class="smcap">Hand-Loom Weaving

Chapter One

THE PRIMITIVE LOOM

Weaving, the oldest of the industrial arts, dates back so far that no one can say when or where it had its beginning. We read in Genesis iii, 21, that when Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden he wore a coat of skin; but, not long after, according to Professor Hurwitz, the descendants of Adam wore an upper garment called the simla, which consisted of a piece of cloth about six yards long and two or three wide, greatly resembling a blanket (Ashenhurst). This might have been woven from vegetable fibres, perhaps from wool, but in what manner we do not know. The warp and woof of linen and woolen garments is mentioned in Leviticus xiii, 47, 48.

Spinning and weaving have been practised by the Chinese, Hindoos, and Egyptians for thousands of years and carried by them to great proficiency. The Israelites were probably familiar with the art of weaving before their sojourn in Egypt, but it was there that they attained the skill which enabled them to execute the hangings in the Tabernacle. Joseph's "coat of many colors" is a proof that dyeing existed at a very early period, and the eloquent writings of Ezekiel tell us of the beautiful colored cloths of Tyre and Damascus.

From the ancient world the art of weaving passed through Europe and became known in England after the Roman conquest. No doubt primitive weaving with vegetable fibres, and perhaps with wool, was known in a very crude way before that time. How the art developed, and how improvement followed improvement, makes very interesting reading for the student of textile fabrics.

We know that weaving is the first industrial art practised by primitive peoples, from the fact that it is found among the savages of Central Africa (Park) and the islands of the sea. "Clavigero, in his history of Mexico, shows that on the conquest of that country, weaving was found to be practised by the natives." (Ashenhurst.)

The Egyptians are supposed to have been inventors of the loom. There were two kinds in use, one horizontal and the other perpendicular. Instead of a shuttle they used a stick with a hook at one end, which was used also as a batten. Herodotus says that it was the practice of the Egyptians to push the woof downwards, and this method is pictured in many paintings; but one representation found at Thebes shows a man pushing it upwards. The former method is, I believe, the one generally used by all nations, and it certainly seems the easier way. Martin's description of a Hindoo loom in his "Circle of the Mechanical Arts" is interesting: "The loom consists merely of two bamboo rollers, one for the warp and the other for the web, and a pair of gears. The shuttle performs the double office of shuttle and batten, and for this purpose is made like a huge netting needle, and of a length somewhat exceeding the breadth of the cloth. This apparatus the weaver carries to a tree, under which he digs a hole large enough to contain his legs and the lower part of the gear. He then stretches his warp by fastening his bamboo rollers, at a due distance from each other on the turf, by wooden pins. The balance of the gear he fastens to some convenient branch of the tree over his head. Two loops underneath the gear, in which he inserts his great toes, serve instead of treadles, and his long shuttle, which also performs the office of batten, draws the weft through the warp, and afterwards strikes it up close to the web."

Ashenhurst says: "It is very evident that the implements used, not only by the early Egyptians, but by other contemporaneous nations, and even by the Hindoos at the present time, were of the rudest possible character, and nothing but the most exemplary patience, dexterity, and great delicacy of hand, acquired by long traditionary habit, can account for the extraordinary beauty and fineness of their textile productions." This exemplary patience, dexterity, and great delicacy of hand is exactly what we claim that weaving develops in our children to-day.

The primitive loom, as it is made for use in the public schools, is familiar to almost every teacher. It consists of a wooden frame, in the two ends of which are fastened brads at intervals of half an inch. The warp is strung around these brads. There is no variation either in the size of the rug or in the width of the warp to afford opportunity for different materials. This is a decided objection, as a new frame has to be made every time a change is desired. The first difficulty encountered is the drawing in of the sides of the rug, which is almost impossible to avoid, even with the utmost care. Photographs of work in the leading educational magazines, as well as samples of teachers' work, all show the same defect. The Indians obviate this difficulty by twisting two stout cords in the edge of the woof during the process of weaving. (See illustration on page 135.) In one school, where the work in this respect was fairly well done, the teacher was asked how she accomplished the result. Her reply was, "Oh, I make them pull it out every time it draws." Poor, patient little fingers! One can imagine the thoughts which were woven into that imperfect rug by the discouraged little worker. Another disadvantage of the primitive loom is that the child must bend over it while weaving, and if, by chance, he turns it over to examine the other side of the work, the brads are apt to leave an unsightly impression on the desk.

One of Froebel's fundamental principles is that a child should never be allowed to fail—that his work should be so adapted that he will succeed every time, and that he should be led step by step as his power grows, to something more difficult.

We have all experienced the joy of success in one way and another. Let us help the children to have the same experience.

The idea of the "new education" is that the child should work out his own salvation—that having wrestled with the difficulties involved in weaving on the primitive loom, he should proceed not only to invent, but to construct a newer and more improved loom. In model schools, where the classes are limited to ten, or sometimes fewer children, with one teacher and several assistants, this idea, if carried out, is ideal, and perhaps practical. But what shall be said of the public-school teacher who has fifty children and no assistants; or, which is even more objectionable, and which is the case in many of our crowded schools, what of the teacher with two sessions of fifty children each? It was the effort to solve a problem of this kind that led to the invention of the Todd adjustable hand loom.