Weaving

A wooden handloom in Bhuttico shawls Unit, Bhuntar. Photograph by Chhavipriya

Weaving is the process of interlacing the yarns in a desired pattern to create a fabric fit for use. It is done by either a handloom or a machine-loom.

The interlacing of warp (length-wise) and the weft (filling) is what results in a weaved fabric. The warp threads are passed through healds which are connected to shafts which are manually raised and lowered to create a shed (A shed is the space between the raised and the lowered warp). A shuttle carrying the filling yarn is then passed through this shed which is then beaten into place by a comb like structure called a reed. Shifting the headle then reverses the position of the warp threads, locking the filling yarn and opening a shed.

In Himachal, the loims usually have 4 shafts. Lets call them shaft1, shaft2, shaft3, and shaft4. Since Kullu shawls are woven in twill weave, the shafts are moved in the following order: 1,3 2,3 2,4 4,1 and then reversed exactly how it was done i.e. 4,1 2,4 2,3 1,3. And as we reach the border, the weave is changed and goes something like 1.4 2,3 1,4 2,3 1,4. “