It is generally considered that the world's first Industrial Revolution was begun in the British textile industry, and was stimulated by three inventions: James Hargreaves' spinning jenny, Samuel Crompton's spinning mule, and John Kay's (1704-1764) flying shuttle. Chronologically, the shuttle came first, and it was the use of this device that forced the spinning industry to become more productive and efficient, eventually leading to the mechanization of all spinning and weaving.

Before 1733, most weaving was done by a single weaver sitting at a large loom. With one hand the weaver strung horizontal weft thread through vertical warp threads, beating down each successive layer of weft with the other hand. The weft U thread was attached to a thin wooden slat called a shuttle, which the weaver passed from one hand to the other. This limited the size of the fabric, for it could only be as...