Loom

Datation and origin: end of 18th century, from Piran.

A hand-held device for making fabric. Two rows of yarn were required for weaving: the warp or a row of horizontal threads, wound on a reel, which were separated using heddles, and the transverse threads called the weft. A shuttle pulled the weft through the separated warp threads. The warp threads would close immediately afterwards and a special device called a beater pushed the new weft close to the previous one. The weaver pulled the weft with a shuttle, which had a groove for a quill onto which the yarn was wound. Hand-held looms were used for weaving throughout the world; the basic principle was the same everywhere. They differed merely in their shape, size and complexity or difficulty or weaving.