A ribbon, sometimes known as a riband, is a thin strip of material, usually fabric but sometimes plastic or metal, that is used for ornamental binding and tying. Natural materials like silk, cotton, and jute, as well as synthetic materials like polyester, nylon, and polypropylene, are used to make cloth ribbons. Ribbon can be utilized for practical, decorative, or symbolic purposes. The ribbon is used in hair, around the body, and as decoration on non-human creatures, buildings, and packaging in cultures all over the world. Satin, organza, sheer, silk, velvet, and grosgrain are some of the most common materials used to produce ribbons.

Cloth ribbon manufacturing, like that of tapes, fringes, and other small wares, is a distinct branch of the textile industry. A ribbon loom’s most distinguishing characteristic is the simultaneous weaving of two or more webs in one loom frame, with contemporary looms capable of weaving up to forty thin textiles. The automatic action of the power-loom is required to influence the conjoined throwing of all the shuttles and the many other loom motions, and it is a surprising fact that the self-acting ribbon loom was known and widely used more than a century before Cartwright’s renowned innovation. A loom capable of weaving many narrow webs at once was recorded as being in use in Dantzig around the end of the 16th century. Similar looms were used at Leiden in 1620, causing so much unhappiness and violence among the weavers that the states-general were forced to restrict their usage. Throughout the century, the prohibition was repeated at different intervals, and the ribbon loom was outlawed in most of Europe’s major industrial centers at the same time. It was brought to London in 1676 under the name of the Dutch loom or engine loom, and although it created some controversy, it does not appear to have been outlawed. In 1745, the creator of the fly-shuttle, John Kay, received a patent for advancements in the ribbon loom alongside Joseph Stell. It has profited from advancements applied to weaving machines in general since that time.

Ribbon weaving is thought to have begun in the 11th century at St. Etienne (dep. Loire), and the town has remained the center of the industry in Europe. During the Huguenot Wars, ribbon-weavers from St. Etienne relocated to Basel, where they created an industry that rivaled that of the original home of the craft in contemporary times. C.M. Offray, a Frenchman from St. Etienne, transferred his ribbon business to the United States in the late 1800s and established “C.M. Offray & Sons, Inc,” which went on to become a major ribbon producer in North America. Krefeld, Germany’s ribbon capital, is known for producing black velvet ribbon, which is a specialty. In the United Kingdom. Ribbon-making is most popular in Coventry, but it is also practiced in Norwich and Leicester.

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