John Kay patented the flying shuttle in 1733. Pulling cords moved the shuttle between the ends of the loom, replacing the need to pass it through the warp by hand each time.

The flying shuttle made weaving faster and made wider cloth easier to produce. As weaving capacity increased, the shortage of spun yarn became more apparent.

Operation

In a typical frame loom, as used previous to the invention of the flying shuttle, the operator sat with the newly woven cloth before them, using treadles or some other mechanism to raise and lower the heddles, which opened the shed in the warp threads. They then had to reach forward while holding the shuttle in one hand and pass this through the shed; the shuttle carried a bobbin for the weft. The shuttle then had to be caught in the other hand, the shed closed, and the beater pulled in against the fell to push the weft into place. This action (called a "pick") required regularly bending forward over the fabric.

More importantly, the coordination between the throwing and catching of the shuttle required that the weaver was weaving narrow cloth (typically 60 inches (150 cm) or less). If the loom was for weaving broad cloth multiple weavers were needed: one on the left side at the shed, and one on the right side at the shed (and sometimes, one to operate the treadles). These two reached across the loom, passing the shuttle back and forth through the shed.

The flying shuttle employs a smooth board, called the "race," which runs, side to side, along the front of the beater, forming a track on which the shuttle runs. The lower threads of the shed rest on the track and the shuttle slides over them. At each end of the race, there is a box which catches the shuttle at the end of its journey, and which contains a mechanism for propelling the shuttle on its return trip (which may be yanked into action by the cord from the handheld picking-stick, or fully automated)

Spread

Despite the patent, Kay was unable to control the spread of his invention. He (and, initially, his partners) would launch numerous patent infringement lawsuits, but such efforts bore little fruit and could not sustain the cost of litigation. Fly shuttle manufacturers formed "The Shuttle Club", a syndicate formed by patent pirates to fight Kay's legal challenges.

By the 1750s, the flying shuttle had spread widely across English weaving districts and was soon adopted on the continent as well. In France, Kay was invited to promote the device and provided demonstrations to French textile interests, although adoption there was slowed by guild resistance and institutional constraints.

In 1788, Scottish weavers Joseph Alexander and James McKevin were likely the first to introduce the flying shuttle to The United States.

Social effects

The increase in production due to the flying shuttle exceeded the capacity of the spinning industry of the day and prompted the development of powered spinning machines. Beginning with the spinning jenny and the water frame until ultimately culminating in the spinning mule, which could produce strong, fine thread in the quantities needed these innovations transformed the textile industry in Great Britain. The innovation was seen as a threat to the livelihood of spinners & weavers, which resulted in an uprising that had Kay's patent largely ignored. It is often incorrectly written that Kay was attacked and fled to France, but in fact he simply moved there to attempt to rent out his looms, a business model that had failed him in England.

The flying shuttle produced a new source of injuries to the weaving process; if deflected from its path, it could be shot clear of the machine, potentially striking and injuring workers. Turn-of-the-century injury reports abound with instances in which eyes were lost or other injuries sustained and, in several instances (for example, an extended exchange in 1901), the British House of Commons was moved to take up the issue of installing guards and other contrivances to reduce these injuries.