Glossary

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  • A long, narrow ceremonial banner, either patterned with local batik, hand painted, or (later) printed and imported from the Netherlands.
  • In technical weaving terms, satin is a type of basic weave having warps or wefts floats with interrupted bindings. It is also a general term (not used in this book) for fabrics with silky and glossy appearance.
  • A funeral shroud from Kalumpang (Galumpang) Sulawesi, usually decorated with bold abstract geometric designs in warp ikat.
  • A Malay term for a shoulder-cloth.
  • The long edges of a woven textile that run parallel to the warp, created by turning the weft at the edge.

  • The process of cultivating, harvesting, and processing silk from silkworms, primarily the domesticated caterpillar Bobyx mori, which is a type of moth. Silkworms are fed a diet of mulberry leaves, increasing their body weight nearly 10,000 times in their month-long lifespan. The silkworms extrude a protein-based liquid that when exposed to air becomes the filament that creates their cocoon. The cocoons are soaked in hot water to soften them and the filament is drawn out and wound onto a reel. Several filaments are drawn out simultaneously and twisted together in a process much like plying.

  • This term refers to the process whereby a translucent accessory fabric is stitched in place allowing the ground fabric to remain visible beneath. See appliqué.

  • This term is used variously in textile literature to mean a heddle or the mechanism of heddle plus lifting device and treadle. In this book we use this term to mean the entire mechanism.
  • A temporary opening between warps, made during the weaving process for the insertion of weft. See also natural shed, counter shed, and pattern shed.
  • A stick used to save (hold open) a shed (opening) in the warp for weft insertion.
  • A tool for making an opening in a warp, for insertion of a weft.
  • A tool used to insert the weft during weaving. Shuttle designs vary, but are commonly boat-shaped devices that enclose a spool with weft wound onto it.
  • A protein fiber obtained from an insect cocoon, most commonly the cocoons of the silk moth Bombyx mori.
  • A weave structure with one set of warp and weft. Also called basic weave, such as plain weave, twill, and satin.
  • A type of tapestry where the wefts in adjacent color sections turn back at their terminal warps. The lack of a lateral connection between color sections creates the slits in the textile that give it its name. See tapestry.

  • See tapestry weave. The discontinuous weft yarns turn back around adjacent warp yarns, forming slits between the color areas.

  • Textiles normally of silk , decorated with supplementary wefts that include gold and silver metallic yarns. Mainly associated with aristocratic traditions of Hindu Bali and Islamic Sumatra.
  • Trade in spices, particularly pepper and nutmeg, pre-dating the colonial period and eventually linking Indonesia with the West during the colonial era.
  • A stick used for spinning thread, sometimes weighted with a whorl made of wood, bone, stone or clay. In southeast Asia, the fluffed cotton fiber is drawn out with the fingers, then twisted into yarn with the aid of the spindle, which may be spun suspended in the air (drop spindle) or in a bowl on ground. The spun yarn accumulates around the base of the spindle. The spinning wheel, which is also found in the region, is more efficient for preparing yarn. But the spindle whorl persists in eastern parts of Indonesia because of its simplicity and portability.
  • The process by which a fluffy fiber such as cotton or wool is simultaneously spun and drawn out into a long thread.