A visit to the CHICO weaving mill: where the shuttle flips back and forth

Warp beam, werft and shuttle. Laity may assign these technical terms to the hunter's language or seafaring. Professionals like Kerstin know: This is about weaving. And it 's these words and the utensils that Kerstin and her two colleagues use every day to make the seemingly impossible come true: They make finished single and double hammocks as well as hammock chairs from single threads. In the blog post, Kerstin gives you a look behind the scenes of the CHICO weaving mill and reveals how many woven hammocks see the light of day there every day.

3 looms, 3 products

When you enter the CHICO weaving mill, you are greeted by a lot of sunlight that falls through the large windows. Immediately afterwards the gaze wanders to the center, to the three most important protagonists of this production step: Three looms set the tone or set tha pace here. One for each of our three main products: In addition to the single hammock, we also manufacture double hammocks and hammock chairs. In the CHICO weaving mill, wich is right next to the twisting mill, there is also space for creels or bobbin racks, on which 20 different, colored bobbins are waiting for the different patterns. Finally. there are tall shelveson the wooden floor in which around 25 different cotton and polyester patterns are stacked. Here, between loose threads and finished woven hammocks, which are created through a lot of manual labor, Kerstin has been working every day for 1.5 years.

Two to three hammock an hour

In the morning she first takes a look at the shelves: the type af hammock or hammock chair that will run out next has to be reproduced first. Kerstin then prepares the spinle frame with all the coils she needs for the product. And for the following work steps, technikal vocabulary is equired: The loom is equipped with warp threads that run lengthways and are wound on the warp beam. Each of these threads runs through a comb, so as not to slip, and is guided by a strand that is attached to a shaft. This lifting element first pulls one half of the threads upwards, then the other. The so-called archer is guided with the weft thread at right angles to it. Especially when it comes to hand weaving, the name "Schiffchen" has established itself instead of a shooter. This load-bearing element owes its name to its apperance: it glides through the threads like a flat boat and carries the bobbin for the weft thread, also known as the weft, inside. The loom now shoots the shuttle throughthe so-called shed, i.e. the space that is createdbetween the raised and lowered warp threads. Once it whizzes in one direction, then again in the other, creating the fabric. It takes around 20 to 25 minutes for a hammock to be ready, although the double hammocks take a little longer. Kerstin makes two to three products in one hour.

She knows her way around with a comb and sissors

In total, 800,000 meters of individual threads are processed in the CHICO weaving mill per month and 1,200 meters of finished fabric are created. According to Kerstin, this primarily requires a certain dexterity and fine motor skills as well as patience. „But the most important thing is to enjoy it. Anyone who brings joy can actually do anything“, she is sure. And as a career changer, she must finally know. Even if it has a certain advantage over others. Kerstin has been familiar with the comb and sissors, which are important instruments for weaving, for a long time: The CHICO employee previously worked as a hairgresser for 30 years. Now, however, she no longer beautifies hair with these tools, but uses it to produce our exclusive, woven hammocks, which also require a lot of manual work. „I like working with this high-quality product, because anyone can do something with hammocks. If you see a CHICO hammock anywhere, you just have to sit in it“, she says. She doesn't have one herself, „but we have just dug up the garden and I have akready chosen a place for it.“ So it's only a matter of time before she too will let her soul dangle in it.