Fantastic Folds | Jacquard Project

FANTASTIC FOLDS

JACQUARD Faculty: Mahesh Kumar

Jacquard is a type of fabric with an intricately woven pattern. The pattern is not embroidered but woven directly into the fabric. Available in many styles and colors, Jacquard has varying finesse as per the quality of fabric used.

Jacquard is woven on a special loom, which also produces other fabrics like brocade and damask. Jacquard is mainly used in making Jacquard saris, Lehengas and as upholstery fabrics.

Origin and Making Before 1800s, a process named draw-loom was used to weave Jacquard but it was very slow and could only weave simple designs.

This scenario changed with the invention of Jacquard loom, named after its inventor, Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1801. This early version was a mechanical loom controlled by punch-cards which was used to create different patterns and designs. This loom could control only a few warp ends independently.

Therefore, to create the final fabric, the entire punching process was repeated several times.

Larger capacity machines were introduced later which required less repetition of process.

This loom could control only a few warp ends independently. Therefore, to create the final fabric, the entire punching process was repeated several times. Larger capacity machines were introduced later which required less repetition of process.

This loom could control only a few warp ends independently. Therefore, to create the final fabric, the entire punching process was repeated several times. Larger capacity machines were introduced later which required less repetition of process.

With the introduction of electronic jacquard looms around the 1980s there was a surge in Jacquard production. The loom could handle many number of thread warps at a single time. It eliminated the repetitive need

to weave the fabric again and again to finish the fabric. There was a significant amount of improvement in the production time and quality. However, it made the fabric less economical than before as the loom could produce only small batches of fabric and was not viable for a mass scale factory setting.

The Invention of Electronic Jacquard Loom Computerized Electronic Jacquard Loom It took about two centuries to introduce the electronic jacquard looms. The first electronic Jacquard was launched at ITMA, Milan in 1983 by Bonas Machine Company Ltd. This was initially a small machine but had greater capacity where single end warp control extended to more than 10,000 warp ends. It eliminated the need for repeats and symmetrical designs. Now almost infinite versatility could be produced in the patterns of the jacquard fabrics. It was a computercontrolled machine and thus it significantly reduced the time wasted in changing punched paper designs. Now smaller batch sizes of jacquard fabrics were possible to be made. However, electronic Jacquards are costly. They are not viable for a factory weaving large batch sizes, and smaller designs. These larger machines are apt for a factory that produces jacquard fabric with great versatility having specialized designs.

They are, in fact, great for manufacturing jacquard clothing and jacquard linen such as jacquard duvet covers or damask sofa throws.

Present Scenario With the increasing pace of technological advancements, the Jacquard fabric is now woven using a computerized process. The modern computer controlled jacquard looms don’t have any punched cards, and can have thousands of hooks. The threading of yarns in the Jacquard loom is a labor intensive process where thousands of hooks

are threaded with numerous yarns, but the computerized process automates the whole designing process making it less time consuming and more quality intensive which creates complex designs with ease.

The threading of yarns in the Jacquard loom is a labor intensive process where thousands of hooks are threaded with numerous yarns, but the computerized process automates the whole designing process making it less time consuming and more quality intensive which creates complex designs with ease.

can take several days for the process of rethreading even for a small loom having only a few thousand warp ends. In this context, it can be said that the term “Jacquard” is not confined to any particular loom but refers to the added control mechanism that automates the patterning of a fabric.

Types of Jacquard Fabrics Apart from the main Jacquard fabric woven with the help of jacquard loom, this fabric can be further sub-divided into the following 3 commonly found fabrics:

Jacquard Weaving Brocade fabric : Jacquard Weaving-Jacquard weaving uses all types of fibers and blends of fibers and is capable of creating complex patterns on fabrics. For making these complex patterns, the jacquard loom can be programmed to raise each warp thread independently of the others. In this way, jacquard weaving gives highest warp yarn control. In fact, the invention of Jacquard loom and jacquard weaving made possible the automatic production of innumerable varieties of pattern weaving.

With mechanical jacquard loom, the weaving process is much labor intensive. The huddles with warp ends to be pulled up have to be manually selected by an operator, who assists the main weaver. In earlier times, it was known as a draw loom which is a very slow process and placed limitations on the complexity of patterns.

Computerized Jacquard Weaving The modern computer controlled jacquard looms don’t have punched cards, and can have thousands of hooks. The threading of a Jacquard loom is very labor intensive process. As such, many looms are threaded for only once. Subsequent warps are tied in to the existing warp using a knotting robot that ties every new thread on individually. It

It is an elaborately patterned raised fabric woven with multi-colored threads producing rich designs. Popularly used in fashion clothing and upholstery, it is usually heavier than most fabrics.

Damask fabric : A more fine and sheer version of Brocade, the Damask is also a patterned fabric which is woven mostly with single color. It is generally used in fiber blends or synthetic fiber production.

Matelassé fabric : Manufactured using cotton, silk or rayon, this fabric has a quilted effect and a stretchy surface.

INSPIRATION

MOOD BOARD & COLOR

INITIAL CONCEPTS & DOODLE

COMPOSITIONS

COMPOSITIONS

COMPOSITIONS

MOTIF EXPLORATIONS

FINAL COMPOSITION

1:1 RATIO COMPOSITION

ARTWORK AFTER PUNCHING

WEAVE FEEDING IN THE ARTWORKS

1:1 RATIO OF THE WEAVE STRUCTURE

Bibliography • http://www.india_resource.tripod.com • http://www.en.wikipedia.org • http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/ jaquard.html • http://www.tifac.org.in/offer/tsw/rural28. html • Grosicki, Z.J. 1975, Watson’s Textile Design and Color, Seventh Edition,Newnes Butterworths, London, pp.160-163.

• Grosicki, Z.J. 1977, Watson’s Advanced Textile Design, Fourth Edition,NewnesButterworths, London, pp. 83-102.

• Lee, Z.X. 2000, Electronic JacquardTechnology and New Fabric Pattern Design,Textile Press, China, pp.

179-214.

• Weinsdorfer, H. 2004, 50 years of Weaving Technology, International Textile Bulletin,no. 3, pp. 54-56.

• Zhou, J. 2002, ‘Development of the-lackwhite fabric with figure and scenery images by electronic jacquard’, Journal of Textile Research, China, vol. 23, no.

1Feb.,p. 38.

• Zhou, J. 2004, ‘Digital jacquard fabric-design in colorful mode’,

Journalof Donghua University (English Edition),China, vol. 21, no. 4, Aug., pp. 98101.