A few words on Weaving

Weaving is known as one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world, tracing back to Neolithic times.

The set of vertical threads are known as the Warp threads and the horizontal as the Weft.

Early man developed the first string by twisting plant fibres together, this led to the development of weaving, spinning and sewing.

Skilled weavers developed highly specialised cloth, mainly in family units, but it wasn’t until the development of steam and water powered looms during the industrial revolution and the invention of the fly shuttle in 1733 that the need to have an actual weaver was removed.

The word ‘Huguenots’ means refugee. Huguenots silk weavers were the first refugees who escaped religious persecution in France in 1685.

They fled all over the world, taking their expertise, knowledge and skills with them, they were renown for being hard working. They were welcomed here as the English prized French fashion and settled in areas of Spitalfields in London establishing the silk weaving industry. I wonder what wonderful skills out new influx of refugees will bring !

Do listen to the podcast of hapticandhue.com Tales of Textiles podcast. In season four, Threads of Survival, they focus on people and their textiles who have seen hardship, difficulty but who have survived and flourished, often against the odds.

Download and print Mandy’s Word on Weaving here