Weaves & Woven

Designs
M K BANSAL
Sr. scientific Officer & Astt. Professor

Northern India Textile Research Association

Ghaziabad
 Basic Fabric Structure ( Weaves)
There are three basic weaves.

Plain Weave

Twill Weave

Satin Weave

All other Structures are a variation or a combination of these weaves.

Description: Plain Weave

Plain weave is the most basic of three fundamental

types of weaves.It is strong and hard-wearing, used for
fashion and furnishing fabrics.
In plain weave, the warp and weft are aligned so they
form a simple criss-cross pattern. Each weft thread
crosses the warp threads by going over one, then under
the next, and so on. The next weft thread goes under
the warp threads that its neighbor went over, and vice
versa.
Terms as tabby, Calico, alpaca, and taffeta are
applied to plain cloth.
Plain Weave
 Fabrics produced on plain weave
base
Some examples of plain weave fabrics with different textures are

Chiffon fill-a fill

Organdy Seersuckers

Taffeta Plaids
Lawn Muslin
Voile Plain sheeting
Cotton Checks
 Fancy effects produced with the plain weave:

There are lot of methods of ornamenting and varying

the structure of plain weave.

1. Threads which are different in color, material, thickness or twist are

combined,
2. The number of threads per dent of the reed, or picks in a given space is
varied.
3. The ends are brought from two or more warp beams which are
differently tensioned.
4. By means of specially shaped reeds which rises and falls the threads are
caused to form Zig-Zag lines in the cloth.
5. By the process of dyeing, printing and finishing.
Plain Check & Stripes
 Twill weave
Twill weave produce diagonal lines in
the cloth. In simple twills point of
intersection move one out ward and
one upward on succeeding picks.
Twill weave can be made on any
number of threads that exceeds two.
Twill lines are formed on both sides
of the cloth and direction of the lines
may be right or left.
Twill weaves enables greater weight,
closer setting, and better draping
quality than plain weave in the cloth.
2 by 1 twill
Popular Twill fabrics
Serge
Denim
Cashmere
Drill
Gabardine
blanket
Denim 3/1 Twill weave
 Satin & sateen Weave
The term satin is used for warp face
structure and sateen is used for weft face
structure. In pure sateen and satin weaves
there is one interlacing for each warp yarn
and only one interlacing for each weft yarn
in each repeat of the weave. This result in
production of fabrics with a maximum
degree of smoothness and luster and without
any prominent weave effect.

Buckskin, Venetian, and damask are fabrics

made on satin structures
satin thread interlacement 5 shaft Warp face
satin Weave
sateen thread interlacement 5 shaft Weft face
sateen Weave
Color & Weave Combination

2/2 Twill

Warp - Red Warp – 4 Red, 4 Blue

Weft - Blue Weft -- 4 Red, 4 Blue
 2/2 Matt

Warp - Red
Weft - Blue
4x4 Matt
 ELEMENT OF WOVEN DESIGN

Design: Interlacement & arrangement of warp & weft threads

in both the directions.

Repeat of Design: This is the minimum part of design (unit

of design) by which design on whole
fabric can be prepared by repeating the
unit of design.

Drafts: A draft indicates the number of healds to be used, to

produce a given design and the order in which the
warp ends are threaded through eyes of the healds.

Peg Plan or lifting plan:

Lifting order or peg plan defines the selection
of healds to be raised or lowered on each
successive insertion of the pick.
Drafting Principle:
The principle in drafting a pattern is as mentioned below :
• Separate healds for ends working differently.
• Same healds for ends working alike .

KINDS OF DRAFTS :
The types of drafts can be divided in four categories :
• Straight Draft (Design & peg Plan is exactly same)
• Pointed Draft ( weaves which are symmetrical about the center)
• Skip Draft ( Used in weaving of very dense fabric )
• Mixed Draft ( Combination of two or more types of drafts )
Draft 1 :
1,2,3,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,8,1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,5,5,6,7,8,1,2,3,4,
5,5,6,7,7,8,8,1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,5,5,6,7,8

Draft 2 :
1,2,3,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,8,1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,5,5,6,7,8,1,
8,7,6,5,5,4,3,3,2,2,1,1,1,8,8,7,7,6,5,5,4,3,2

Draft 3 :
1,2,3,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,8,1,1,1,8,8,7,7,6,5,5,4,3,2,1,
8,7,6,5,5,4,3,3,2,2,1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,5,5,6,7,8,
 Pick 1 : 1,2,4,8
Pick 2 : 1,2,3,5
Pick 3 : 2,3,4,6

Peg Plan :
Pick 4 : 3,4,5,7
Pick 5 : 4,5,6,8
Pick 6 : 1,5,6,7
Pick 7 : 2,6,7,8
Pick 8 : 1,3,7,8
Pick 9 : 1,2,4,8
Pick 10 : 1,2,3,5
Pick 11 : 2,3,4,6
Pick 12 : 3,4,5,7
Pick 13 : 4,5,6,8
Pick 14 : 1,5,6,7
Pick 15 : 2,6,7,8
Pick 16 : 1,3,7,8
Design, Draft & Peg plan
The term design
is used for
showing Weave
of the fabric Draft
(interlacement of
warp and weft)
on graph paper.

Draft is drawing
the warp threads

1 2 3 4
through heald
frames.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Peg Plan is order Peg plan
of lifting the Design
heald frames on
each successive
picks.
 Plain weave derivative
Matt, basket or Hopsack weave:
Basket weave is made by extending the plain
weave both vertically and horizontally so that in
both directions there are two or more threads
working together in the same order. When the
groups of yarns are equal, the basket weave is
termed regular, otherwise it is termed irregular.

The two by two (2x2) basket weave is the most

common. In this weave as given below the warp
yarns in pairs interlace in plain weave order with
the weft yarns in pairs. The weave repeats on
four ends and four picks, and require only two
heald frames to make.
 Matt or Basket Weave

Regular 2x2 basket

Regular 3x3 basket

Regular 4x4 basket
Irregular 3x2 basket Irregular 4x2 basket
 Rib Weaves

Rib weaves are usually made by having two or more warp yarns
together, inter- lacing as one yarn with the individual weft yarns,
or two or more weft yarns together, interlacing as one yarn with
individual warp yarns. The groups of yarns interlace in plain
weave order with the single yarns. Fabrics with a rib weave are
reversible unless one side is made the face by finishing or
printing.

Warp Rib Weave:

Warp ribs are produced

by extending the plain
weave vertically.

3x3 4x4
warp warp
rib rib
Ornamenting warp rib:

The warp ribs can be

emphasized even more
strongly by the use of
alternate coarse and fine
ends, slack and tight
ends, and Thick and fine
picks as shown in Figure
A, B, and C A B C

Weft Rib Weave:

Weft ribs are produced

by extending the plain
weave horizontally.

3x3 weft rib 4x4 weft rib

 Twill weave
Twill weave produce diagonal lines
in the cloth. Twill weave can be
made on any number of threads
that exceeds two. Twill lines are
formed on both sides of the cloth
and direction of the lines may be
right or left.

2/1 Twill
(shifting warp wise)
Angle of inclination of twill weaves
Twill Angle:

Twill angle is the angle which is produced by

twill line with respect to the horizontal line.
This twill angle depends on following factors.

1. Ratio between EPI and PPI.

2. Difference between warp and weft count.
3. Rate of advancement it interlacement warp
and weft.
In simple twills point of intersection move one out ward and one
upward on succeeding picks. Twill weaves enables greater
weight, closer setting, and better draping quality than plain
weave in the cloth. Denim, blanket and Gabardine fabrics are
made of twill weave basis.

2/2 Twill
Shifting warp wise
4/4 Right hand Twill 4/4 Left hand Twill

4/1 warp face Twill 4/1 weft face Twill

Mixing of two Twill weaves

Mixing of three Twill weaves

4/2 & 3/1 Twill

4/4, 3/3, 2/2 Twill

Mixing of four Twill weaves

4/2, 3/1, 1/3, 2/4

 Twill weave derivative

Zigzag or waved twill

Warp face & weft face & balanced twill
Steep or elongated twill
Herringbone twill
Reverse twill
Broken twill
 Mixed twill
Combining twills –end to end pick to pick
Fancy twills
Transposed or re arranged twill
Diamond and diaper twill designs
Zigzag or waved twill –
The simplest forms of modified twill is the waved twill
achieved by reversing the direction of the twill at suitable intervals.
The reversal can occur either upon a warp direction in which case
horizontal wave is produced , or upon a weft pick which results in
a vertical weave or a zig-zag effect .
The horizontal wave effects are economically produced in
point drafts and good styles may be woven on few healds. The
vertical line effects, however mostly require dobby shedding motion,
because of comparatively large number of picks in the lifting plan.
Method-I Converting 3/3 Twill into zig-zag twill 2
3
4
5
6
5
4
3
2
1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1
In Horizontal direction In Vertical direction
 1 2 3 4 5 678 7 6 543 2 1 2 3 4 5 678 7 6 543 2

Converting 3/1,1/3 Twill into zigzag Twill

Converting 4/4 Twill into zigzag Twill
 Medium zigzag of 2/2 Twill
Small zigzag of 2/2 twill
(one repeat)

1 2 3 4 3 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Large zigzag of 2/2 Twill

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15161514 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Herringbone Twill -
These twills, also depend upon the reversal of the
direction to achieve the desired effect . The twill does not
come to a point where it changes the direction but instead
one twill line is said to cut into the other at the point of
reversal . The following design shows construction of 2 and 2
herringbone twill which runs from left to right for the desired
number of ends (8) where upon the reversal of direction takes
place by introducing on the 9th end, the mark which are exactly
opposite to those of the 8th end .

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910111213141516 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9101112
Herringbone twill of 2/2 Twill Herringbone twill of 3/3 Twill
(16x4) (12x6)
 Herringbone Twill of 4/1,3/1 Twill (18x9)

Herring bone Twill of 9 repeats of 4/4 Twill (48x24)

Herring bone Zig-Zag
(b) Reverse Twill –
In this weave the number of threads in warp & weft of one
repeat remains same in the design . In the following design
one repeat of design has 8 threads in warp & weft. Reverse
twill design should have same number of threads in face &
back i.e. 2/2 ,3/3 , 4/4 etc.

(6x6) (8x8)
(4x4)

2/2Reverse Twill 3/3 Reverse Twill 4/4 Reverse twill

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 10 9 8 7 6
5x5 Regular Twill 5/5 Reverse Twill
(10x10) (10x10)
Broken Twill - It is produced by breaking a regular twill.

1 2 3 4 1 2 4 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 6 5 4
2/2 Regular Twill 2/2 Broken Twill 3/3 Regular Twill 3/3 Broken Twill
at a break of 2 at a break of 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 4 3 5 6 8 7 2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7

4/4 Regular Twill 4/4 Broken Twill at a break of2 4/4 Broken Twill at a break of2
 1 2 3 6 5 4 7 8 1 4 3 2 5 6 7 2 1 8 3 4 5 8 7 6
4/4 Broken Twill at a Break of 3 (24x8)

1 2 3 4 5 2 1 8 7 63 4 5 6 7 4 3 2 18 5 6 7 8 1 6 5 4 3 2 7 8 12 3 8 7 6 5 4

4/4 Broken Twill at a Break of 5 (40x8)

Mixed Twill –
This has been developed by combining the two regular twill designs.
This can be of two types. The first is warp mixed twill weave and
second is weft mixed twill weave. One twill say ‘A’ is first indicated
on the odd vertical spaces and to complete the design, twill ‘B’ is
indicated on the even vertical spaces . Each twill must be carried
out on 6 ends and picks and hence the design ‘C’ consist of 6
threads of ‘A’ and 6 threads of ‘B’ and thus repeats on 12 ends and
6 picks .

A B

C
Diamond Twill -
Diamond weave is symmetrical about their vertical and horizontal axes
which can be produced with the aid of point draft and vertical waved
twilled peg-plan.
True diamond shapes converge most designs of this type can be
constructed economically on the pointed draft basis.

construction of a diamond design based upon 3/ 3

twill weave is given below:
1
1 2
3
2
4
3
5
4 6
5 5
6 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2
3
2
Zig-Zag weave (10x6)
1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2
Diamond weave (10x10)
 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Diamond weave of 4/4,2/2 (22x22)

Diaper Weave
Diaper weaves are symmetrical about their diagonal axes,
these are based on herringbone draft and vertical waved
twilled peg-plan.

Diaper weave based on 2/2 Twill weave

Diaper weave on 3/3, 3/3 Twill
Uses of Twill Weave:
Twill weave are extensively used in manufacturing
cloth for garments household cloth and industrial
cloth.
•Generally dimond,diaper and zigzag twill are used
for making pillow,cover,screen,unpholstery,bed
sheet,towel etc.
•Continious twill are used for making fabric for
shirting,suiting and pantin(denim,gaverdine).
•For making various type of ornamental cloth,other
derivatives of twill weave are used.
•Hearing bone twill are used in the cloth of suiting
and overcoats.
 Satin & sateen Weave

The term satin is used

for warp face structure
and sateen is used for
weft face structure. In
pure sateen and satin
weaves there is one
interlacing for each
warp yarn and only
one interlacing for
each weft yarn in each
repeat of the weave.

This will result in

production of fabrics
with a maximum
degree of smoothness
and luster and without
any prominent weave
effect.
Thumb rules for making satin weave
• Move can not be one or less than one
of the satin no.
• Move no. should not be factor of satin
no.
• There should not be any common
factor between move no. & satin no.
Regular Satin and Sateen weave Possible moves
5 end satin/sateen 2,3

7 end satin/sateen 2,3,4,5

8 end satin/sateen 3,5

9 end satin/sateen 2,4,5,7

10 end satin/sateen 3,7

11 end satin/sateen 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

12 end satin/sateen 5,7

Irregular Sateen: These are entirely free from twill lines

4 end sateen (Satinette)

6 end sateen
 In eight end irregular sateen 3
is counted to the right for four
picks; on the fifth pick the
count is equal to half the
number of threads in the
repeat i.e. 4 and then on
succeeding picks 3 is counted
8 end sateen (irregular) to the left.
 In ten end irregular sateen 3
is counted to the right for
half the number of picks;
then 5 is counted and
afterwards on succeeding
picks 3 is counted to the
left.

10 end irregular sateen

 In 12 thread irregular
sateen the count is 3 & 5
alternately for the six
picks, then 6 for the next
pick and afterwards 3 & 5
alternately to the left.

12 ends irregular sateen

 Satin weave derivative

In simple derivatives the new

design is built up by using the
original satin or sateen as base,
and subtracting or adding marks
5 end sateen Derivative
as required in the same relative
position to each base marks.

5 end satin Venetian weave

8 end satin
derivative
8 end satin Buckskin weave
 Crepe or oatmeal weave

The term crepe is applied to weaves, which

gives the appearance of being covered by
minute spots or seeds. Crepe weave is different
from crepe cloth in which broken surface effect
is due to entirely to the use of high twist yarns
which, upon controlled shrinkage in the
finishing, produce a highly irregular texture
although woven in the plain weave.

Construction of crepe weave on satin basis

The crepe weaves can be constructed by adding

marks in certain order to some of the sateen base.
Thumb rule to make crepe weave on this principle is
Crepe weave on 8 end
that warp floats & weft float should not be more than
satin base (move 3)
three in both side. In the example given at right
[2/1,1/1,1/1]
marks are added in Two up one down, One up one
down, one up one down order
 Honey comb weave
One of most interesting varieties of weaves termed as Honey comb
Weave based from their partial resemblance to the hexagonal honey
comb cells of wax which bees store their honey. The cloth produced
in honey comb weaves the threads form ‘ridges’ and ‘hollows’ which
give a cell like appearance to the texture. This class of fabric is readily
absorbent of moisture therefore suitable for towels.It is also used in
various forms for bedcovers & quilts. The weaves are of two classes.

Ordinary honey comb Brighton Honey comb

It gives similar effect It produces the cellular
on both sides of the formation on one side
cloth. of the cloth only
 Ordinary honey comb

Ordinary honey comb in 5 shafts 4 repeats

Ordinary honey comb in 6 shafts

4 repeats
 Brighton honey comb
These are quite different in construction from usual type of ordinary honey
comb, and require to be woven in straight drafts ; also the number of threads
in a repeat must be a multiple of four. The length of float of the center thread
of each small spot is one thread less than half the number of threads in the
repeat.

Brighton honey comb in 16 shafts

4 repeats
 Huckaback weave

This weave is combination of plain weave

Denting
and loose floats of warp and weft. The
structure is so arranged that areas of plain
weave gives firmness and loose floats
provides good moisture pickup. That’s why Drafting
these weaves are largely used in towels,
glass cloths etc. The weave tends to draw
the ends in to groups and to prevent this, it
is customary to place the last end of one
group in the same split of the reed as the
first end of the next group in the same split
of the reed as the first end of the next
group, while centre three ends are placed
in one split.The threads are thus dented in 6 pick huckaback or Devon huck
the order of two and three alternately.
Huckaback weave
(10x6)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Huckaback weave
(10x10)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Huckaback weave
(18x18)
 Mock Leno weaves
This weave produces effects similar to gauze
or leno in the fabric. These are mostly used in
light dress fabrics, blouses, aprons, etc. in
combination with other weaves. Two kinds of
structure are produced by the weave.

Perforated fabrics in imitation of open gauze

effects. Distorted thread effects in imitation of
spider or net leno style.

To get perforated fabric each weave is (6x6)

constructed by reversing a small unit and
each section is so interwoven that warp
threads run in groups with a space between
the groups and are crossed by the weft
threads which are grouped together in the
similar manner.The open appearance of cloth
can be improved further by missing 1, 2 or
more splits as per perforation required.
Mock leno weave
(10x10)
Extra Warp designs

Repeat size 16x11

Extra warp design of above design

Extra Weft designs

Repeat size 16x11

Extra weft design of above design

Double cloth
F2
B2
F1
F1 F2 F2
Double cloth plain weave on face & back
B1
B2
F1
B1 F1 B1 F2 B2
B1 B2
F5
F4 B5
F3 F5
F2 B4
F1 F4
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 B3
F3
B5
B2
F2
B4
B1
B3
F1
B2 F1B1F2B2F3B3F4B4F5B5
B1
B1B2B3B4B5

Double cloth having 3/2 twill on face & 5 end satin (move 2) on back
 Stitched Double cloth
F8
F7
F6 B8
F5 F8
F4 B7
F3 F7
F2 B6
F1 F6
F1F2F3F4 F5F6 F7 F8 B5
F5
4/4 Twill
B4
F4
B8
B3
B7
F3
B6
B2
B5
F2
B4
B1
B3
F1
B2
F1B1 F2B2 F3B3 F4B4 F5B5 F6B6 F7B7 F8B8
B1
B1B2B3B4B5B6B7B8
4/4 Twill
Triple Cloth

F2 B2
F1
F1 F2 M2

M2 F2
M1
B1
M1 M2
M1
B2 F1
B1
B1 B2 F1 M1 B1 F2 M2 B2

Triple cloth having plain weave in all the layers

Triple cloth having 2/2 Twill in all three layers

F4
F3 B4
F2 M4
F1
F4
F1 F2 F3 F4
B3
M3
F3
M4
M3 B2
M2 M2
M1 F2
M1M2M3M4
B1
M1
B4 F1
B3 F1 M1 B1 F2 M2 B2 F3 M3 B3 F4 M4 B4
B2
B1

B1B2B43B4
 ANALYSIS OF FABRIC AS PER DESIGN FROM A GIVEN SWATCH:

AREAS OF FABRIC ANALYSIS:

a. Identification of warp & weft
b. Type of Fabric
c. E.P.I
d. P.P.I
e. Repeat
f. Warp pattern
g. Weft pattern
h. Weave (Draft & Peg Plan If fabric to be produced on loom)
i. Warp yarn count, blend, T.P.I
j. Weft yarn, count, blend, T.P.I
k. Type of finishing.
l. GSM
m. Cover factor
 Identification of warp & weft from fabric swatch:
Some useful tips –

• Threads running Parallel to selvedge are warp threads.

• In case of stripe design – pattern threads are always warp threads.

• In case of check pattern ( both side threads are of same counts)

then more colours representing warp threads and less colours
shows weft threads.

• In case of same colours patterns in both direction - finer counts

mostly used in warp and courser counts in weft.

• Spun yarn & multiply yarns mostly used in warp & unsized single
ply and textured yarns used in weft.
•In case of single threads in both directions – sized yarns will
be warp (warp needs more breaking strength).

•In case of same pattern & other parameters – count the

threads in one inch by counting glass. In most cases low
density threads staying in weft side

•In case of same density of threads & other parameters then

reed marks shows the warp threads.

•In case of extra thread pattern – extra threads run mostly in

warp direction.

•Crimp is mostly higher on weft.

•Fabric side having more elasticity is weft side