Textiles

Textiles are generally considered to be woven fabrics. They may be woven from any natural or synthetic fibers, filaments, or yarns that are suitable for being spun and woven into cloth.

Spinning

Spinning is the process of making yarn or thread by the twisting of vegetable fibers, animal hairs, or man-made fibers, i.e., filament-like elements only a few inches in length. In the spinning mill, the raw material is first disentangled and cleaned. Various grades or types of fibers may then be blended together to produce yarn having A computer controlled textile mill. Photograph by Mark Antman. Phototake NYC. Reproduced by permission. the desired properties. The fibers are next spread out parallel to one another in a thin web, from which a yarn-like material is formed.

Tapestries

Although the term tapestry usually conjures up images of large pictorial wall-hangings of the sort used in medieval and post-medieval Europe, tapestries are in fact distinctive woven structures consisting specifically of a weft-faced plain weave with discontinuous wefts. This means that the weft crosses the warp only where its particular color is need for the fabric design. The technique has been used in many cultures to produce fabrics ranging from heavy, durable floor coverings to delicate Chinese silk. Compared to other weaving techniques, tapestry allows the weaver much more freedom of expression.

Rugs can be made by a number of techniques, including tapestry, brocade (in which a plain weave foundation is supplemented with supplementary wefts), and pile weaving. Pile rugs are most commonly associated with rug weaving, however. These rugs are made of row after row of tiny knots tied on the warps of a foundation weave which together form a thick pile.

Embroidery is a method of decorating an already existing structure, usually a woven foundation fabric, with a needle. Embroideries have also been done on other media such as parchment or bark. For the past 100 years, it has been possible to produce embroidery by machine as well as by hand. Embroidery yarns are woven into a fabric after it has come off the loom, unlike brocade, which in which yarns are placed in the fabric during the weaving process.

Lace is essentially an openwork fabric constructed by the looping, plaiting, or twisting of threads using either a needle or a set of bobbins. It is not woven. Needle lace is made with one thread at a time. Bobbin lace is constructed with many different threads, each wound on its own bobbin. These are manipulated in a manner similar to that used in braiding. Machine-made lace was first produced around 1840.