Jacquard loom
Also: Jacquard mechanism
A Jacquard loom has a punched-card mechanism that controls individual warp threads, so complex patterns can be woven without a drawboy.
A Jacquard loom is a loom fitted with a mechanism that reads a pattern from punched cards. Wikidata describes it as a device fitted to a power loom that simplifies the manufacture of patterned textiles.
What did it change for paisley shawls?
The Met's catalogue text says the loom was invented in 1801, and that when the punch-card system was perfected, one of its main jobs was weaving paisley or cashmere shawls. The same text says it was first used in Paisley in the 1820s. Heriot-Watt University dates Jacquard looms in Paisley to 1808, so the date is disputed.
Sources
- Shawl (Costume Institute catalogue text). The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Paisley shawls (textile collection). Heriot-Watt University
- Jacquard mechanism. Wikidata
See also
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