Dobby
An attachment that lifts chosen heddles in a set order, giving small woven patterns such as tiny checks, dots and diamonds.
Also: dobby loom, dobby attachment
A dobby is a pattern mechanism fixed to a loom. It is controlled by pegs on a chain or by a row of punched cards, and each row of pegs tells the loom which groups of warp threads to raise for one pass of the weft. A dobby can only handle a limited number of heddle groups, so it makes small, repeating designs: pin dots, small diamonds, stripes, little geometric figures. Bigger and freer designs, such as a flower with leaves or a full pallu, need a jacquard. Many cotton and silk-cotton sarees with bordered patterns are dobby woven.