# Color Repeats

### What It Does

Color Repeats applies a color pattern — a sequence of colors with specified repeat counts — to your warp or weft. Instead of coloring threads one at a time, you build a color sequence (like a stripe recipe) and apply it across your draft in one step.

This is the tool for creating striped warps, color-ordered wefts, or any repeating color arrangement. The color pattern is independent of your threading structure — you can change colors without affecting shaft assignments.

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### Opening Color Repeats

* **Ribbon**: Design tab > Repeats group > Color Repeats button

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### The Dialog

The dialog has two main sections: the color pattern editor (top) and the destination controls (bottom).

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### Color Pattern Editor

#### Building a Color Pattern

The pattern is a list of color entries, each specifying a color and how many consecutive threads should receive that color. Together, the entries define one complete cycle of your color sequence.

Each entry shows:

* A **color swatch** (click to change the color)
* A **repeat count** (1–1,000) — how many consecutive threads get this color
* The **color name** (from the palette, or RGB value)

**Add** — Adds a new color entry. Opens the color picker so you can choose from the full palette, including variegated yarns.

**Remove** — Removes the selected entry from the pattern.

**Clear** — Removes all entries, starting fresh.

**Load Warp** — Scans your current warp and builds a pattern from it by grouping consecutive threads of the same color. This is a quick way to capture an existing color arrangement as a repeatable pattern.

**Load Weft** — Same as Load Warp but reads from the weft picks.

**Mirror** — Creates a symmetrical pattern by appending a reversed copy (excluding the first entry to avoid doubling the start color). Pattern A-B-C becomes A-B-C-B-A.

A summary line shows the total: "Pattern: N colors, M threads."

#### Editing Colors and Counts

* Click any **color swatch** to open the color picker and change that entry's color
* Adjust the **repeat count** spinner to change how many threads receive that color
* Click an entry to select it (highlighted in blue)

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### Destination Controls

#### Apply To

**Warp** — Apply the color pattern to warp threads.

**Weft** — Apply the color pattern to weft picks.

#### Start Thread / Start Pick

The thread or pick number where the color pattern begins (1-based).

#### Mode

Three modes control how the pattern fills the destination:

**Repeats Mode**

Applies the complete pattern a specified number of times.

**Times** — How many complete cycles of the pattern to apply (1–100).

The result preview shows which threads will be colored: "Will apply to threads 1–48."

Use this when you know exactly how many repeats you want.

**Ending Mode**

Applies the pattern cyclically until reaching a target thread or pick number.

**End Thread / End Pick** — The last thread or pick to color.

The pattern repeats from the start position until it reaches or passes the end point. Partial repeats at the end are included — the pattern doesn't have to end on a complete cycle.

After applying, the start position automatically advances to the next thread after the end, making it easy to apply a different color pattern to the next section without manual counting.

Use this when you know the range you want to fill (e.g., "color threads 1 through 200").

**Ratio Mode**

Distributes colors proportionally across a total number of threads. Instead of using exact repeat counts, each color's count is treated as a proportion.

**Total Threads** — The total number of threads to fill.

Each color receives threads proportional to its repeat count relative to the pattern total. For example, a pattern of "Red × 2, Blue × 3" (total 5) applied to 20 threads gives Red 8 threads and Blue 12 threads.

Use this when you want proportional distribution regardless of the total length — the pattern scales to fit.

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### How to Use It

1. Open **Color Repeats** from the Design tab
2. Build your color pattern:
   * Click **Add** to add colors from the palette
   * Set the repeat count for each color
   * Use **Mirror** if you want a symmetrical sequence
3. Choose **Warp** or **Weft**
4. Set the start position
5. Choose a mode (Repeats, Ending, or Ratio)
6. Set the mode-specific value (times, end position, or total threads)
7. Click **Apply**

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### Step-by-Step Example: Creating a Striped Warp

You want a warp with alternating stripes of navy (8 threads) and cream (4 threads):

1. Open **Color Repeats**
2. Click **Add**, pick Navy from the palette, set count to 8
3. Click **Add**, pick Cream, set count to 4
4. Pattern summary shows "2 colors, 12 threads"
5. Choose **Warp**, Start Thread 1
6. Select **Ending** mode, set End Thread to 240
7. Click **Apply** — 20 complete cycles of navy-cream stripes fill your warp

### Step-by-Step Example: Building a Symmetrical Color Order

You want a symmetrical color arrangement: Red-Blue-Green-Blue-Red

1. Open **Color Repeats**
2. Add Red (count 4), Blue (count 2), Green (count 4)
3. Click **Mirror** — the pattern becomes Red-Blue-Green-Blue-Red
4. Choose your destination and mode
5. Apply

### Step-by-Step Example: Proportional Color Distribution

You want a warp with roughly 60% blue and 40% white across 300 threads:

1. Open **Color Repeats**
2. Add Blue (count 3), White (count 2) — ratio is 3:2 = 60:40
3. Choose **Warp**, Start Thread 1
4. Select **Ratio** mode, set Total Threads to 300
5. Click **Apply** — Blue gets 180 threads, White gets 120 threads, distributed proportionally

### Step-by-Step Example: Coloring Sections Sequentially

You want different color patterns for different sections of your weft:

1. Open **Color Repeats**
2. Build your first color pattern (e.g., the header section colors)
3. Choose **Weft**, set Start Pick to 1
4. Select **Ending** mode, set End Pick to 20
5. Click **Apply** — picks 1–20 are colored
6. Notice that Start Pick automatically advances to 21
7. Clear the pattern and build your second color sequence (body section)
8. Set End Pick to 180, click **Apply**
9. Start Pick advances to 181 — continue with the footer section

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### Tips

* **Load from existing** — Use **Load Warp** or **Load Weft** to capture your current color arrangement as a pattern. Great for documenting a color order or tweaking an existing arrangement.
* **Mirror for symmetry** — One click creates a perfectly symmetrical color sequence. Essential for plaids and balanced stripe patterns.
* **Ending mode auto-advances** — After each apply in Ending mode, the start position moves forward automatically. This makes it easy to color consecutive sections with different patterns.
* **Ratio for proportions** — When you care about the proportion of each color rather than exact stripe widths, Ratio mode scales everything to fit.
* **Palette colors supported** — Colors come from the full palette, including variegated yarns. Each entry stores its palette reference, so variegation displays correctly.
* **Colors only** — Color Repeats changes thread/pick colors only. Threading, treadling, and shaft assignments are unaffected.
* **Undo works** — Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) reverts the color application.

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### Quick Reference

| Control        | What It Does                             |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Add            | Add a color entry to the pattern         |
| Remove         | Remove the selected entry                |
| Clear          | Remove all entries                       |
| Load Warp/Weft | Build pattern from existing draft colors |
| Mirror         | Make the pattern symmetrical             |

| Mode    | How It Applies                                        |
| ------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Repeats | Apply N complete cycles of the pattern                |
| Ending  | Cycle the pattern until reaching a target thread/pick |
| Ratio   | Distribute colors proportionally across a total count |