· Warping: this means preparing the warp by rolling all the warp-yarns on to a beam, under the same tension, strictly parallel to each other and in a certain order.

· Pirning: the weft (cross-wise) yarns are put on to a pirn, which is then placed inside the shuttle in order to lay the weft-yarn between the warp-yarns.

In the past twenty years, enormous strides have been made in improving not only the machines involved in the preparation of weaving, but in the loom itself. Non-stop weaving has been made possible by the introduction of automatic pirnchanging. And there are now shuttleless looms, (more properly called weaving machines). These machines use lances, or projectiles, or a jet of compressed air to shoot the weft-yarn between the warp-yarns, instead of the traditional shuttle, and at vastly higher speeds. This increased automation also meant that one weaving-worker can now look after 20 looms at the same time, instead of only 4 traditional looms. This has consequently led to much greater yield and productivity.

Some of the modern weaving machines are large enough to weave fabrics 3 metres wide. In addition to their greater speeds these machines also offer the advantage for the weaver of enabling him to divide this large width into several smaller widths, for example 3 times 90 centimetres.

Although modem weaving machinery has made enormous progress, certain specific types of silk can only be made on ordinary looms, as they are too complex to be woven on highly-automated machines, running at very high speeds. This is notably the case for high-novelty fabrics, and even more so for the reproduction of traditional fabrics used for wallcoverings, upholstery etc.

Many of these fabrics are produced on Jacquard looms, called after their Lyonnais inventor, who in 1801 perfected the existing system of patternweaving, by the use of perforated cards. The Jacquard loom makes it possible to weave intricate and multi-coloured patterns directly into the fabric, and thus create highly elaborate and handsome fabrics.

As soon as they come off the loom, the fabrics are thoroughly inspected so as to eliminate any defects that may have occurred during weaving.

· The first category includes those fabrics made from yarns which have been dyed beforehand: these fabrics are known as yarn-dyed or dyed-woven (eg, taffeta, duchess satin, many pattern-woven fabrics)

· The second type includes all those fabrics that are dyed after weaving, known as piece-dyed fabrics (eg, crepes, twills, etc).

In both cases, yarn-dyed or piece-dyed, the dyeing operation is always preceded by boiling-off, a process in which the gum (sericin) is removed from the fibre. This results in a weight loss of 20-25%. In some cases, this loss is made up for by the addition of vegetable or mineral substances, which the fibre absorbs in order to have better "body" when this is required for certain end-uses.

· Roller-printing: the roller-printing method was invented by the Scotsman Bell in 1785. The fabric is printed mechanically by passing through two rollers which have been engraved with the required design. This method is ideally suited to very long runs, and so is not used very often for silk fabrics.