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Local Specialties
In the early 18th century, particular localities in England, Ireland and various European countries had their own patented weaves --- twills and patterns --- and though the work was most often done in the weavers' homes, it was regulated by guilds under government charter. The weaves were determined by the number of warp threads, running the length of the loom, crossed by each woof (or weft) thread, running across as a shuttle was thrown through between the loom's "harnesses" of warp.
The Flying Shuttle
In 1733, Englishman John Kay invented a shuttle that was thrown across by a spring-loaded lever. As with the earlier shuttles, woof yarn spun out from a bobbin contained in the shuttle. The flying shuttle made weaving so much faster that by the 1750s, spinners of wool, cotton, and linen could hardly keep up with the weavers. It also allowed for weaving on wider looms.
Mechanization
Several advances in spinning technology, at least for English and European small-industry production, caught up to and outpaced the flying shuttle. The first completely mechanical loom wasn't invented until 1785, by another Englishman. Edmund Cartwright. With that development and the independence of the American market, producers of raw materials were hard pressed to keep up with the productivity of both spinners and weavers.
Coverlets
One of the best-known American 18th-century woven goods is the graphic two-color coverlet, usually one color woven with white and somewhat resembling tapestries. They were made by well-off home crafters and itinerant weavers on looms with four sets of warp threads, which were the white ones, in cotton or linen. The shuttle, passed through to make a geometric weave, bore naturally dyed wool. The looms were narrow, so one of these "double shot" coverlets always has a seam down its middle. The mechanical jacquard loom was not invented until after the 18th century was over.
Tapestries
The intricate pictorial weaving of a tapestry starts with essentially the same warp thread as plainer weaving, but instead of a single shuttle of woof thrown across, each section of colored yarn is carried on a separate bobbin, or spindle, and wrapped around each warp thread to match a sketch of the design. Tapestries were made by essentially the same techniques from the 12th through the 18th century and on into the 19th.