Method
Weaving with Jacquard handlooms is a highly advanced artisanal technique that allows the creation of fabrics characterized by intricate designs and multi-level crafts, thanks to a system of thread control through punch cards.
The first step in weaving is the preparation of the yarn for the warp. Depending on the quantity of threads to be used, the necessary number of bobbins is prepared for the warp: the number of threads varies based on the complexity of the design to be created, with a greater number of bobbins for highly complex designs.
Once the threads grouped in units have been rolled on the vertical warper, they are transferred to the horizontal one after being crossed in a braid; here they are wound again with the same rotating cylinder mechanism to be tensioned for the next step: the single units are then directed from the horizontal warper through a special comb with mobile meshes, to neatly wind the warp thus obtained onto the warp beam (cylindrical bobbin).
Name
Vertical warping machine
Material
Wood
Name
Horizontal warping machine
Material
Wood
If the loom is not yet set up with the warp, each individual thread must pass through the heddles and be fixed to the hooks (the structures that govern the raising and lowering of the threads) and then be secured after passing through the comb. Otherwise, threading can be done by tying the threads to be inserted onto those still present.
Name
Heddle
Material
Wood, metal
Below the taut warp threads is the creel, a wooden frame with the thread bobbins (which can be 400, 800 or 1600) for creating the pile. Different numbers of threads connected to the Jacquard machine dedicated to the design can depart from each bobbin.
Name
Creel with bobbins
Material
Wood
When working at the loom, the operator advances the punch cards using the pedals, raising the selected threads through the heddles, with the aim of passing the weft thread between them; the manipulation of the weft and warp threads allows to obtain the different effects of the pile through the use of the grooved rods (to cut the pile) and rounded rods (to loop the pile).
The hand-operated Jacquard loom, although requiring careful and slow preparation, allows great creative freedom in the creation of complex patterns. It is a high-precision artisan technique, whose custody is entirely entrusted to the workers who take care of the production process.
Name
Table for piercing Jacquard punch cards
Material
Wood, metal
