I had the opportunity to attend the TC-2 Jacquard Weaving Loom Workshop held in Norway at Tronrud Engineering Company on 19-23 October 2015 under the guidance of Vibeke Vestby. In this article you can find my observations regarding the training workshop where TC-2 Jacquard Weaving Loom is used.
Workers working on labor-intensive production fields like textile in the early of 21st century wanted to transfer techniques obtained from industrial production to small-scaled art production or commercial design projects due to the shift of heavy industries to overseas countries(1). For this purpose, several machineries including prototype weaving looms, knitting and embroidery machineries have been manufactured for individual users like designers and artists. TC-2 Jacquard Loom features an automatic shedding system and manual wefting and thus is a tool enabling to create weaves with human hand sensitiveness and including errors, not being fabricated.
A prototype weaving study, research and development activities that is likely to last for days in an industrial jacquard company can be realized within a day with TC-2 jacquard loom being a golden tool.
The TC-2 jacquard loom enables weavers to use a great variety of threads in various types and sizes. Compared to traditional jacquard weaving looms, it is not fast production hardware but it is a system where the weaver has fully control on it. The pattern mechanism is electronic and with the controlled machine-stop realized by the weaver, the pattern can be adjusted during production. Each warp and weft is placed manually. With the easy loom stop and restart option thread, color and knit combinations can be tried before the final weaving plan. The woven samples are human production developed electronically, not a machine outcome. Thus, bionic design description can be used instead of digital design. Worldwide textile artists using this loom have passed far beyond the “handicraft” definition of weaving. The graphic textiles manufactured by them are a new tool for the art world and many galleries exhibited their handicrafts.
During the workshop, a study on three main systems in terms of warp and weft thread has been conducted.
- Black and White Single Layered jacquard weaving
- Jacquard weaving with weft launch and multi colored
- Double Layered jacquard weaving
Conclusion
TC-2 jacquard loom is a tool appropriate for the digital era and suitable for textile designers as well as scientist conducting researches on technical textiles thanks to its reasonable price and its features enabling faster change of design, stucture and material in weaving design compared to industrial looms. For textile artists using the traditional tapestry technique, it supports the meeting of the symbol with the weaving stucture and material, option diversity and creativity. On the other hand, it enables an experimental working environment (fast change in design, stucture and material alternatives) in the process of creating a wall weaving with color alternatives that normally lasts for months. Thus, it is considered that the use of TC-2 jacquard loom in textile companies and at the Textile and Fashion Design Departments of universities in Turkey shall contribute creativity and innovation in textile design and industrial R&D studies.
Resources
1) Patrice George, “Banishing Boundaries: Weaving Digitally". The Grand Rapids Art Museum for Convergence 2006, exhibition catalogue
For detailed information : http://www.digitalweaving.no/en/
