Types of Weave Structures
Grab all 5 weaves as Illustrator repeating patterns to add to your designs.
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If you’re designing wovens, you will most likely need to define the weave structure that you want your factory to use. There are thousands of different patterns that can be woven, but there are some basic ones that you should be familiar with to start.
Below are some common structures including a plain weave (often seen in plaids), basketweave (oxford shirts use this one), twill (denim uses this structure), herringbone (common in suiting and shirting), and houndstooth (frequently seen in wools).
You should also know which yarns are which – those that run from right to left are the weft yarns (remember this handy mnemonic device of left/weft and you’ll never forget) and warp yarns run top to bottom.
In a textile class that I took, we learned about weave structures by taping actual warp and weft yarns to paper and making small woven patterns. It’s a great exercise if you’re still confused about how the yarns work together to form different patterns. Unfortunately, living in a tiny NYC apartment does not provide me with the space to store craft supplies, so I cannot document how to do this. I did however trip over this article which, although not fashion related, shows a variety of different designs woven with strips of paper. The concept is exactly the same, so cut up some paper or yarn and get weaving!
