“Language is the source of misunderstandings.”
—Antoine de Saint Exupery
One of the biggest challenges to learning anything new is mastering the language. This list will help you understand weaving lingo.
Advance the warp Release tension on the cloth and wind the woven cloth onto the front beam, then re-tension the warp to continue weaving.
Balanced plain weave or balanced weave cloth A fabric in which there is the same number of warp ends and weft picks per inch.
Beat Bring the rigid heddle to the fell of the cloth to align and pack the weft.
Beater Device used to position each weft pick. This is the same as the rigid heddle on a rigid heddle loom.
Bloom The expansion of yarn once washed and the fibers relax.
Choke tie Contrasting yarn tied around a bundle of warp ends to prevent them from slipping while the rigid heddle is threaded.
Count system Yarn classification system based on the number of yards in a pound of a standard size.
Cross Keeps the warp threads in order and minimizes tangles when threading the loom.
Dressing the loom The process of measuring the warp and winding it on the loom.
End (warp end) One strand of warp.
Ends per inch (epi) The number of warp threads in an inch.
Fell The part of the cloth where the weaving action occurs.
Felt To agitate scaled fibers so that they fuse together.
Float Where a weft pick doesn’t travel in the normal over-under-over path.
Fringe The unwoven warp that is intentionally left at the ends of woven cloth.
Full Wash and agitate the fabric so that the yarn blooms, and in some cases, shrinks.
Grist The size of a yarn.
Hand The way the cloth feels.
Header The first inch or two of weaving (usually with scrap yarn) to spread out the warp ends to their full weaving width.
Heddles The molded plastic pieces in the rigid heddle through which the warp ends are threaded.
Hemstitching A way to secure the first and last weft picks of cloth (see page 120).
Leader yarn An inelastic yarn that marks the desired path to follow when measuring the warp on the warping board.
Loom waste The amount of extra yarn left over after weaving.
Pick (or shot) One pass of the shuttle through the shed.
Picks per inch (ppi) The number of weft picks in an inch of woven cloth.
Plain weave Cloth woven so that the weft picks alternate which warp ends they go over and under.
Plied yarn Yarn made up of two or more singles yarn.
Reed/rigid heddle In a shaft loom the reed is a separate piece of equipment. The rigid heddle loom incorporates both “rigid” heddles—they are loose on a shaft loom—and reed into one.
Reed stand An apparatus designed to hold the rigid heddle steady while the warp is threaded.
Selvedges The edge of the cloth where the weft exits one shed and enters the next.
Sett The spacing of the warp ends in the heddle.
Shed The open space that is created when the heddle is lifted up or down.
Shed blocks Used to hold the rigid heddle in the up or down position to produce a shed.
Shot See pick.
Shuttle Used to place the weft yarn in the shed.
Singles A single strand of spun fiber.
Stick shuttle A flat shuttle typically used when weaving on rigid heddle looms.
Take-up Extra inches of warp length needed to account for over-under path in the woven cloth.
Threads Used interchangeably with “yarn” to describe the warp or weft.
Throw To pass the shuttle into the shed.
Warp Threads held taught on a loom and the act of dressing the loom.
Warp dominant Cloth in which the warp ends completely cover the weft picks.
Warp-emphasis weave Cloth in which there are more warp ends per inch than weft picks.
Warp end An individual warp yarn or thread.
Warping board Device used to make it easy to measure the warp ends in preparation for threading the loom.
Weave The process of crossing taut warp threads with a weft thread in an over-under pattern.
Weft The yarn that is passed through the shed of a warped loom and beaten into place.
Weft dominant Cloth in which the weft picks completely cover the warp ends.
Weft-emphasis weave Cloth in which there are more weft picks per inch than warp ends.
Wraps per inch (wpi) The number of times a yarn can be wrapped around a rigid object in an inch.