as a lap.

Climate

Heat and humidity can both contribute and a textile’s deterioration. However, excessive dryness may also cause damage, especially to elastic fibers, such as wool, which rely on some amount of moisture to maintain their flexibility (Putnam and Finch). Additionally, temperature and humidity should be kept as constant as possible; changes in either of these may cause the textile fibers to expand and contract, which, over time, can also cause damage and deterioration to the textile. For this reason, both storage and display areas should be fitted with monitoring equipment to gauge the temperature and humidity of rooms, display cases, enclosed storage facilities, and work areas.

Ideally, temperature should be kept around 70 degrees Fahrenheit ^[6], though some slight fluctuation in either direction is permissible, as long as it occurs gradually ^[7]. For instance, temperature may be slightly lower in winter to save energy costs, but the change should be affected slowly, so as not to place the fibers under undue stress.

As for humidity, the preservationist or conservator should aim for a relative humidity of 50%, though, as with temperature, some small fluctuation is allowable, as long as it occurs gradually (Mailand). In enclosed display or storage cases, humidity can be somewhat maintained through the use of silica gel crystals. These crystals should not be placed in contact with the textiles, but may be placed in breathable muslin bags and hung inside the case to maintain a constant humidity ^[7]; they should be monitored periodically, however, to be sure that they are working.

In areas where climate control is unavailable (such as in historic buildings), the conservator can still moderate the temperature and relative humidity through use of fans, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and portable heating or cooling units ^[8].

In addition to temperature and humidity, air flow is also a concern for textile preservation. Textiles should never be sealed in plastic or other air-tight casing unless it is part of a treatment or cleaning process. Proper circulation, combined with the suggested humidity, will help to prevent the growth of mold and mildew, which may stain or weaken antique textiles ^[9]

Environment

Light can have a variety of effects on textiles over time. In some cases, it may contribute to fading or discoloration, but of more concern is the damage which the fibers may suffer under prolonged exposure to non-visible light, such as ultraviolet and infrared lighting. Ideally, textiles should be stored or displayed in as little light as possible, and preferably in total darkness ^[1]. However, as this is impractical for display and care of the piece, knowing the limits of lighting as well as the safest amounts of lighting, become important.

Natural light is the most common source of ultraviolet light, and as such, care should be taken to avoid exposure to direct sunlight at all costs, and indirect sunlight whenever possible. This may mean storing or displaying textiles in an area without windows, or with blackout curtains, which can be pulled whenever the room is not in use. If a room relies on natural light, UV screens or coatings can be applied to the windows to block harmful rays while still allowing light to pass through. These filters should be checked periodically, however, as they have a limited lifespan and may need to be replaced every few years ^[2].

Fluorescent and halogen-produced light can also produce large amounts of UV radiation, though filters which fit over the bulbs are available to limit the damaging light ^[3]. These filters will need to be replaced when the bulbs are changed, so maintenance staff should be aware of them and their use.

One advantage of fluorescent lights is that they produce little heat, which may also be harmful to textiles. Incandescent lights produce a large amount of heat in addition to large quantities of infrared radiation, which is likewise damaging to the fibers in antique textiles. If incandescent lights must be used, they should be placed far enough away from display cases that their heat does not affect the contents ^[4].

In the case of particularly delicate textiles, display organizers might consider motion-activated or timed lighting, or lighting controlled though a visitor-activated switch, which would allow the textiles to remain in darkness when they are not under view ^[5]. All textiles should be displayed on a rotating schedule, allowing them a few months of display, then the rest of the year in dark storage, to prolong their life.