The cloth, then, was collected on rolls, to later be made into clothing, linens, and other goods. This made the industry very labor-intensive, making cloth relatively uncommon and expensive.
This began to change in 1733, with the invention of the flying shuttle loom. In a loom, a set of horizontal bars hold two sets of threads that run the length of the loom. Each bar is attached to every other thread (collectively called the warp), and one bar moves up and down while the other remains stationary. Another thread (called the weft) is attached to a shuttle. With the movable bar, for example, in the up position, the shuttle is passed between the two sets of threads, drawing the weft behind it. This thread is packed tightly into the "V" formed by the warp, and the movable bar is lowered. This traps the weft thread, making one row of cloth. The shuttle is then passed in the other direction, the weft packed again, and the bar moved once more. By this process, cloth is formed.
In 1733, John Kay (1704-1764) realized that the shuttle could be manipulated more quickly by attaching a cord to it and jerking itthrough the warp threads rather than passing it through by hand.
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