Before The Flying Shuttle
In order to understand the importance of this invention, it is useful to review the action of weaving prior to it. In a typical frame loom, the operator sits with the newly woven cloth before him or her. Using treadles or some other mechanism, the heddles are raised and lowered to open the shed in the warp threads. The operator must then reach forward, holding the shuttle in one hand, and pass it through the shed; the shuttle carries a bobbin for the weft. The shuttle must then be caught in the other hand, the shed closed, and the beater pulled forward to push the weft into place. This action (called a "pick") requires a lot of bending forward over the fabric; more importantly, however, the coordination between the throwing and catching of the shuttle requires more than one operator if the width of the fabric exceeds that which can be reasonably reached across (typically 60 inches (150 cm) or less).
Read more about this topic: Flying Shuttle
Famous quotes containing the words flying and/or shuttle:
“All those who dwell in the depths find their happiness in being like flying fish for once and playing on the uppermost crests of the waves. What they value most in things is that they have a surface, their “epidermality”Msit venia verbo.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“And the shuttle never falters, but to draw an encouraging conclusion
From this would be considerable, too odd. Why not just
Breathe in with the courage of each day, recognizing yourself as one
Who must with difficulty get down from high places?”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)