Warp and weft

{{Short description|Two constituent threads of woven cloth}} {{about|weaving|other uses|warp and weft (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Weft|other uses|Weft (disambiguation)}} [[File:Warp and weft 2.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Warp and weft in [[plain weave|plain weaving]]. See [[weaving]] for other weave pattens, such as [[twill]].]]

In the manufacture of [[cloth]], '''warp''' and '''weft''' are the two basic components in [[weaving]] to transform [[thread (yarn)|thread]] and [[yarn]] into [[textile]] fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a [[loom]] (frame) while the horizontal ''weft'' (also called the ''woof'') is drawn through (inserted over and under) the warp thread.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://museum.gwu.edu/weft |title=Weft |website=The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum |publisher=[[George Washington University]] |location=Washington, DC |language=en |access-date=2017-08-10 |archive-date=2017-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810213317/https://museum.gwu.edu/weft |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the terminology of weaving, each warp thread is called a ''warp end''; a ''pick'' is a single weft thread that crosses the warp thread (synonymous terms are ''fill yarn'' and ''filling yarn'').<ref name="Burnham">Burnham (1980), pp. 170, 179</ref><ref name="Barber 1991, p. 79">Barber (1991), p. 79.</ref>

In the 18th century, the [[Industrial Revolution]] facilitated the industrialisation of the production of textile fabrics with the ''picking stick''<ref name="Aspin"/> and the ''[[flying shuttle]]'', the latter of which was invented by [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]], in 1733.{{cn|date=May 2026}} The mechanised [[power loom]] was patented by [[Edmund Cartwright]] in 1785, which allowed sixty picks per minute.<ref name="Aspin">{{cite book|last=Aspin|first=Chris|title=The Cotton Industry|publisher=Shire Library|year=1981|page=[https://archive.org/details/cottonindustry0000aspi/page/20 20]|isbn=978-0-85263-545-2|url=https://archive.org/details/cottonindustry0000aspi/page/20}}</ref>

==Etymology== The word ''weft'' derives from the [[Old English language|Old English]] word {{lang|ang|wefan}}, to weave. ''Warp'' means "that across which the woof is thrown". (Old [[English language|English]] {{lang|ang|wearp}}, from {{lang|ang|weorpan}}, to throw, cf. [[German language|German]] {{lang|de|werfen}}, [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|werpen}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=warp|title=warp {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>

==Warp== {{ref-improve|section|date=August 2021}} [[File:Loom (PSF).png|thumb|upright=2|Warped loom. Warp is wrapped onto the warp beam; as the cloth is made, the fell (woven part) is wrapped onto the breast beam next to the weaver.]] [[File:Raiyani muharramah- Wanita suku badui luar DSCF2861.jpg|thumb|Wrapping of the warp threads around the warp beam of a loom in preparation for weaving]] [[File:Tablet-weaving.svg|thumb|175px|right|Warp threads in [[tablet weaving]]]]

The warp is the set of [[yarn]]s or other things stretched in place on a [[loom]] before the weft is introduced during the weaving process, and the ''longitudinal'' set in a finished fabric with two or more sets of elements.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://museum.gwu.edu/warp|title=Warp {{!}} The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum {{!}} The George Washington University|website=museum.gwu.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-08-10}}</ref>

The term is also used for a set of yarns established before the interworking of weft yarns by some other method, such as finger manipulation, yielding wrapped or twined structures.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Very simple looms use a '''spiral warp''', in which the warp is made up of a single, very long yarn wound in a [[spiral]] pattern around a pair of sticks or beams.<ref>Burnham (1980), p. 132</ref>

The warp must be strong to be held under high tension during the weaving process, unlike the weft which carries almost no tension.{{cn|date=May 2026}} This requires the yarn used for warp ends, or individual warp threads, to be made of [[Spinning (textiles)|spun]] and [[Plying|plied]] [[fibre]].{{cn|date=May 2026}} Traditionally natural fibres such as [[wool]], [[linen]], [[alpaca]], and [[silk]] were used.{{says who|date=May 2026}}{{cn|date=May 2026}} However, [[Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution|improvements in spinning technology]] during the [[Industrial Revolution]] created [[cotton]] yarn of sufficient strength to be used in mechanized weaving.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Later, [[synthetic fibre]]s such as [[nylon]] or [[rayon]] were employed.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

While most weaving is weft-faced, warp-faced textiles are created using densely arranged warp threads.{{cn|date=May 2026}} In these, the design is in the warp, requiring all colors to be decided upon and placed during the first part of the weaving process, which cannot be changed.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Such limitations of color placement create weavings defined by length-wise stripes and vertical designs.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Many South American cultures, including the ancient Incas and Aymaras, employed ''backstrap weaving'', which uses the weight of the weaver's body to control the tension of the loom.<ref>[[Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez]], ''Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands''.{{full|date=May 2026}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2026}}{{full|date=May 2026}}

==Weft== {{unreferenced section|date=August 2021}} Because the weft does not have to be stretched on a loom like the warp,{{cn|date=May 2026}} it can generally be less strong.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Originally used were spun yarns from fibres such as [[wool]], [[flax]] and cotton.{{cn|date=May 2026}} As of this date,{{when|date=May 2026}} viscose-type (e.g., rayon) fibres, and synthetic fibres such as polyester and polyamide (nylon) are used.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

Handlooms were the original weaver's tool, with the shuttle being threaded through alternately raised warps by hand.{{cn|date=May 2026}} In modern applications, the weft is threaded through the warp using a [[Shuttle (weaving)|shuttle]], air jets,{{what|date=May 2026}} or [[rapier grippers]].{{cn|date=May 2026}}

==Appearances in literature== ===Literally=== The terms ''warp'' and ''woof'' are also found in some English translations of the Bible, in the discussion of mildews found in cloth materials (e.g., in Leviticus 13:48–59).{{primary source inline|date=May 2026}}{{cn|date=May 2026}}

===As metaphor=== {{ref-improve|section|date=August 2021}} The expression ''warp and weft'' (also ''warp and woof'') is used [[metaphor]]ically the way the word ''fabric'' might be; for instance, "the warp and woof of a student's life" equates to "the fabric of a student's life".<ref>{{cite web |title=warp and woof |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/warp-and-woof |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref>{{better source|date=May 2026}} The expression is also used similarly for the underlying structure upon which something is built.{{what|date=May 2026}}{{cn|date=May 2026}}

The expresion "warp and weft" is sometimes used even more generally in literature to describe perceived basic dichotomies of the world in which one lives, e.g., the dichotomies of up and down, in and out, black and white, sun and moon, yin and yang, etc.{{cn|date=May 2026}}{{dubious|date=May 2026}}

==In other fields== In computing, a ''warp'' is a block of parallel [[thread (computing)|threads]] executed on a [[GPU]] or similar [[SIMD]] device.{{says who|date=May 2026}}{{cn|date=May 2026}}

==See also==  * [[Warp knitting]]

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== {{Wiktionary|warp|weft}} * {{cite book |last= Barber |first= E. J. W. |title= Prehistoric Textiles |year= 1991 |publisher= Princeton University Press |isbn= 0-691-00224-X}} * {{cite book |last= Burnham |first= Dorothy K. |author-link= Dorothy K. Burnham |title= Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology |url= https://archive.org/details/warpwefttextilet0000burn |url-access= registration |year= 1980 |publisher= [[Royal Ontario Museum]] |isbn=0-88854-256-9 }}

[[Category:Weaving]]