Charles Sanders, age 13, of Marion, Ohio, for his question:

WHEN WAS WEAVING FIRST USED?

Historians aren't sure exactly when the process of weaving cloth developed. But they tell us that civilizations in central Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan probably picked up the art about 2500 B. C.
We don't know who the first person was to invent weaving thousands of years ago. The art started with the weaving of baskets from grasses.

Weaving is a way of making cloth by crossing two sets of threads over and under each other. Weavers may use thread spun from natural fibers such as cotton, silk or wool, or synthetic fibers such as nylon and Orlon.

Ancient wall paintings illustrate weaving techniques that were mastered by the ancient Egyptians as early as 5000 B.C.

The Chinese were weaving sometime between 2500 and 1200 B.C. and this is about the same time when brocade and damask fabrics were first produced in Persia (Iran).

In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo and other Indian tribes began to weave cotton textiles during the 700s.

In Europe, the two bar loom mounted in a frame was introduced in the 1200s. And then by the 1400s, the art of weaving had become highly developed. Beautiful tapestries were among the fine woven items to be produced during this time.

The weaving industry really started to boom during the Industrial Revolution, a period when rapid growth in industry occured in Europe during the 1700s and the 1800s.

An English inventor by the name of Edmund Cartwright developed the first power loom in 1785. This pushed the weaving industry into high speed. Then in 1801 a French inventor named Joseph Jacquard developed the Jacquard loom that used punched cards and other attachments that guided the threads in weaving complex patterns.

There are two basic types of weaving looms: hand looms and power looms. Most hand looms measure from 8 to 36 inches wide.

Power looms are used for some home weaving and all commercial weaving. They can be run by electricity, steam or water.

Hand weaving can be very tiring because the weaver must put down the shuttle and operate the harnesses manually after every row.

Weaving today ranks as a major industry in the United States, Japan and Russia and a number of other countries. About $4 billion worth of factory woven goods come out of American factories each year.

Weaving is also an extremely popular craft today. Many people design and weave colorful fabrics as a hobby.