Abstract:

The ability to control each thread individually in weaving has been the dream of weavers since the invention of the drawloom around the second century BC. Thread control means control of image and form: finer tonal gradations, smoother curves and the possibility to create unique interlacing that alters the physicality of a material, its texture, volume and mass. Until recently looms for such work were not oriented to the individual weaver, artist and designer. This essay takes the Thread Controller (TC), a new kind of loom, a personal hand-operated computerized jacquard, invented by the Norwegian weaver Vibeke Vestby in the 1990s as a case study with which to illustrate the emergence of a new culture of craft production in art, science and technology formed in the wake of digital weaving. One of the factors in the TC’s success, and contributing to the growth of contemporary textile art, has been a community of craftspeople sharing knowledge and resources of the loom.