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Weave design

Characteristics of Warp
▪Runs parallel to selvedge

▪Usually thin (fine) yarn

▪Stronger

▪Has more twist

▪Greater in numbers

▪Straighter and more parallel

▪If filament and staple yarns used in fabric, the warp is

usually the filament yarn.

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Characteristics of Weft
▪90 degrees / perpendicular to the selvedge

▪Bulkier

▪Less strength

▪Low twist

▪More hairiness

▪If filament and staple yarns used in fabric, staple is usually

used in the weft / fill.

Weave Design
Fabric weave design implies the
pattern of interlacement between
the warp and weft yarns.

The design influences the

aesthetics as well as the properties
of the woven fabrics. Ends

The design is constructed on point

paper by using cross (×) and blank.
Picks

The cross means that the end is

passing over the pick and vice Ends
Healds

versa Warp rib design

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Passage of warp yarn on loom

Drafting

Drafting determines the allocation of

ends to healds i.e. which end will be
controlled by which heald.

Generally, drafting is made in such a way

that minimum number of healds is
required to produce a particular design.

In case of drafting, a cross means that

Warp rib design
the heald is up and a blank means that
the heald is down.

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Straight Draft
Diagonal line is created by the crosses

This implies that end one is controlled by heald one,

end two is controlled by heald two and so on.

e.g. Plain weaves

Pointed Draft
Pointed line is created by the crosses

The repeat of the design contains more than one ends

with similar interlacement pattern.

For example, ends 1 and 7 are allocated to one heald

(heald number 4).

e.g. Twill weaves

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Skip Draft
For heavy (high areal density) plain woven fabrics, the
number of ends is very high.

Skip draft uses four healds instead of two healds

Hence, number of ends controlled by a single heald

becomes less

Lifting Plan
Lifting plan shows the position of healds (up or
down) for different peaks i.e. which heald or healds
will be lifted in which pick.

Lifting plan is shown at the right hand side of weave

design.

Warp rib interlacement pattern Warp rib design

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Skip Draft
Lifting plan shows that for the 1st
pick, healds 1 and 2 are in up
position and healds 3 and 4 are in
down position (opposite in second
pick)

Therefore, healds 1 and 2 (or healds

3 and 4) can be tied or coupled
together with ropes or strings and
their shedding operation can be
controlled by a single cam.

Thus, skip drafting helps to reduce

the number of mechanical
components (cam, follower, treadle
lever etc.) in the loom.

Simple Weaves

The following weaves are the most popular in woven

fabrics.

Plain weave and its derivatives

Twill weave
Satin and Sateen weave

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3/2Twill

Plain

2/2 Twill

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5 end sateen

Plain Weave

Simplest and most

commonly used weave.

The repeat size is 2×2,

which implies that the
weave repeats on two
ends and two picks.

It gives maximum number

of interlacement and firm
fabric

Higher crimp due to more

interlacements

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Derivatives of Plain Weave

Warp rib
Weft rib
Matt (basket)

Warp Rib
Two neighboring picks move in a group

Prominent ribs become visible in the warp direction

The picks undergo more number of interlacement

than the ends and therefore higher weft crimp

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Warp Rib
Warp rib have more
tearing strength in
the warp direction
as compared to the
plain woven fabrics

Two neighboring
picks resist the
tearing force
together in a pair
resulting in higher
tearing strength in
warp

Weft Rib
Two neighboring ends move in a group

Prominent ribs become visible in the weft direction

The ends undergo more number of interlacement

than the picks and therefore higher warp crimp

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Weft Rib
Weft rib have more tearing strength in the weft
direction as compared to the plain woven fabrics

Matt or Basket Weave

Multiple ends and picks interlace with each other in a
group.

In 2×2 matt weave, two ends and two picks form pairs
and interlace in the form of plain weave

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Matt or Basket Weave

Tearing strength of matt woven fabrics is higher in

both directions as compared to that of equivalent
plain woven fabrics.

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Twill Weave

Twill weave is characterized by diagonal line in

the fabric which is created by the floats of the
ends or picks.

Twill Weave
Based on the
prominence of warp
or weft floats, twill
weaves are classified
as follows.

Warp faced: 2/1, 3/1,

3/ 2

Weft faced: 1/2, 1/3,

2/3

Balanced twill: 2/2, 3/

3, 2/1 / 1/2

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Twill Weave
In warp faced twill, the floats of ends predominate
over that of picks.

In contrast, the floats of picks predominate over that

of ends in weft faced twill.

In case of balanced twill, the floats of ends and picks

are equal.

Twill Weave
Twill weave has lesser interlacements than the plain
weave. Thus the crimp in yarns for twill weave will be
lower than that of plain weave.

For equivalent fabrics, 3/1 twill will give higher

tearing strength than followed by 2/1 twill and plain.

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Pointed Twill
There is no continuous line. However, the twill lines
change directions at specified intervals and thus
create pointed effect on the fabric.

Pointed Twill
The 4th end is considered as the mirror line and the
design is reversed such that the interlacement
pattern for the ends 5, 6 and 7 becomes identical
with those of ends 3, 2 and 1, respectively.

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Angle of Twill
The angle made by the twill line with the horizontal
direction (weft direction) is known as angle of twill or
twill angle

It is dependent on pick spacing, end spacing and

move number of the design.

Angle of Twill

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Satin and Sateen Weaves

Satin and sateen weaves are characterized by the
following features:

Only one binding point in each end and pick within

the repeat

No continuous twill line

Smooth appearance

Satin and Sateen Weaves

Satin weave is warp faced whereas sateen weave
weft faced.

The fabrics have very smooth and lustrous

appearance which is created by the long floats of
either ends or picks.

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Satin and Sateen Weaves

To make the effect of the warp floats more prominent,

following steps are adopted.

Use of coarser warp threads than the weft threads

Use of higher ends per inch (epi) than the (ppi)

Satin and Sateen Weaves

For the construction of sateen weave, a feasible
move number is chosen.

Using this move number, only those points are

marked on the point paper where the end is floating
over the pick.

Sateen weave (weft faced) can be converted to

satin weave (warp faced) by interchanging the
crosses with blanks and vice versa.

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Satin and Sateen Weaves

For a seven-end sateen weave, probable move
numbers are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Satin and Sateen Weaves

But, move number 1 and 6 (n-1, where n is the repeat
size of the weave) produce twill weaves.

Only move numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 produce valid

sateen weaves.

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Satin and Sateen Weaves

If move number is 1 or n-1 then twill weave is produced.

If a six-end sateen weave is designed with move numbers of 2,

3 or 4, then following interlacement pattern will be produced

But, there are certain ends without any interlacement.

Therefore, 6 end regular sateen (or satin) weave is not feasible

Rules for Making Sateen Weave

1. Move number 1 and (n-1) cannot be used as twill
weaves are produced.

2. Move number and repeat size of the design

should not have any common factor.

Eg. 6 end sateen does not follow both the rules

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Some Fancy Weaves:Honeycomb

Honeycomb weave
shows prominent
diamond shapes on
the fabrics created
by the long floats of
ends.

Honeycomb weave
having a repeat size
of 8×8

Some Fancy Weaves:Honeycomb

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Some Fancy Weaves: Mock Leno

Some of the ends have
frequent interlacement
whereas the other ends
have long floats.

The fabric shows small

holes created by the
grouping of threads.

A mock leno weave having

a repeat size of 10×10

Only four healds are

needed

Some Fancy Weaves: Mock Leno

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Some Fancy Weaves: Huck-a-Back

Similarity with Mock
leno.

Top-right and bottom-

left corners are having
similar interlacement
pattern like Mock leno.

However, the remaining

two quadrants have
plain weave like
interlacement pattern.

A 10×10 Huck-a-back
design.

Some Fancy Weaves: Huck-a-Back

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