Materials & Techniques

Wool treadle-loom or machine-woven fabric, finer than bayeta.

A beam at the back of a treadle loom over which the warp passes on its way from the warp beam to the heddles. Not all looms have a back beam, but helps the warp feed into the heddles more smoothly.

Indigenous loom in which tension is maintained by a strap passing around the weaver’s back or hips. The variable tension created by the weaver leaning forward and backward tends to draw the warp yarn closer together.

A type of shuttle used in treadle-loom weaving, in which the weft is wound on a spool or bobbin, which is set into a smooth wooden frame such that it can rotate freely. The yarn passes through a hole in the shuttle. As the shuttle skims across the warp, the weft yarn unwinds automatically.

A spool on which yarn is wound to prepare it for use in making textiles. In treadle-loom weaving, the bobbin is the spool with weft yarn wound on it that is set into the shuttle.

A beam at the front of a treadle loom over which the woven fabric passes on its way to the cloth beam. In this way the cloth beam can be placed out of the weaver’s way under the plane of the weaving.

On a backstrap loom, a rod behind the heddle rod around which the warp yarns take a full turn before reaching the back loom bar. It helps keep the warp yarns in alignment when the warp is not tied to the loom bars.

Andean technique of having the same warp yarns controlled by two different shedding devices (or leases), instead of the usual one. It is used particularly for weaving complementary warps.