Fiber tools: rag and stick shuttles

Fiber tools: rag and stick shuttles

unknown

1890/1940

A shuttle carries the weft fiber for a weaver. The warp is strung on to a loom from the back to where the weaver sits in front. A weaver needs at least one shuttle, and may use several, for different colors or for different threads. The two shuttles in the center are stick shuttles, named for their simplicity. A single piece of flattened wood is notched to hold the weft material. In this case the material is "loopers" which were cotton knitted scraps sold cheaply by sock manufacturers. They were often dyed and used by mountain people to make rugs. At top and bottom are open rag shuttles. The top shuttle is wound with loopers. The bottom is a rag shuttle without the dowels connecting the two sides. These shuttles likely date to between 1890 and 1940; their creator is unknown.

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

image

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/16173

Looms -- Appalachian Region, Southern

Textiles

Weaving -- Appalachian Region, Southern