Japan November 2013…...
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What yesterday made me understand is that what we vaguely think of as weaving and sewing is actually an exercise in engineering.
We went to 2 amazing "house factory" mills. The first had about 6 looms in it and was run by a husband and wife team, the second had about a dozen shuttle looms and was run by one guy. In both cases, Haraki uses these people, primarily because of the engineering skills of the people involved.
wow,
that's one of the reasons why i love IH so much! -
And even in the shirt sewing factory, the owner spent most of our time with him enthusing over modifications he had made to the machinery. Some of you (Rocket) may remember the problem we had on the placket of the IHSH-80, I was proudly shown the reengineered false placket folder that was made as a result of my observation to Haraki….(Rockets well warranted bitch actually)....
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Some great stuff from G san in this thread.
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Thanks all. I've grabbed plenty more footage and will chop it down when I get the time, which will probably be on the flight home.
Great vid Matt, am excited to see more! But do try to get some rest on the journey home… you've no idea what a mess I've created since you've been gone...
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So on Thursday, we visited a couple of House Factories which weave some of our denim. These are tiny places, one was a husband and wife team, the other just one guy. The first thing you notice is the incredible noise, you then notice that there is indigo dust everywhere (including up our noses as we discovered later)….
I had to be air-jetted off before I was allowed back into a car…
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The first workshop we visited consisted of husband and wife and about 5 or 6 very large Toyoda looms, these were larger than anything that I have seen before, but they still weave a 30" width. Their massive overengineering is what makes them able to cope with heavy ounce denim. Whilst we were there our Ultra Heavy Raw (AKA 21/123) was being woven…..
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And we were lucky enough to see a new run started, this only happens once every 13 or so days per machine….
Sacrificial lengths of warp are used to start the process, each of these is hand knotted to the real warp and then teased through the loom before the weaving actually starts...
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That's a really great insight. I'd never thought about how a new run would be started. Always seem looms in flight. That is far more fiddly/detailed to setup than I would have thought, but makes sense.
Some really great photos there too. Love the one of Tom looking/smiling at the loom whilst all others are using phones/cameras :).
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Giles that blue denim dust must be bad for the workers lungs. do they wear masks on the job?
I was thinking the same thing. In the days when North Carolina had a textile industry, workers in the mills often came down with "white lung"- basically a catchall term for pulmonary disease caused or exacerbated by inhaling cotton fibers. All of that can't be good for the workers.
