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loom

(Encyclopedia)loom, frame or machine used for weaving; there is evidence that the loom has been in use since 4400 b.c. Modern looms are of two types, those with a shuttle (the part that carries the weft through the...

Jacquard, Joseph Marie

(Encyclopedia)Jacquard, Joseph Marie zhôzĕfˈ märēˈ zhäkärˈ [key], 1752–1834, French inventor, whose loom is of the greatest importance in modern mechanical figure weaving. After several years of experime...

shuttle

(Encyclopedia)shuttle: see loom.

Cartwright, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Cartwright, Edmund, 1743–1823, English inventor and clergyman. He was the inventor of an imperfect power loom that, when finally patented (1785), became the parent of the modern loom. It was the fir...

tie-dyeing

(Encyclopedia)tie-dyeing, dyeing method used by hand-loom weavers of ancient times. It became popular during the craft revival of the 1960s. The fabric to be colored is tied or knotted at intervals before being pla...

weaving

(Encyclopedia)weaving, the art of forming a fabric by interlacing at right angles two or more sets of yarn or other material. It is one of the most ancient fundamental arts, as indicated by archaeological evidence....

Bradford, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Bradford, city and metropolitan borough, N central England, on a small tributary of the Aire River. It is a center of the worsted industry, which dates ...

carpet

(Encyclopedia)carpet or rug, thick fabric, usually woolen (but often synthetic), commonly used today as a floor covering. In North America the Navajos and other tribes have for generations produced substantial ru...

Lowell, Francis Cabot

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, Francis Cabot, 1775–1817, pioneer American cotton manufacturer, b. Newburyport, Mass.; son of John Lowell (1743–1802). A merchant in Boston, he traveled (1810) to England, where he studied...

blanket

(Encyclopedia)blanket, sheet, usually of heavy woolen, or partly woolen, cloth, for use as a shawl, bed covering, or horse covering. The blanketmaking of primitive people is one of the finest remaining examples of ...

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