Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft, woof, or filling. The method in which these threads are interwoven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band that meets this definition of cloth can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back strap loom, or other techniques that can be done without looms.
Arklow is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion. Its proximity to Dublin led to it becoming a commuter town with a population of 13,163 as of the 2016 census.
A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed and patented in 1785 by Edmund Cartwright. It was refined over the next 47 years until a design by the Howard and Bullough company made the operation completely automatic. This device was designed in 1834 by James Bullough and William Kenworthy, and was named the Lancashire loom.
Avoca is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca.
Harris Tweed is a tweed cloth that is handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. This definition, quality standards and protection of the Harris Tweed name are enshrined in the Harris Tweed Act 1993.
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Ashford, historically known as Ballymacahara, is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on the River Vartry and at the meeting of the R772, R763 and R764 regional roads. The village was formerly on the main Dublin–Wexford route, the N11, but was bypassed by the new N11 in 2004. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 1,425 people.
Magee of Donegal are a textile manufacturer, clothing manufacturer and retailer, and manufacturer and retailer of home goods based in Donegal Town, County Donegal, Ireland. The company are known for their woolen Donegal tweed, but also manufacture items from linen, cashmere, silk and other materials.
Powerscourt Estate, located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares. The house, originally a 13th-century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect Richard Cassels, starting in 1731 and finishing in 1741. A fire in 1974 left the house lying as a shell until it was renovated in 1996.
Aramark is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America and an additional 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Philippines, South Korea, Chile, the Republic of Ireland, and Spain.
Donegal tweed is a woven tweed manufactured in County Donegal, Ireland. Originally all handwoven, it is now mostly machine woven and has been since the introduction of mechanised looms in the 1950s-1960s. Donegal has for centuries been producing tweed from local materials in the making of caps, suits and vests. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, The Royal Linen Manufacturers of Ulster distributed approximately six thousand flax spinning wheels and sixty looms for weaving to various Donegal homesteads. These machines helped establish the homespun tweed industry in nineteenth-century Donegal. Although Donegal tweed has been manufactured for centuries it took on its modern form in the 1880s, largely due to the pioneering work of English philanthropist Alice Rowland Hart.
Congleton, Macclesfield, Bollington and Stockport, England, were traditionally silk-weaving towns. Silk was woven in Cheshire from the late 1600s. The handloom weavers worked in the attic workshops in their own homes. Macclesfield was famous for silk buttons manufacture. The supply of silk from Italy was precarious and some hand throwing was done, giving way after 1732 to water-driven mills, which were established in Stockport and Macclesfield.
Brahms Mount is a textiles manufacturer, established in 1983 in Hallowell, Maine. It designs and creates a variety of soft furnishings in natural fibers, including blankets and throws, using traditional weaving techniques and antique equipment.
Kerry Woollen Mills are historic wool mills based just off the Ring of Kerry.
The term Galway shawl usually refers to a specific type of heavy weight shawl that was worn by Irish women during the colder seasons. It became popular during the late nineteenth century and was still being worn up until the 1950s by a few older, more traditional Irish women. Throughout Ireland, not just in Galway, women traditionally wore various types of lightweight shawls that were hand knit, crocheted, or woven; and would have been of solid color, plaid, print, or paisley. Lightweight shawls, worn directly over the blouse and tied or tucked in at the waist, were worn in all seasons both indoors and out. The Galway shawl was a winter-weight outer garment worn over the lightweight shawl.
Neillí Mulcahy was an Irish designer. In 1962, Mulcahy co-founded the Irish Haute Couture Group with Ib Jorgensen and Irene Gilbert.
Donald Montague McVeagh Pratt is an Irish businessman and former first-class cricketer.
Emily Wynne was an Irish textile artist at Avoca Woollen Mills and author.
"Narrow cloth" is cloth of a comparatively narrow width, generally less than a human armspan; precise definitions vary.
