Basics of Jacquard design in Photoshop:

Drawing weaves and filling weaves in design, fixing proportions of design

Adjust how Photoshop works with images: Go to Edit -> Preferences -> General and
change Image
Interpolation to Nearest Neighbourg
Draw weaves


Make a new file, the size of the weave you are going to make: f.eg. 5 px x 5px

Show grids: View -> Show -> Pixel Grid and View -> Show -> Grid.

Adjust Grid: Go to Edit -> Preferences -> Guides, Grid & Slices and select:
Gridline every 1 pixels, Subdivisions: 1
You can select also: Grid -> Style -> Dots. This will make the most exact grid.

Using black color and pencil size 1 px, draw the weave. If the pencil is not
working correctly, check
in Brushes window, you shouldn´t have any of the options ticked.

Converting a warp faced weave to weft faced, and vice versa: Image -> Adjustment ->
Invert

Prepare the design:



Open a design for TC-1 (width 864 px) or for TC-2 (width 2276 px)

Make selvedges: Do Image -> Canvas Size and change the width into 880 pixels (TC-1)
or 3300 pixels
(TC-2). For extension, select a color not already existing in the design: Canvas
Extension color: Other > select a color.

Make sure your design has reduced amount of colors: Do image -> Mode -> Indexed
colors.
Photoshop should now say: Exact: The right amount of colors. If not, then reduce
the colors again.

Convert your design to rgb-color mode: Image -> Mode -> rgb

Fill the weaves in design


Open the weaves you are going to use and define them as pattern presets: edit ->
define pattern

Check the height of your design and weaves: The height of the weaves (in pixels)
should divide
evenly into the height of the design. (If the height of the design is 400, you can
use weaves that are
4,5,10, 8 or 16 pixels in height, but not weaves that are 6 or 7 pixels in height).
You can change the
height of your design to nearest value that suites for your weaves.

Adjust magic wand-tool: tolerance 0, dont mark anti-alias, contiguous or sample all
layers.

Select a color with magic wand and do: Layer -> New Fill Layer -> Pattern. Name the
layer so that
you will recognize it! (for example: Flower-petals). Color -> None, Mode -> Normal,
Opacity - > 100%.
Click ok. Now select the desired weave from the list. Scale 100%. You can mark link
with layer. Don´t
click Snap to origin. Click ok.

Repeat for all colors (also selvedges).

Changing the weaves: Double click the pattern icon in layers panel. Select new
weave from the list.
Continue until you are happy with the design

Selveges
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For 1 weft system, use f.eg. Reps structures, where warp is always going over one
weft
For 2 weft system, use f.eg. Panama or reps structures, where warp is always going
over two wefts
In TC-2, use looser edge structures than in TC-1, to prevent the edge from getting
to tense!
If the edge is too tense, if it would start “expanding” ,use a looser binding. If
the edge of 1 weft
system design would be too tense, you can also use the bindings meant for 2-weft
system, but then
you should weave with two shuttles.
Loom Control File


Save the file for weaving: Do Layer -> Flatten image. Check that you have only
black and white in
your design: Do Image -> Mode -> Indexed Colors. If you have only black and white,
Photoshop
says: Palette -> Exact 2. Click cancel.

Save this version under a name NameofdesignLC.tiff From the name you recognize that
the file is for
Loom Control, the weaving software of TC machines

Saving the pattern files



Go to Edit -> Preset manager and select Preset Type: Patterns.

In here you can delete, rename, and save weaves. You can organize your weaves and
save them
as sets (f.eg satins, twills...)

After weaving the trial



Have a look at your sample:

How does the design look? Is the pattern coming out well?

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Do you have too long floats?

To fix this: Use weave with shorter floats, for example 8 end satin instead of 16
end.
You can also cut random floats in Loom Control

Is the feel of the fabric good for the purpose it´s designed? (upholstery,
fashion...)

If the fabric is too light weighted: If it´s made using 1-weft system, maybe you
could add a second
weft, just to give more weight. Could you change materials or increase weft
density?

If fabric is too hard and dense: Could you use weaves with longer floats, f.eg 8
end satin instead of 5
end? Could you change materials?

Etc...

Fixing the proportions of the design

If the densities of weft and warp in design are not exactly the same, design gets
streched or flattened in
weaving process.
Take your woven sample, and count how many picks you have per cm. (count first how
many picks you
have per 10 cm and then divide that for 10) To save time, count the density already
when weaving the
sample! (After weaving 10cm, write down the current pick from Loom Control)
Find out the relatio between weft density and warp density:

picks/cm
ends/cm

If you have for example 12 picks/cm, the relatio is 12/24= 0,5

If you have for example 36 picks/cm, the relatio is 36/24= 1,5
Open your design in Photoshop, go to image -> Image size and check the height of
your design in pixels.
Multiply it with the relatio. For example:
If the height of your design would be 300 pixels, and the weft density would be12
picks/cm, you should
multiply 300px with 0,5 = 150 pixels. Then change the height of your design into
150 pixels. (or value that is
closest to 150 and devides in your weaves evenly)
If the height of your design would be again 300 pixels, but the weft density would
be 36 picks/cm, you
should multiply 300px with 1,5 = 450 pixels. Then change the height of your design
into 450 pixels. (or value
that is closest to 450 and devides in your weaves evenly)