Shuttle (weaving)

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The simplest shuttle is a flat, narrow piece of wood with notches on the ends to hold the weft yarn. A shuttle in weaving is a device used with a loom that is thrown or passed back and forth between the yarn threads of the Warp weaving warp in order to weave in the weft or woof Shuttles are often made of wood from the Flowering Dogwood because it is so hard, resists splintering, and can be polished to a very smooth finish.

Originally shuttles were passed back and forth. However in 1733 John Kay invented a loom which incorporated a flying shuttle. This shuttle could be thrown through the warp which allowed much wider cloth to be woven much more quickly and made the development of machine looms much simpler.