FASHION DESIGN TERMS

· A fashion designer conceives garment combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture. He or she may or may not know how to sew or make patterns. Formal training is always essential, yet most fashion designers are formally trained (apprenticed) and schooled.
· A pattern maker drafts the shapes and sizes of a garment's pieces with paper and measuring tools, and, some times, an AutoCAD computer software program, or by draping muslin on a dress form, the original way. The resulting pattern pieces must compose the intended design of the garment and they must fit the intended wearer.
Formal training is essential for working as a pattern marker.
· A tailor makes custom designed garments made to the client's measure; suits (coat and trousers, jacket and skirt, et cetera).
· A textile designer designs fabric weaves and prints for clothes and furnishings. Most textile designers are formally trained as apprentices and in school.
· A stylist is the person who co-ordinates the clothes, jewelry, and accessories used in  fashion photography and catwalk presentations of clothes collections. A stylist also is a designer whose designs are based upon extant things, trends, and the collections of other designers.
· A buyer orders stocks of clothes for shops, chain stores, and other types of stores. Most fashion buyers are trained in business studies.
· A seamstress sews seams wither manually or with a sewing machine, either in a garment shop or as a sewing machine operator in a factory. She (or he) may not have the skills to make (design and cut) the garments, or to fit them on a model. A seamstress is not synonymous with dressmaker.
· A teacher of fashion design teaches the art and craft of fashion in art schools and in fashion design school.
· A custom clothier makes custom-made garments to order, for a given customer.
· A dressmaker specializes in custom-made women's clothes: day, cocktail, and evening dresses, business clothes and suits, trousseaus, sports clothes, and lingerie.
· An illustrator draws and paints clothes for commercial use.
· A model wears and displays clothes at fashion shows and in photographs.
· A fashion journalist writes fashion articles describing the garments presented, for magazines or newspapers.
· An alterations specialist (alterationist) adjusts the fit of completed garments, usually ready-to-wear, and sometimes re-styles them. NOTE: despite tailors altering garments to fit the client, not all alterationists are tailors.
· A wardrobe consultant or fashion advisor recommends styles and colors that are flattering to the client.
· A photographer photographs the clothes on fashion models for use in magazines, newspapers, or adverts.

drafts

Pattern Unit Size                Warp: 12, Weft: 68
Pattern Repeats Shown      Warp: 12, Weft: 2
Longest Floats                   Warp: 2, Weft: 10

New MD for Hanveev

N. Lakshmanan Nambiar has taken charge as the Managing Director of Hanveev (Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation Limited). He is also the Managing Director of the Kerala Clays and Ceramics Products Limited. Mr. Nambiar was the marketing manager of Hanveev between 1993 and 1996.

Handloom Weaving: 1900-50

 

 

The long-term survival of handloom can be explained by relative advantages of power-loom and handloom. In the  mid-nineteenth century, two types of cloth faced keen competition from foreign or Indian mill-made cloth: ‘coarse-medium’ cotton cloth, and printed and bleached cotton cloth. By contrast, cloths that used very coarse or very fine cotton yarn, or complex designs woven on the loom, or non-cotton yarn, tended to use the handloom. These were either so labour-intensive that the mills did not enter them by choice, or used non-cotton fibres that the mills did not want to handle.

Statistically speaking, we are vastly better off in the twentieth century. For the first time, we can handle quantitative issues – scale, productivity, income, degree of inequality, etc – with some measure of confidence. Handlooms accounted for about 25 per cent of the cotton cloth produced annually in the first half of the 20th century. Market-share of handloom cotton cloth was roughly stable between the 1890s and the 1930s. The total production of cotton cloth expanded by about 30 per cent between 1900 and 1939. Throughout this period, total cloth consumption was growing, and Indian cloth was steadily substituting imported cloth. In cloths made of silk and other fibres, handlooms dominated. These other fibres were generally more expensive than the average quality of cotton. Taking all fibres together except wool, in the 1930s handlooms’ market-share in total cloth consumption in value may have been about 50. Rising production and constant loomage suggest that the productivity and the capacity of the looms increased. This can be independently confirmed from the information we have on technology

SEVEN TOOLS OF QUALITY:

 

Collecting and analyzing data is the foundation on which the effective management of quality rests. The so called “seven tools of quality” will help you effectively collect and analyze data

The seven tools of quality are:

1. § Cause and effect diagram
2. § Check sheet
3. § Control chart
4. § Flow chart
5. § Histogram
6. § Pareto chart
7. § Scatter diagram

A summary of these tools are provided here.

1. CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM:

This diagram is also called as fishbone diagram because it looks like skeleton of a fish. The idea is first to identify and state the problem , which is in essence an effect if something that happened in a process and think through various causes that may have resulted in an undesired effect. Drawing a cause and effect

diagram helps one think systematically and logically. It graphically illustrates the relation between a given outcome and all the factors that influence this outcome.

2. CHECK SHEET:

A check sheet is nothing but a form used to collect data in such a way that it makes not only the collection of data easy, but also the analysis of that data automatic. Each mark in the check sheet indicates a defect. The type of defects , number of defects and their distribution can be seen at a glance, which makes analysis of data very quick and easy. Check sheet provides a logical display of data that are manually derived and yield results from which conclusions can be easily drawn.

3.CONTROL CHART:

A control chart is a simple graph or chart with time on the horizontal “x-axis vs. the quality characteristics measured on a vertical “y” axis with the control limits for the quality characteristics measured. In other words , a control chart is a continuous graphic indication of the state of a process with respect to a quality characteristic to be measured. In the case of performing the final inspection off garments. You go out on the production floor and just before shipping pull a number of samples, inspect them, and note the number of defects and calculate percent defective for several days. The result may look something like the following:

No: of samples inspected	No: of Samples Defective	% of defective
392	14	3.6
346	10	2.7
132	2	1.5
141	6	4.2
344	2	.6
170	7	4.1
164	0	0

Variations or fluctuations in data are generally caused by a large number of small differences in materials, equipments, the surrounding atmospheric conditions, physical and mental reactions of people involved etc. These small differences cause data to fluctuate or vary in a manner called “normal “ or “random” and such variations are termed normal variations . In other words, these are variations normal to the process

Occasionally, however there will be a large or unusual difference, much more important than all those small differences put together. For example , material is taken from a different lot, the machine setter makes a new setting, an inexperienced operator takes the place of an experienced operator. These large differences cause changes in a process resulting in variation in the characteristics measured in a manner called “abnormal” and these variations are called abnormal variations.

It is possible to detect this difference or to make this distinction using a statistical tool known as the control chart. Abnormal or unnatural variations have identifiable, assignable causes. This makes the diagnosis and correction of many production troubles and often brings substantial improvements in product quality and reduction in scrap and rework. So by identifying certain quality variations as

having no assignable causes or being natural to the process, the control chart tells us when to leave a process alone and thus prevents unnecessarily frequent adjustments that tend to increase the variability of the process rather than decrease it.

4. FLOW CHART:

A flow chart is a schematic diagram of a process including all the steps or operations in the sequence as they occur. The logic here is that the act of constructing a flow chart will help to clarify various steps involved in a process and result in a better overall understanding of that process. One must understand a process clearly to be better able to identify and solve its problems. Flow chart can help to understand the complete process, identify the critical stages of a process, locate problem areas and show relationships between different steps in a process

5. HISTOGRAM:

A histogram is a bar chart or bar graph. It is a graphical depiction of a number of occurrences of an event. A histogram simply shows the distribution of sample

data and gives some idea about the variability of that data. Histogram is a graphic summary of variation in a set of data, and is a simple but powerful tool for elementary analysis. A histogram can help understand the total variation of a process and quickly and easily determine the under laying distribution of a process.

6. PARETO CHART:

A Pareto chart is nothing but a histogram where a number of occurrences of an event are arranged in descending order. The quality defects are unequal in frequency , that is when a long list of defects are arranged in order of frequency, generally relatively few of the defects account for the bulk of defectiveness. Thus Pareto chart helps to identify those defects that cause most problems and by addressing those defects, most of the quality problems can be solved and improvement be made. So in this instance , it would be most effective to address fabric quality first because any improvement in fabric quality will significantly improve overall quality of the product.

7. SCATTER DIAGRAM:

A scatter diagram is a plot of one variable vs. another variable, which is dependent on the first variable. For example yarn twist may depend on the twists per inch ; moisture absorbency in a fabric may depend on fabric thickness and so on . By plotting one variable against another , it may or may not become obvious how they are related, in other words, a pattern may or may not become obvious how they are related, in other words, a pattern may or may not emerge. Various possible patterns of a scatter diagram.

LEVELS OF STANDARDS

 

There are various levels of standards

1. Company standards: These standards are useful to the company’s design , development, production , purchasing and quality control departments. These standards may be those developed by some other organizations and adopted by the company as it owns standards
2. Industry Standards: These standards are typically developed by a trade association or professional society . For example, American Chemical Society has for amny years maintained specifications for chemical reagents
3. Government Standards: These are standards either developed by the government or developed by some other organization and adopted by the government. The government standards generally tend to be related to safety or well-being of the people.
4. Full consensus Standards: These are standards developed by the representatives of all sectors, such as industry, consumer, government, academia, whohave an interest in use of these standards either as a producer or consumer.

Sources of Standards:

Various standards developing organizations such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), American National Standards Chemists and Colorists (AAtCC), American National Standards Institution (ANSI), British Standards Institute (BSI), International Standards organization (ISO) etc are the largest sources of standards.

American Society for Testing and Materials:

ASTM is a non profit organization that provides a forum for producers, users, ultimate consumers and those having a general interest to meet on common ground and write standards for materials, products, systems and services. From the work of 132 standards – writing comities, ASTM publishes standard test methods, specification, guides, classifications and terminology. ASTM’s standard development activities encompass metals, paints, plastics, textiles, petroleum,construction,energy the environment , consumer product, medical services and other areas

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists:

Founded in 1921, the American Association of textile chemists and colorists ahs grown from a group of 270 charter members into world’s largest textile chemistry membership society,with close to 7000 members in the U.S and 6o countries.AATCC is a source of test methods in areas of colorfastness,wetprocessing,fibre identification and textile chemistry .AATCC has published more than 175 test methods in these areas, which are contained in AATCC’s Technical Manual published every year.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI):

The ANSI has served in its capacity as administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary standardization system for 78 years. The Institute represents the interests of its nearly 1400 company, organization, government agency, institutional and international members.

The Institute ensures that its guiding principles,consensus,due process and openness are followed by more than 175 distinct entities currently accredited under one of the federations three methods of accreditation(organization, committee or canvas)

British Standards Institution:

British Standards Institution was founded in 1901 to coordinate the development of national standards . The BSI was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1929. A non-profit disturbing organization, BSI remains independent of government , industry or trade associations.

International Organization for Standards:

The International Organization for Standards is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 100 countries, one from each country. ISO is an non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission of Iso is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services and to developing cooperation in the sphere of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. ISO’s work results in international agreements which are published as International Standards.

“Total Quality Management” is an enhancement to the traditional way of doing . business. It is a proven technique to guarantee survival in world class competition. Only by changing the actions of management with the culture and actions of an entire organization be transformed. TQM can be defined as follows

Total= Made up of the whole

Quality= Degree of excellence of a product on service provided

Management= Act, art of manner of handling, controlling etc

Therefore TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve the excellence.

TQM is defined as both a philosophy and a set of principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. It is the application of quantitative mehods and human resources to improve all the processes within an organization and exceed customer needs now and in future. TQM integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools under a disciplined approach.

Four P.I s of TQM:

The four important pillars or elements of TQM are:

• Involvement of all the employees
• Proper control of all processes
• Customer satisfaction
• Continuous improvement

The six basic concepts of TQM are:

• Management commitment
• Customer Satisfaction
• Employee involvement
• Continuous Process Improvement
• Supplier Partnership
• Performance Measurement

Management Commitment:

Management should be committed to improve the quality at all levels , for which the “leadership qualities” have to be imbibed by the Chief Executive Officer. The characteristics of a quality leader are:

1. § To give priority o internal and external customer’s needs
2. § To empower subordinates
3. § To emphasize improvement
4. § To emphasize prevention of defective product
5. § To train and coach the employees and not direct and supervise them
6. § To learn from problems
7. § To communicate to everyone about TQM
8. § To continuously demonstrate improvement in quality
9. § To choose quality suppliers
10. § To implement QMS effectively
11. § To encourage and recognize team effort

To start the implementation of TQM, a “Quality Council” has to be formed comprising of the CEO, Senior managers of different departments like Design, Marketing, Finance, Production and Quality Control , a Coordinator or consultant who may be from outside and representative of Labour Union. The functions of the quality control are:

1. To develop a quality policy statement
2. To develop a long term quality improvement programmes
3. Create total education and training plan
4. Determine and monitor costs of poor quality
5. Determine performance measures in different departments
6. Devise recognition and reward system for employees

Customer satisfaction:

Customers are the most important asset of any organization’s success depends on how many customers it has. Increasingly, manufacturing and service organizations are using Customer Satisfaction as a measure of quality. Total quality management aims at meeting or exceeding customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is known by getting feedback from the customers, through questionnaires, rating scales, toll-free telephone services, customer meets or visits, report cards, internet, employee feedback etc.

Customer satisfaction is not” objective”, but more of subjective, which is hard to measure. It is more of a feeling or attitude. James teboul has developed a model, which depicts customer satisfaction.

Employee involvement:

Involving the employees is one approach in improving quality and productivity. Only by motivating the employees, can employees be made to get involved in the functioning of the organization . Inorder to understand how an individual can be motivated, we have to understand “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. He has stated that motivation can best be explained in terms of a hierarchy of needs and there are five levels in it. These levels are survival, security, social, esteem and self-actualization. Once the lower level is satisfied, it can no longer motivate a person. Therefore, in order to motivate that type of a person, the second level has to be concentrated and so on.

Employees will be motivated by appreciation, good pay, promotion, good working conditions etc. The benefits of getting the employees involved in the functioning of the organization are:

1. Their expertise can be shared by the organization
2. Any change can be easily implemented and any corrective and preventive actions easily
3. The morale of the employees will improve
4. The organization can easily achieve its goal

Continuous Process Improvement:

It is a known fact that “perfection” is near impossible. To achieve perfection, improvement is necessary. Improvement is made by adopting the following methods.

• Viewing all work as process
• Making all processes effective and efficient
• Anticipating Customer needs
• Controlling in-process performances
• Eliminating waste and re-work
• Bench marketing
• Innovating

The 5Ms (Men, Machine, Money, Materials, & Management) constitute the input. Using the process, the product is manufactured. The feedback from the customer is got, and based on the discrepancies pointed out by him, corrective and preventive action is taken, i.e, continuous improvement is made in the process of manufacture.

The feedback from the customer is got and based on the discrepancies pointed out by him, corrective and preventive action is taken, i.e, continuous improvement is made in the process of manufacture

Supplier Partnership:

Raw materials constitute about 60% of the cost of a product. Hence the suppliers of a raw material and accessories must be considered as partners of our organization. There must be a long term commitment, trust and a shared vision between supplier and manufacturer , if a quality product has to be produced.

There are some accessories which can be manufactured by us and which can be also sourced from outside suppliers. It can be from a single supplier, or multiple suppliers. Sourcing suppliers from outside is based on the below mentioned criteria

• Criticality of the item
• Organization’s technical expertise
• Availability of supplier
• Supplier’s Management system
• Production capacity
• Price
• Flexibility of production
• Track record etc

“Just in time “concept is a very important concept as for as sourcing is concerned. Just in time means procuring the right raw materials or accessories only at the right quantity and at the right time only. This would reduce the inventory cost. The lead time is very important to implement “just in Time Inventory Control”

If the following measures can be sincerely followed, an effective manufacturer supplier partnership can be maintained:

1. Suppliers should be considered as very important for maintaining quality of products
2. Both manufacturer and supplier must respect each others independence
3. The requirements of raw materials or accessories have to be clearly laid
4. A contact has to be made for quality, quantity, price, delivery methods, payments etc.
5. Supplier should provide all data regarding his quality control
6. A product quality evaluation method has to be formulated with the supplier
7. Dispute settlements have to be clearly spelt out.
8. There must be exchange of information regarding product improvement and quality by supplier to manufacturer
9. A good relationship has to be maintained with the supplier, other than in business
10. Every move has to have the ultimate customer in mind.

Performance Measures:

Organizations must manage by “Facts” and not by “Gut Feelings”. That is organizations must take decisions based on the statistical figures and analysis and not based on a vague judgments. Each organization must develop performance measures to have factual data regarding, production, wastage, quality, etc. The areas in which performance measures have to be studied has to be decided at first. Some of the areas in which performance measures can be done are:

• § Human Resources
• § Customer complaints received
• § Production
• § R & D
• § Suppliers service ratings
• § Marketing and sales
• § Administration

The objectives of introducing performance measures are:

• 1. To establish baseline standards and reveal trends
• 2. Determine which processes are to be improved
• 3. Indicate process gains and losses
• 4. Compare goals with actual performance
• 5. Provide information for individual and team evaluation
• 6. Provide information to take decisions
• 7. Determine overall organizations performance.

Failure Mode effective Analysis:

“FMEA” is an analytical technique wherein, every component of the product is thoroughly studied for its possibilities of failure and design or other changes made to avoid failure of the components.

It is “Before the event” action and helps us to establish controls and produce a defect free, durable and reliable product, which would exceed the customer expectations. FMEA can not only be done on the product, but can also be done in other areas like Process control, maintainence etc.

The general stages of implementation of FMEA are:

• 1. Specify possibilities of failure
• 2. Specify the effect of failure and give priority number
• 3. Specify detailed action plan to rectify it
• 4. Re-evaluate the corrective action.

MANAGING QUALITY THROUGH INSPECTION:

In the beginning, to obtain an overall picture of where you stand in terms of quality, perform 100% final inspection of all styles for at least to to three weeks and collect information. The following are the defects are to look for:

• Broken buttons

• Broken Snaps
• Broken Stitching
• Defective Snaps
• Different shades within the same garment
• Dropped stitches
• Exposed notches
• Exposed raw edges
• Fabric defects
• Holes
• Inoperative zipper
• Loose/hanging sewing threads
• Misaligned buttons and buttonholes
• Missing buttons
• Needle cuts/chews
• Open seams
• Pulled / loose yarns
• Stain
• Unfinished button holes
• Zipper too short

Analyze the data collected from100% inspection. If a pattern of defects emerges, it makes a solution that much easier. If a pattern does not emerge, it means that you have widespread quality problems.

A garment can have more than one defect. Therefore, the number of defects and the number of defective samples is not the same. The most common defect found out is related to buttons. Perhaps, button quality is such that they break in

pressing, may be they are attached so poorly with the slightest stress they come off. A second area of concern here is the fabric defect. Fabric defects can be further analyzed and grouped into various categories of defects such as stains,

slubs, missing picks, dropped stitches etc. A third area of concern should be open seams. But the major problems found are unfinished buttonholes. Significant improvements can be achieved by concentrating on unfinished buttonholes and lining seams

Another major that occur is in the finishing-pressing area. Perhaps some garments are not pressed at all or material handling is such that a number of pressed garments end up wrinkled. In any inspection program it is very important to remember that the inspection program’s primary objective is to obtain information on which necessary actions can be taken. Such actions can be corrective in nature to prevent defective garments, or such actions may reflect a decision to reduce inspection frequency because of the consistently good quality of production. If you use an inspection programmes as merely a failure fixing program or a watchdog to prevent defective garments from reaching you customers.

The inspection program should not merely be a device to separate good from bad. The real value of inspection program lies in what you do with the information that you obtain from this program. The individuals selected for a quality control inspector’s job must have a lot of initiative and be able to work under the minimum supervision. They should also be tactful in dealing with people. Quality control inspectors must not be paid on a piece rate basis, but should be salaried employees. It is not how much they do , but what they do is important.

MANAGING QUALITY THROUGH TESTING:

When one mentions testing to a garment manufacturer, usually the manufacturer envisions a full fledge testing laboratory. However to effectively manage quality of garments, one does not need to have a full fledge testing laboratory. An

effective testing program can include only a pair of washer and dryer .With a washer and dryer one can find out something about shrinkage and colour fastness in laundering, durable press qualities, durability of seams, durability of fusible interlinings, if trimming and accessories will withstand appropriate washing and drying, compatibility of trimmings with the rest of garment in terms of shrinkage and colorfastness and shrinkage of zipper tape.

SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF PEG-PLAN

The next step in describing the fabric design is to specify which harnesses will be lifted and which harnesses will be lowered during each pick in the unit cell of the fabric. This is done using cam draft or chain draft (CD) for cam and dobby shedding. In jacquard shedding, every warp end is controlled individually. CD diagram shows the order of lifting the harnesses and therefore the warp yams since each warp end is attached to a harness.
In CD diagram, the columns represent the harnesses and the rows represent the picks. The picks are numbered from bottom to top as in the case of unit cell; therefore, the heights of the unit cell and the CD are equal. Similarly, the width of CD and the height of DID are equal since they both show the harnesses. To indicate that a harness is lifted during insertion of a pick, the corresponding square in the CD matrix is filled or marked with an "X" as shown in figure. Conversely, a blank square means that the harness is lowered during the insertion of that particular weft. In the figure, harness 1 and harness 4 is lifted during the insertion of the first pick.

 

n practice Design, DID, & CD are combined together as shown in figure.

Such an organization of weave diagram, DID, reed plan and CD gives most of the information for the design and manufacturing of the fabric. The only information missing from this diagram is the selvages. When specifying a fabric, the specifications for the entire warp should be given, including selvages. The DID diagram and reed plan for selvages are constructed similar to the body of the fabric.

FABRIC HISTORY

Tens of thousands of years ago, early humans learned to obtain fibers from wild plants, such as wild flax, hemp, and nettles. Such fibers could be spun into thread and made into cloth textiles. People began to weave fabric during the Neolithic Era, a period that began around 8000 BC. Evidence of early weaving comes from fragments of flax fibers found in Switzerland. In some cultures, people made cloth without weaving, by pounding sheets of bark to produce a soft, flexible textile. The development of agriculture led to the domestication of fiber plants, such as cotton, hemp, and flax. Simultaneously alternative sources of yarn invented from natural, animal, mineral, chemical sources.

They are: -

• · Animal base - from sheep, rabbit, silkworm - wool, silk etc…
• · Mining of minerals - asbestos, glass etc…
• · Chemical - synthetics origin - Nylon, Polyester etc...

These fibers are converted into yarns by menace of spinning and then woven / knitted to produce fabric. The following is the history of the fabric, which is classified according to the manufacturing technology.

Ø History of weaving:

Fabric can be made in a variety of ways, such as knotting, knitting, and braiding, but most cloth is made by weaving. Weaving is usually done on a loom that holds long threads (the warp) under uniform tension so that other threads (the weft) can be inserted over and under them. Many different types and patterns of weaving are possible, depending on the fiber used and the arrangement of the threads. Ancient Egyptians wove their earliest textiles from flax, which produced linen; in southern Europe, the earliest textiles came from wool; in China, from silk; and in India, Peru, and Cambodia, from cotton

Fabric is woven with the help of machine called Loom. Weaving is an ancient technology to make cloth primarily for protection from weather and later on for wearing purposes. This technology is originated from weaving on handlooms. In the modern era, manufacturing of fabrics started with power looms and subsequently with hi-tech / sophisticated looms called shuttle less weaving machines.

NATURAL FIBERS

History of the principal natural fibers used in textiles for apparel and home fashion and the growth is as follows.

EST. DATE	FIBER	BACKGROUND AND PRODUCTION
5,000+ BC	FLAX:	o Generally considered to be the oldest natural textile fiber. o Fine linen was used as burial shrouds for the Egyptian pharaohs o Largest producer: Soviet States; other large producers include Poland, Germany, Belgium and France. Largest exporters are Northern Ireland and Belgium.
3,000+ BC	COTTON:	o Worn by Egyptians earlier than 2,500 BC. o Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793 revolutionized the processing of cotton. o The development of the power loom in 1884 brought significant improvements and variations to cotton fabrics. o Major producers: United States, Soviet States, China and India. Lesser producers include Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico Iran and Sudan.
3,000 BC	WOOL:	o There are 40 different breeds of sheep, which produce approximately 200 types of wool of varying grades. o Major producers include: Australia, New Zealand, Soviet States, China, South Africa, and Argentina.
2,600 BC	SILK:	o Silk culture began about 1725 BC, sponsored by the wife of China's emperor. o Silk is made from two continuous filaments cemented together and used to form the cocoon of the silkworm. o The Chinese closely guarded secrets of cultivation and fabric manufacturing for about 3,000 years. o India learned of silk culture when a Chinese princess married an Indian prince. o The major producer and exporter of silk is Japan.

Weaving

Weaving is a textile craft in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a fabric or cloth. The threads which run lengthways are called the warp and the threads which run across from side to side are the weft or filling.Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a phonethat holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using bad methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven hands can be plain (in one colour or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic , including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat. yapzz:D Though traditional handweaving and spinning remain popular crafts, nowadays the majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom,

Process and terminology
In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft (older woof). The warp threads are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle that carries the weft thread through the shed.

The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures:
    * plain weave,
    * twill weave,
    * satin weave, and
    * complex computer-generated interlacings.
Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warp faced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by placing various colors of weft only in certain warp areas, rather than across the entire warp width.
There are some indications that weaving was already known in the Palaeolithic era. An indistinct textile impression has been found at Pavlov, Moravia. Neolithic textiles are well known from finds in pile dwellings in Switzerland. One extant fragment from the Neolithic was found in Fayum, at a site dated to about 5000 BCE. This fragment is woven at about 12 threads by 9 threads per cm in a plain weave. Flax was the predominant fibre in Egypt at this time and continued popularity in the Nile Valley, even after wool became the primary fibre used in other cultures around 2000 BCE. Another Ancient Egyptian item, known as the Badari dish, depicts a textile workshop. This item, catalogue number UC9547, is now housed at the Petrie Museum and dates to about 3600 BCE. Enslaved women worked as weavers during the Sumerian Era. They washed wool fibers in hot water and wood-ash soap and then dried them. Next, they beat out the dirt and carded the wool. The wool was then graded, bleached, and spun into a thread. The spinners pulled out fibers and twisted them together. This was done either by rolling fibers between palms or using a hooked stick. The thread was then placed on a wooden or bone spindle and rotated on a clay whorl, which operated like a flywheel.
The slaves then worked in three-woman teams on looms, where they stretched the threads, after which they passed threads over and under each other at perpendicular angles. The finished cloth was then taken to a fuller.

Types of Looms

A back strap loom with a shed-rod.

A simple loom which has its roots in ancient civilizations comprising two sticks or bars between which the warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object and the other to the weaver usually by means of a strap around the back. On traditional looms, the two main sheds are operated by means of a shed roll over which one set of warps pass, and continuous string heddles which encase each of the warps in the other set. The weaver leans back and uses her body weight to tension the loom. To open the shed controlled by the string heddles, the weaver relaxes tension on the warps and raises the heddles. The other shed is usually opened by simply drawing the shed roll toward the weaver. Both simple and complex textiles can be woven on this loom. Width is limited to how far the weaver can reach from side to side to pass the shuttle. Warp faced textiles, often decorated with intricate pick-up patterns woven in complementary and supplementary warp techniques are woven by indigenous peoples today around the world. They produce such things as belts, ponchos bags, hatbands and carrying cloths. Supplementary weft patterning and brocading is practiced in many regions. Balanced weaves are also possible on the back strap loom. Today, commercially produced backstrap loom kits often include a rigid heddle.

Warp weighted loom

 

The warp-weighted loom is a vertical loom that may have originated in the Neolithic period. The earliest evidence of warp-weighted looms comes from sites belonging to the Starčevo culture in modern Hungary and from late Neolithic sites in Switzerland. This loom was used in Ancient Greece, and spread north and west throughout Europe thereafter. Its defining characteristic is hanging weights (loom weights) which keep bundles of the warp threads taut. Frequently, extra warp thread is wound around the weights. When a weaver has reached the bottom of the available warp, the completed section can be rolled around the top beam, and additional lengths of warp threads can be unwound from the weights to continue. This frees the weaver from vertical size constraints.

 

 

Drawloom

A drawloom is a hand-loom for weaving figured cloth. In a drawloom, a "figure harness" is used to control each warp thread separately. A drawloom requires two operators, the weaver and an assistant called a "drawboy" to manage the figure harness.

Handloom

Elements of a foot-treadle floor loom

Wood frame 

1. Seat for weaver
2. Warp beam- let off
3. Warp threads
4. Back beam or platen
5. Rods – used to make a shed
6. Heddle frame - heald frame - harness
7. Heddle- heald - the eye
8. Shuttle with weft yarn
9. Shed
10. Completed fabric
11. Breast beam
12. Batten with reed comb
13. Batten adjustment
14. Lathe
15. Treadles
16. Cloth roll- takeup

In a wooden vertical-shaft looms the heddles were fixed in place in the shaft. The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle and through a space between the heddles (the shed), so that raising the shaft raises half the threads (those passing through the heddles), and lowering the shaft lowers the same threads—the threads passing through the spaces between the heddles remain in place.

Flying Shuttle

 

Flying shuttle showing metal capped ends, wheels, and a pirnof weft thread

Hand weavers could only weave a cloth as wide as their an arms length. If cloth needed to be wider, two people would do the task often this would be an adult with a child. John Kay (1704–1764) patented the Flying Shuttle in 1733. The weaver held a picking stick that was attached by cords to a device at both ends of the shed. With a flick of the wrist, one cord was pulled and the shuttle was propelled through the shed to the other end of side with considerable force, speed and efficiency. A flick in the opposite direction and the shuttle was propelled back. A single weaver had control of this motion but the flying shuttle could weave much wider fabric than an arms length at much greater speeds than had been achieved with the hand thrown shuttle. The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, the whole picking motion no longer relied on manual skill, and it was a matter of time before it could be powered.

Haute-lisse and basse-lisse looms

Looms used for weaving traditional tapestry are classified as haute-lisse looms, where the warp is suspended vertically between two rolls, and the basse-lisse looms, where the warp extends horizontally between the rolls.

Power looms

Edmund Cartwright built and patented a power loom in 1785, and it was this that was adopted by the nascent cotton industry in England. A silk loom was made by Jacques Vaucanson in 1745, which used the same ideas but it wasn't developed further. The invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay had been critical to the development of a commercially successful power loom.Cartwright's loom was impractical but the ideas were developed by numerous inventors in the Manchester area in England, where by 1818 there were 32 factories containing 5732 looms.

Horrocks loom was viable but it was the Roberts Loom in 1830 that marked the turning point. Before this time hand looms had outnumbered power looms. Incremental changes to the three motions continued to be made. The problems of sizing, stop-motions, consistent take-up and a temple to maintain the width remained. In 1841, Kenworthy and Bullough produced the Lancashire Loom which was self-acting or semi-automatic. This enables a 15-year-old spinner to run six looms at the same time. Incrementally, the Dickinson Loom, and then the Keighley born inventor Northrop working for the Draper Corporation in Hopedale produced the fully automatic Northrop Loom which recharged the shuttle when the pirn was empty. The Draper E and X model became the leading products from 1909 until they were challenged by the different characteristics of synthetic fibres such as rayon.

From 1942 the faster and more efficient shuttleless Sulzer looms and the rapier looms were introduced. Modern industrial looms can weave at 2000 weft insertions per minute. Today, advances in technology have produced a variety of looms designed to maximize production for specific types of material. The most common of these are air-jet looms and water-jet looms

Kerala Handloom Industry

 

Kerala, the greenish land lies between the western ghat and Arabian sea, about 15000 square miles with varying scenic beauty. Kerala is known as the epitome of India. Historically kerala has long been a land of racial admixture and co-existence.
The mile stone in Kerala's history is that by first Christian church ,first Muslim masque and first synagogue were established in Kerala. A number of historically important Hindu temples can be seen in Kerala.
Tolerance and cosmopolitan out look are the characteristics of a "Keralite". This may be attributed to the religious and trade contact which existed for centuries with outside India. Handcrafted handloom weaving, Ivory works, weaving of coir are well known heritage of kerala.
Kerala handloom industry carries a vital role in states economy as well as in the field of employment.

A very large number of looms are located in rural areas. The rhythm of handloom can be heared in almost every village in kerala. There are men and women weavers for whom weaving is a way of life. In early days majority of handloom weavers followed the hereditary line. The main communities engaged in weaving are saliyas and devangas. With the available information it is clear that the saliyas and devangas migrated from the near by princely states.

Earlier they were producing cloth for their own consumption and for the need of their village. Increase in production and improvement in transport facilities removed the hindrance of time and eased the exchange of commodities. The skill of weaving has been passed from parents to children.
During 15th century British, French and Portuguese people visited kerala. They were attracted by the things like spices, ivory and beauty of handloom fabrics. They began to purchase large quantities and exported to their countries.

Germany has established a mission called 'Basal mission' in 1829.This mission paved the way of changing from home production to factory system. Apart from this, French people started to give training in weaving. They imported versatile loom and introduced principle designs from the hooks.
After the British captured India they took up and nourished handloom industries for their purposes. At the end of the 18th century the monopoly came to an end. Since 19 th century with the advent of industrial revolution, the English people gave up all. They started mechanical production in their land. During this period of foreigners the weavers of Kerala learned all techniques and they paralleled the way for the production of furnishing fabrics according to new style of demand.
During the dawn of 20th century, the Sree Narayana movement influenced kerala society by and large prompting the caste based culture to change towards secular and modern industrious culture so that many people from traditional Thiyya/Ezhava community had taken up their employment in Handloom Industry to do away with the toddy tapping to respond with the advice of Sree Narayana Guru. These changes also has its own mark in making the present shape of Kerala Handloom Industry.
It has resulted in the production of various types of artistic handloom goods in kerala.

The 'kerala kasavu sarees' are praised by the women all over India for their fineness of count and natural colours, texture and gold borders Kerala is also known for its unbleached cotton handloom crepe popularly known as 'kora' cloth this has entered in the foreign market and occupied a proud place in the garment industry.

The secret of furnishing fabrics from malabar is the excellent structure and texture of the cloth, unique colour combination, wide width (98"-120") and craft man ship. When we look back to the history of kerala it can be seen that in 1498 Vascodi Gama, the Portuguese navigator visited Calicut in Malabar. So it is well known that 15 th century handloom cloth of excellent qualities were exported to Asian and European countries.

Balaramapuram, in Thiruvanathapuram district is the most historically important place for handloom fabrics. The weavers belong to Saliyas were migrated from Nagar coil and Thirunalveli in Thamil Nadu during the time of Balarama Varma before 250 years. Here they produced super fine 'Mundum Neriyathu; for the need of royal family. Still they are in existence and carry important part of the total production. The technique of producing the superfine fabric spreaded from them to the local weavers in Balaramapuram and the surrounding places. Initially they were producing 'Mundu' for men with 0.4cm of width of 'kara' (cross border) with black garn. Before 100 years the jeri from Surat takes to Balaramapuram and 'Kasavu Sarees' production was started.
Koothampalli in Thrissur district is also well known for handloom fabric. Here Devangas immigrated from Karnataka are engaged in weaving. The 'Kasavu Sarees' which are being produced here is mostly with halffine jeri.The middle class people would like to purchase this sarees because of its cheapness. The price of a saree can be reduced from Rs.5000 to 1000 by using half fine jeri instead of pure jeri.

Chendamangalam, in the Ernakulam district is also an important handloom centre in Kerala. Here they have been producing the double dhoti and 'Mundu' and 'Neriyathu'.The distinction of these fabrics is in its structure in the plain structure, they have producing a special effect in weft direction.

Area wise Analysis of Handloom in Kerala

Kerala has 14 districts from Thiruvanathapuram to Kasargod. The handloom industry is spreaded allover the state. But the handloom industry is concentrated in certain places. The southern kerala is famous for its superfine products, like sarees, dhothies and 'Set mundu' etc. The middle kerala also engaged with such products .But while going to northern side called malabar the main production changed to coarser varieties like furnishing items bed spreads, towels etc. The common products in kerala are 'Thorthu' (Bathing towel) and Lungies. Almost 2 lakhs of weavers are earning their livelihood from the handloom 75% of them are in the co-operative line. Almost 5 lakhs families are depending upon handloom industry.
A district wise analysis gives us a clear cut idea about the places where handlooms are concentrated and the places which are important for traditional varieties.

1.Thiruvananthapuram
The capital city has its own historical importance. And in the map of handloom also it has an important place. There are 349 societies and 44700 weavers are working with their looms. The main products of district are fine cotton textures, durries with special design Balaramapuram is very famous for its fine grey sarees with kasavu (Jari). The other products here are set-mundu 'Mundum Nereyathum'-(Traditional dress for a malayalu lady), Mundhu (dhothi for men), Earezha thorthu (bathing towel), Melmundu etc. Other places where handloom concentrations are Parassala the south most of kerala where the weavers are involved in weaving of sarees dhotis Cherayinkeezhu, Kulathur are the other place where handloom density places. Here also the productions are as explained above. The range of counts is 60s-120s.The jari used here is superfine one.
2.Kollam
The very old city has a few handloom production places. Here almost 80 co-operative societies with 10271 registered weavers with their looms. In this district almost all varieties produced in Kerala are produced in a small scale. In olden days the Kollam (Quilon) was an important port in South India. So the effect of exporting items are effected the weavers in kollam district Lungies, furnishing items, earezhathorthu, sarees, dhothies are the main products. Terry towels, Jacquard durries are also produced.
Kollam, Karunagappally, Chathannur are the main places related to handloom in the district. The products from this place are mainly for domestic market. Therefore colours, fashions etc. of these products suit the domestic market.

3.Pathanamthitta
There are 7 co-op societies and 165 registered looms are here. With these 281 weavers are earning their livelihood. In this district the main products are lungies and dhothies.

4.Alappuzha(Alappey)
Alappuzha is very famous for its coir products. Coir weaving also done with the hands only. But it is considered as another wing.
The main products in this centres are mainly dhotis, sarees, lungies, earezhathorthu etc. There are 25 co-op societies with looms and 2309 weavers in this district.

5.Kottayam
In kottayam district the main products are earezhathorthu, panimundu and lungies. They are also producing bed sheets and sarees. There are 16 societies with loom and 1853 weavers are here. Kidangoor, Karingannoor are major centres.

6.Idukki
In this district there are 11 societies and 414 weavers with their looms. The main products are sarees, lungies etc.
7.Ernakulam
'Chennamangalam saree' is famous in kerala. This fine grey sarees are the product of Ernakulam district. The other main products are superfine double dhothies, synthetic and silk sarees, matching set etc. In Paravoor 120 s fine double dhothies are produced. Paravoor is situated in coastal Ernakulam only the above statal paravoor is situated.
In east Ernakulam ,earzha thorthu and cheaper variety bed sheets are produced. There are 30 societies and 8494 weavers with their looms.
8.Thrissur
The cultural capital of kerala has an important role in the tradition of kerala. Here a traditional variety named 'Koothampally saree' is produced. koothampally is a place situated in Thrissur. The other productions are set mundu, woven with half fine jari. Dhothies, lungies are also produced in this district .There are 30 societies in Thrissur and 6052 weavers.

9.Palghat
In this district its handloom weaving is very popular Chittur, Pudunagaram, Kollengode, Peruvemba,Karimpuzha are some of the handloom concentrated place situated in the district.
Here the main products are sarees, dhotis, lungies etc. Here silk sarees production also started recently.
There are 45 societies and 11236 weavers depending on the handloom weaves with their looms.

10.Malapuram
A number of Muslim weavers are here in this district. The main places are Tiroor, Tanoor etc. The main products are furnishing items which influenced from calicut and saree lungies. There are 13 societies and 2774 weavers.

11.Calicut or Kozhikode
The districts from Malapuram to Kazargod known as Malabar. The famous "Malabar loom" came from this place only. The other famous of this place is ,in olden days famous "Calico cloth" came from calicut only.
In olden days foreigners established some companies. Some of them remaining now also. 'Common Wealth Trust' which is situated in Calicut is one such company.
The main products are mainly meant for export. Furnishing ,Jacquard products, Bedsheets, Table mats, Coarser varieties etc. The products are mainly coming from Malabar loom.
The products from Kozhikode have an excellent value in domestic market also. The main centres are kozhikode, Quilandi, Vatakara, Chombal, Maniyur etc.
There are 41 societies (Most of them are industrial societies) are here.

12.Wynad
There is not that much important in this high range. There are only 4 societies in this district and 136 weavers. The products will be a part of Calicut and Cannanore.
13.Cannanore or Kannur
Cannanore is called as 'the Manchester of Kerala'. The famous Cannanore sports shirting, varieties like Crepe are the donation of this district. The weavers are mainly working in industrial societies.

For export of handloom products Kerala mainly depending upon the products from Cannanore. The main products are shirting, Made-ups, jackquard, Furnishing,Turkish towels, Sateen sheets Crepe such export oriented, and Lungies Earezha thorthu etc. for domestic purpose. The products are coarser varieties Cannanore Mundu is a popular variety.
The main centres are Cannanore, Azhicode, Chirakkal, Kanhirode, Panoor, Kuthuparambu, Kalyassery.
There are 73 societies established in this district and with about 50 exporters in private sector together have,13667 weavers working open that.

14.Kasargod
Kasargod is the north most district in Kerala. Here sarees are produced, and export varieties also produced here Kasargod, Mancheswaram are main centres.11 societies are here nad 3401 weavers working in these societies.
Kasargod sarees are very famous in Kerala. Now-a-days there is a very good demand for the silk sarees woven with different colour pattern and ornamated with zaris.