Apparatus and method for holding and feeding weft threads to the gripper of a weaving machine with drives, with which clamps for the weft threads are moved on motion paths into respectively a feed position, a transfer position and a ready position. The motion path of each clamp comprises a shape that is closed in itself. In that regard, the motion beginning of at least one of the clamps out of its ready position into its feed position takes place in a time segment that extends from the beginning of the beat-up motion of the weaving reed until the beat-up of the previously inserted weft thread against the beat-up line of the weaving machine.

A weft threads saving device for shuttle-less weaving machines includes a comb (2), a temple (3), a guiding plane (6), a fixed blade (4), a movable blade (5) of a shear (17), a fabric winding cylinder (8) and a suction system (7) connected both to the guiding plane (6) and to the fixed blade (4) of the shear (17).

An elastic woven fabric comprising weft and warp yarns, the weft yarns including elastic composite yarns each of which comprises an elastic core yarn and a sheath yarn covering the elastic core yarn, and the warp yarns including chemical fiber yarns and/or natural fiber yarns. Each of the elastic composite yarns is in a form of a singly-covered yarn in which the elastic core yarn is covered by a single layer of the sheath yarn helicoidally wound around a periphery of the elastic core yarn, a number of turns of the sheath yarn per 1 meter of the elastic core yarn being in a range of 1,000 to 2,500 T/m. A stretching magnification ratio of each of the elastic composite yarns, in the elastic woven fabric in a weaving process, is retained equal to or less than 1.30 folds based on the elastic composite yarn before weaving.

A device for cutting off weft yarn (27) during successive weaving cycles, comprising a cutting element (1) and a rotatable detaining element (2c), (13) which is forced to a detaining position by a spring force in order to detain the yarn and can rotate, under the influence of a tensile force exerted by a rapier on the detained yarn, counter to the spring force to a non-detaining position in which the yarn can be moved further towards the cutting element (1) in order to be cut. Such a device is efficient and can be made to be more reliable and more compact than existing devices. The invention also relates to a weaving loom provided with such a device.

Apparatus and method for holding and feeding weft threads (1, 2) to the gripper (6) of a weaving machine with drives (25, 29), with which clamps (11, 12) for the weft threads (1, 2) are moved on motion paths (35, 36) into respectively a feed position (16, 19), a transfer position (17, 20) and a ready position (18, 21). The motion path (35, 36) of each clamp comprises a shape that is closed in itself. In that regard, the motion beginning of at least one of the clamps (11, 12) out of its ready position (18, 21) into its feed position (16, 19) takes place in a time segment that extends from the beginning of the beat-up motion of the weaving reed (9) until the beat-up of the previously inserted weft thread (1, 2) against the beat-up line (10) of the weaving machine.