Jacquard Woven Fabric: A History

The quest to weave patterns into fabric are as old as time––their colors and outlines oftentimes told captivating stories. At the dawn of the Industrial Age in the eighteenth century the practice became laborious, tedious and highly labor intensive. Born into a family of weavers, Joseph-Marie Jacquard inherited his family’s weaving company. He wanted and needed a quicker way to create increasingly more intricate patterns in fabric because the current system of production almost ate up every profit to be made in the industry.

So Joseph-Marie invented the Jacquard Loom which eliminated the need for the drawboy to sit inside the loom in order to lift or position a number of threads according to the orders of the master weaver. Instead, Jacquard automated this process so that anyone might create the most intricate and beautiful designs by using a system of punch cards and hooks. His invention was interrupted by the French Revolution but afterwards, he completed the loom in the year 1801. The Jacquard Loom cut back on the amount of human labor required in the fabric industry and also allowed for the mass production of the most exquisite patterns, providing the perfect design solution for your home.