Abstract
This paper describes an artistic exploration of the potential for more lively engagements with a TC2 digital Jacquard loom. We listened to the loom to enable control of every warp thread in real time, allowing live manipulation of the patterns. This exposed us to the cognitive challenge of designing live for 2 to the power of 1320 warp possibilities. To address this, we made a customised TC2 control software interface, LOOMIMG, that implements traditional shaft loom logic as a digital, interactive weaving draft. Our tests with two experienced weavers suggest that this facilitates not only a creative space that is workable and exploratory, but also access to traditional weaving knowledge built on the foundation of shaft looms. The interactive weaving draft also offers the versatility to emulate shaft looms with customised shaft numbers and sizes, tie-ups that can be modified on the fly, digitally controlled treadling, and the ability to work with algorithmic logic in a weaving draft. We propose a broader reconsideration of the capability of existing fabrication machines through the semantic space of textile practices, and consider how the ‘language’ of textile making might be transferable to digital craftsmanship.
Keywords
Weaving; Weaving draft; Semantic space; Live coding
DOI
10.21606/TI-2026.113
Citation
Lin, P., McLean, A., Milne, H., Vorselen, F.,and Andersen, K.(2026) LOOMING between shaft looms and a TC2 Jacquard Loom - A Serendipitous Expedition with Live Weaving, in Jane Scott, Sophie Skach, and Rebecca Stewart (eds.), Textile Intersections 2026, 17-18 September 2026, London, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/TI-2026.113
Conference Track
researchpapers
Included in
LOOMING between shaft looms and a TC2 Jacquard Loom - A Serendipitous Expedition with Live Weaving
This paper describes an artistic exploration of the potential for more lively engagements with a TC2 digital Jacquard loom. We listened to the loom to enable control of every warp thread in real time, allowing live manipulation of the patterns. This exposed us to the cognitive challenge of designing live for 2 to the power of 1320 warp possibilities. To address this, we made a customised TC2 control software interface, LOOMIMG, that implements traditional shaft loom logic as a digital, interactive weaving draft. Our tests with two experienced weavers suggest that this facilitates not only a creative space that is workable and exploratory, but also access to traditional weaving knowledge built on the foundation of shaft looms. The interactive weaving draft also offers the versatility to emulate shaft looms with customised shaft numbers and sizes, tie-ups that can be modified on the fly, digitally controlled treadling, and the ability to work with algorithmic logic in a weaving draft. We propose a broader reconsideration of the capability of existing fabrication machines through the semantic space of textile practices, and consider how the ‘language’ of textile making might be transferable to digital craftsmanship.