Care, Maintenance and Safety in Weaving
Care, Maintenance and Safety in Weaving
The exam tests whether you can protect a costly silk product, keep a loom working, and avoid injuries and hazards in a weaving shed.
Care of products
- Silk (muga, pat, eri): gentle hand wash in lukewarm water with mild soap or reetha; no chlorine bleach; do not wring; dry in shade, never in harsh sun; iron on the reverse at low heat. Store wrapped in cloth with neem or cedar and avoid direct contact between naphthalene and silk.
- Cotton and linen: machine wash warm; iron hot while damp.
- Wool: cool wash, flat dry, protect from moths.
Loom maintenance
Clean the reed and sley of size and lint with a soft brush and kerosene; oil metal parts lightly; check heald cords, treadle cords and pickers for wear; keep warp tension even; store beams and reeds dry and off the floor to prevent rust, mildew and wood borer.
Safety
Ventilation and dust masks where sizing and lint are heavy; guards on belts, pulleys and motor drives; earthing of motors; fire precautions because dry fibre and starch dust burn fast; eye protection from flying shuttles and reed dents; supported, upright posture and short breaks for loin-loom weavers using a back strap.
Worked example
Brown rust marks appear along a woven length. Reasoning: iron particles from a rusty reed or heald wire, activated by damp, have stained the cloth. Action: clean and oil the reed, replace pitted reeds, keep the shed dry; prevention is cheaper than mending, because rust staining cannot be washed out of silk.
Marks-losing traps
- Bleaching silk with chlorine - it damages the protein fibre.
- Storing a sized warp damp, which invites mildew and insects.
- Listing safety rules without naming the specific hazard (shuttle, reed, motor, dust).