# Color Pattern Draw

### What It Does

Color Pattern Draw is a drawing mode that cycles through a sequence of colors as you draw, instead of applying a single color to every thread. Each time you color a thread or pick, the next color in your sequence is used automatically, looping back to the start when the sequence is exhausted.

This is perfect for painting color-and-weave patterns directly onto your threading or treadling — you define the color cycle once and then draw naturally, and the colors advance automatically.

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### Location

* **Ribbon**: Design tab > Repeats group > Color Pattern Draw (toggle button)

This is a **toggle** — click it once to enable the mode, click it again to disable it. When active, the button stays pressed to indicate the mode is on.

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### How It Works

#### Setting Up the Color Sequence

When you enable Color Pattern Draw, a small panel appears where you build your color sequence:

* **Click palette colors** to add them to the sequence. Each click adds that color to the end of the pattern.
* **Right-click** any swatch in the sequence to remove it.
* **Clear** removes all colors from the sequence.

You need at least one color in the sequence to start drawing.

#### Drawing with the Pattern

Once your sequence is set, draw on the warp or weft headers as you normally would. Instead of applying the currently selected color, each drawn thread or pick receives the next color in your sequence:

* Thread 1 gets Color A
* Thread 2 gets Color B
* Thread 3 gets Color C
* Thread 4 gets Color A again (sequence loops)
* And so on...

The index resets at the start of each new drawing stroke, so every time you begin drawing (mouse down), the sequence starts from the beginning.

#### Disabling

Click the **Color Pattern Draw** button again to turn off the mode. Drawing returns to normal single-color behavior.

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### How to Use It

1. Click **Color Pattern Draw** in the Design tab (Repeats group) to enable the mode
2. The color sequence panel appears
3. Click colors from the palette to build your sequence (e.g., Dark, Light, Dark, Light)
4. Draw on the warp or weft header — colors cycle automatically
5. Click the button again to turn off the mode when done

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### Step-by-Step Example: Painting a Color-and-Weave Warp

You want to color a warp with alternating dark and light threads for a houndstooth effect:

1. Enable **Color Pattern Draw**
2. Click Navy in the palette — it's added as the first color
3. Click Cream — it's added as the second color
4. Now draw across the warp header — threads alternate Navy, Cream, Navy, Cream automatically
5. Disable the mode when done

### Step-by-Step Example: Three-Color Weft Sequence

You want a weft color order of Red, Red, Blue for a specific pattern effect:

1. Enable **Color Pattern Draw**
2. Click Red twice in the palette (adds Red, Red to the sequence)
3. Click Blue once (adds Blue)
4. Draw down the weft header — picks cycle Red, Red, Blue, Red, Red, Blue...

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### Tips

* **Build the sequence first** — Set up your complete color cycle before you start drawing.
* **Right-click to remove** — If you accidentally add the wrong color, right-click its swatch to remove it.
* **Resets each stroke** — The sequence restarts from the first color each time you begin a new drawing stroke (mouse down). Plan your strokes accordingly.
* **Works with fill operations** — The cycling applies to both click-and-drag painting and fill operations.
* **Combine with threading** — Color Pattern Draw is purely about colors. Your shaft assignments and treadling are unaffected — you can color threads independently of their structure.
* **Toggle off when done** — Remember to disable the mode when you're finished, or your next drawing operation will continue using the color cycle.

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### Quick Reference

| Action                     | How                                               |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Enable/disable             | Click Color Pattern Draw button (toggle)          |
| Add color to sequence      | Click a palette color                             |
| Remove color from sequence | Right-click the color swatch                      |
| Clear sequence             | Click Clear button                                |
| Draw with pattern          | Draw on warp/weft header as normal                |
| Sequence behavior          | Cycles through colors, loops at end               |
| Stroke reset               | Sequence restarts at beginning of each new stroke |