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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaving

Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling. (Weft or woof is an old English word meaning "that which is woven".[1]%29 The method in which these threads are inter woven affects the characteristics of the cloth.[2]

Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.[3]

The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill.[4] Woven cloth can be plain (in one colour or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs.

There are some indications that weaving was already known in the Paleolithic era. An indistinct textile impression has been found at the Dolní Věstonice site.[12]

Neolithic textile production is supported by a 2013 find of linen cloth in burial F. 7121 at the Çatalhöyük site[13] suggested to be from around 7000 BCE[14] with further finds from the advanced civilisation preserved in the pile dwellings in Switzerland.[citation needed] One extant fragment from the Neolithic was found in Fayum, at a site dated to about 5000 BCE.[15] This fragment is woven at about 12 threads by 9 threads per cm in a plain weave. Flax was the predominant fibre in Egypt at this time (3600 BCE) and continued popularity in the Nile Valley, though wool became the primary fibre used in other cultures around 2000 BCE.[citation needed]

By biblical times,[a] weaving was known in all the great civilisations, but no clear line of causality has been established. Early looms required two people to create the shed, and one person to pass through the filling. Early looms wove a fixed length of cloth, but later ones allowed warp to be wound out as the fell progressed. The weavers were often children or slaves. Weaving became simpler when the warp was sized.

Colonial America relied heavily on Great Britain for manufactured goods of all kinds. British policy was to encourage the production of raw materials in colonies and discourage manufacturing. The Wool Act 1699 restricted the export of colonial wool.[20][21] As a result many people wove cloth from locally produced fibres. The colonists also used wool, cotton and flax (linen) for weaving, though hemp could be made into serviceable canvas and heavy cloth. They could get one cotton crop each year; until the invention of the cotton gin it was a labour-intensive process to separate the seeds from the fibres.

A plain weave was preferred as the added skill and time required to make more complex weaves kept them from common use. Sometimes designs were woven into the fabric but most were added after weaving using wood block prints or embroidery.