Point twill weaving draft

Point twill threads the shafts up and back, 1-2-3-4-3-2, so the twill line turns into a V. Treadled the same way, the Vs become diamonds, the bird’s eye pattern. With 8 shafts the diamonds become larger.

Threading
Tie-up
Drawdown
Treadling

Click squares in the threading, tie-up and treadling to edit. Rising shed: a filled tie-up square lifts that shaft.

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Try a different treadling for goose eye and other variations.

How a weaving draft works

A weaving draft is the recipe for a woven structure on a shaft loom. It has three parts that you set and one that is worked out. The threading shows which shaft each warp end passes through. The tie-up shows which shafts are connected to each treadle. The treadling shows which treadle to press for each pass of the weft, called a pick. From those three, the drawdown shows where warp or weft is on top for every crossing. WeaveDraft uses a rising shed: a filled square in the tie-up means that treadle lifts that shaft, and every warp end on a lifted shaft appears on the surface.

Reading the drawdown

Dark squares, in the warp colour, show warp on top; light squares show weft. Plain weave makes a checkerboard. A straight twill steps one end per pick, forming a diagonal. Point threading reverses the twill so it zigzags, and treadling the same way turns zigzags into diamonds. The stats line reports the longest float, the number of threads one yarn passes over without being tied down. Floats longer than about five threads can snag in use.

Using presets

Presets give you a starting point. Plain weave and basket weave are the simplest structures. Straight twill works on any number of shafts and lifts half of them per pick. Point twill gives bird’s eye on four shafts and larger diamonds on eight. Rosepath, a classic Scandinavian threading, makes small stars and diamonds when woven as drawn in, and many other motifs with different treadlings. Change shafts, treadles, ends and picks to suit your loom.

Editing your own draft

Click a square in the threading to move that end to another shaft, or click it again to leave it empty. Click tie-up squares to connect or disconnect shafts, and treadling squares to choose the treadle for each pick. Warp and weft colour pickers let you preview the look of the cloth. Your draft stays in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

What is bird’s eye?

A small diamond from point threading and point treadling on 4 shafts.

What is goose eye?

A larger diamond with a longer point repeat.

Do points cause long floats?

At the turns floats can reach three; the stats line shows them.

Is WeaveDraft free?

Yes, with no sign-up or ads.

Is my draft uploaded?

No. It stays in this browser.

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