<P> The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution . It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics , and it could be mechanized , allowing for automatic machine looms . The flying shuttle , which was patented by John Kay ( 1704 -- c. 1779 ) in 1733 , greatly sped up the previous hand process and halved the labour force . Where a broad - cloth loom previously required a weaver on each side , it could now be worked by a single operator . Until this point the textile industry had required four spinners to service one weaver . Kay 's innovation , in wide use by the 1750s , greatly increased this disparity . </P>
<P> The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution . It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics , and it could be mechanized , allowing for automatic machine looms . The flying shuttle , which was patented by John Kay ( 1704 -- c. 1779 ) in 1733 , greatly sped up the previous hand process and halved the labour force . Where a broad - cloth loom previously required a weaver on each side , it could now be worked by a single operator . Until this point the textile industry had required four spinners to service one weaver . Kay 's innovation , in wide use by the 1750s , greatly increased this disparity . </P>
what invention allowed a single weaver to weaver much wider fabrics
what invention allowed a single weaver to weaver much wider fabrics
flying shuttle
flying shuttle