Model of Dangon's Draw Loom of c.1610

Model of Dangon's Draw Loom of c.1610, and a woven sample.

This model shows a key improvement made by Claude Dangon in Lyon, France, for the production of patterned or 'figured' fabrics. A set of seven treadles controlled by the weaver's feet allowed the warp threads to be lifted in different sequences before different weft threads were passed between them. These are used for the background pattern. A 'draw boy', the weaver's assistant working at the side of the loom alongside the weaver sitting before it, operated the further mechanism to create an even more complex pattern over the background. Dangon's innovation allowed the number of threads to rise from 800 to well over 2000, with a corresponding increase in the complexity of patterns which could be woven.