Production

Our designers will come up with a weave construction that is appropriate to the product. Usually it will be the first time we have woven this combination so it keeps it exciting. Shoukath Ali has been collecting antique weaving books for the last 40 years and these are often used for inspiration. We then source a suitable yarn, which matches the requirements that the product will need; the fabric must be durable, aesthetically pleasing, and have a great tactile quality.

Once the fabric has been washed and made up into a product it is then tested by us using it day to day. If we feel the product has a place in the AaRa range we will convert the designs to a more modern computer program for fine-tuning and documentation. This is then converted to a pattern card and production will begin. The fabric is then given a name (not just a number) and its life begins.

Warping consists of the arranging of yarn threads in long parallel lengths of equal tension, onto a beam in preparation for weaving.

During the warping process, cones of yarn are individually placed onto a rack called a creel. From this creel yarn passes through tension and spacing devices and through a leasing reed, which separates the yarn threads and keeps them in the correct order before being wound onto a warping beam. Once the warp has been wound onto the beam it will be transferred to the loom and tied on. Depending on the width and thickness of yarn, the warp could have anything from 800 to 5000 threads. This is sometimes done by hand and all just in a couple of days work! An average warp is about 5000 to 10,000 meters.

We currently weave on 2 different types of looms. The Picanol looms, Sulzer Looms. All of Mungo’s looms have been restored, gifted or purchased from Mills that have either closed down or upgraded their production. We still see much mileage and fascination in these looms and they prove to us daily of the quality and intricacy of fabrics they are still able to produce.

The basic principle of weaving involves using a loom to interlace two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp, which runs longitudinally, and the weft that crosses it. The product of this, is fabric. One warp thread is called an Reed and one weft thread is called a pick.

Once the warp is finished and is now woven material, it needs to be inspected and finished. Inspection consists of the fabric being rolled over a light box to highlight any faults that may have occurred during weaving. The faults can be mended with needle and thread.

From here it goes to finishing. Depending on the fabric, different processes occur. It will either be a simple wash and dry, or sent to an outside company where they finish entire rolls of fabrics through large bath washes, using different printing, finishing and dying techniques, to avoid creasing and create evenness in the fabric.

CMT refers to the making up and sewing of the products.

Each item is individually measured and cut by one of our cutters and then passed on to the seamstresses who will hem, join and add finishing touches to all of the AaRa products.

Finally the pressers will have final inspection of the product by ironing and snipping any loose threads. These could be the final hands that touch the item before being shipped off to all corners of the world.

it will be an honest reflection on the process you see before you. One of design, detail, craftsmanship and connecting back to how some of your everyday items are produced.

It highlights the importance of an industry with an ancient history that is still relevant today. Using natural fibers, creating employment within our factory and producing products made to last.