Beater (Weaving)

A beater, also called a batten, is a weaving tool used to push each new pass of weft yarn firmly into place against the fabric already woven, keeping the weave even and tightly packed. On many looms the beater is a frame built into the loom itself, swung by the weaver after each shuttle pass, but in smaller hand-weaving techniques such as inkle weaving and tablet weaving the beater is sometimes combined with the shuttle into a single hand-held tool, and on a rigid heddle loom the beating function is built into the heddle itself rather than existing as a separate part.