Shuttle Part

The shuttle is involved in the picking process where it is passed through the warp ends, placing weft thread whilst doing so. When the shuttle is passed, this is called a pick. Weft thread is wound on to pirns that are placed in a shuttle and a smaller type of shuttle is used at Whitchurch Silk Mill because of the type of weft being very fine. The steel tongue inside the shuttle contains the pirn and steel tips which lead the way through the gap in the warp threads. There is a part of the loom called a shuttle race where the shuttle then travels along this for every pick. A picking stick shoots the shuttle to both sides of the loom. Whilst resting after each pick, the shuttle sits within an item called a shuttle box.