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Jacquard is a category of fabric that is defined by the process of weaving that creates it. The style of weaving, called Jacquard weaving, allows virtually any loom to systematically raise independent warp threads to create a textured pattern. By adding an attachment to mechanical looms, Jacquard weaving lends increased versatility and diversity to the weaving process and allows manufacturers to have greater control over warp yarn.

The technique and attachment are named after their creator, Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French weaver and merchant who lived during the late 1700s and early 1800s. His invention is considered to be one of the most important advancements in the history of programmed weaving.

Before Jacquards invention, fabric that required raised patterns had to be made by hand through a very labour- and time-intensive process on a machine called a draw loom. Jacquards invention was an expansion of Bouchons development that allowed patterns to be produced quicker and more efficiently, making textured patterned fabric accessible to a wider audience for a lower price.

Because jacquard is not a type of material but rather a style of weaving, there are number of fibres that are commonly used to create jacquard textiles. The jacquard loom is still in use today, used to weave many specialized fabric including brocades, damask, and velvet.

Cloth woven on looms required expert weavers to create patterns and Jacquard was looking for a way to reproduce patterns more simply by mechanical means. Machines could produce cloth amazingly fast but could not reproduce patterns. He conceived of the notion of using punch cards to guide and control the weaving process.

Many fiercely opposed the new advance; especially silk weavers who feared mechanical processes would put them out of business. In fact, there were major riots in the latter half of the century by workers fearful of being replaced by machines.

The history of the jacquard loom is quite significant as well as surprising. It was invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in 1801 in Lyon, France, and may well have been one of the biggest influences leading to the industrial and technological revolutions. Jacquards invention in itself was based on improvements of older inventions by Buchon, Falcon and du Vancanson.

Intricate weaving at the time was a very laborious practice, often using young children to raise the harness so individual threads could show through to the front of the weaving. Jacquard sought to automate the process.

He combined the best parts of other inventions and by 1804, using punched cards, succeeded in building a practical machine. For the next six years, he was hounded by weavers who were afraid his invention would deprive children of an opportunity to work for the family. The opposition was so violent, he fled Lyons in fear of losing his life.

Jacquard was born into a family of weavers in 1752. The weaving profession was a long and tedious process, often taking long periods of time to produce the fine woven textiles of that era. When his parents passed away, Jacquard inherited the family weaving business.