le.]

[Sidenote: Definition of a Loom]

It is probable that the European looms were derived from those of India
as they seem to be made on the same principle. From crude beginnings,
the hand loom of our grandmothers' time developed. A loom has been
defined as a mechanism which affects the following necessary movements:

1. The lifting of the healds to form an opening, or shed, or race for
the shuttle to pass through.

2. The throwing of the weft or filling by means of a shuttle.

3. The beating up of the weft left in the shed by the shuttle to the
cloth already formed. This thread may be adjusted by means of the
batten, needle, comb, or any separate device like the reed.

4 & 5. The winding up or taking up of the cloth as it is woven and the
letting off of the warp as the cloth is taken up.

[Illustration: SWEDISH HAND LOOM

Norwegian Woman Weaving Linen at Hull House.]

[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE WORKING PARTS OF A LOOM.

_S_--Shuttle for carrying the woof; _R_--Reed for beating up the woof;
_H_--Frame holding heddles, with pullies (_P_) making the harness;
_T_--Treddles for moving the harness.]

[Sidenote: Colonial Loom]

No essential changes have been made since our grandmothers made cloth a
hundred years ago. The "harnesses" move part of the warp now up, now
down, and the shuttle carries the weft from side to side to be driven
home by the reeds to the woven cloth. Our grandmothers did all the work
with swift movements of hands and feet. The modern weaver has her loom
harnessed to the electric dynamo and moves her fingers only to keep the
threads in order. If she wishes to weave a pattern in the cloth, no
longer does she pick up threads of warp now here, now there, according
to the designs. It is all worked out for her on the loom. Each thread
with almost human intelligence settles automatically into its appointed
place, and the weaver is only a machine tender.

[Illustration: FLY SHUTTLE HAND LOOM.

The Pulling of the Reed Automatically Throws the Shuttle Back and Forth
and Works the Harness, Making a Shed at the Proper Time.]

[Sidenote: Primitive Fabrics]

No textiles of primitive people were ever woven in "pieces" or "bolts"
of yards and yards in length to be cut into garments. The cloth was made
of the size and shape to serve the particular purpose for which it was
designed. The mat, robe, or blanket had tribal outlines and proportions
and was made according to the materials and