Color Weave Explorer
What It Does
The Color Weave Explorer lets you play with different aspects of color with various weave patterns — you'll get a feel for the interplay between colored threads and weave structure creates visual effects beyond what either element achieves alone. Classic examples include houndstooth, glen plaid, log cabin, and shadow weave, where simple color sequences on simple weave structures produce surprisingly complex visual patterns.
The explorer provides a library of 21 preset patterns across traditional categories, a color editor for customizing your palette, sequence editors for building warp and weft color orders, a weave structure selector, and a live preview that updates instantly as you make changes. When you're satisfied with the result, you can apply just the colors or both the colors and weave structure to your draft.
Opening the Color Weave Explorer
Ribbon: Design tab > Weave Explorer group > Color Weave Explorer button
The dialog opens as a separate window. Your settings are remembered between uses — when you reopen the dialog, it restores your last color palette, sequences, and weave selection.
The Dialog
Preset Selection (Top)
Category Filter presets by category, or choose "All" to see everything.
Preset Select a named pattern. When you pick a preset, the dialog populates the color palette, warp sequence, weft sequence, and weave structure with that pattern's defaults. You can then customize any of these.
Description A brief note about the selected pattern — its history, character, or traditional use.
Preset Library
The explorer includes 21 ready-to-use patterns organized into five categories:
Classic
Houndstooth
The iconic jagged-tooth check. 4-thread dark/light blocks on 2/2 twill.
Shepherd's Check
A delicate small-scale 2×2 check on 2/2 twill. Traditional pastoral pattern.
Dog's Tooth
A bolder relative of houndstooth. 6-thread blocks create pronounced jagged teeth.
Glen Plaid
A sophisticated estate check with overchecks in a third color. Classic suiting fabric.
District Check
A simpler version of Glen Plaid with accent stripes.
Gun Club Check
A three-color check with alternating blocks. Named after the American Gun Club pattern.
Tartan
Symmetrical plaid on 2/2 twill. The foundation of Scottish clan patterns.
Blackwatch Tartan
The dark military tartan — navy, forest green, and black bands.
Royal Stewart
The most recognized tartan in the world — red ground with green, blue, and gold stripes.
Plain Weave
Log Cabin
Phase-shifted alternating threads creating blocks of light and dark. A weaver's staple.
Pepita
A small 2×2 check on plain weave. Subtle and refined.
Pinwheel
Four-thread alternating blocks creating a bold geometric effect.
Gingham
The classic checked pattern with equal-width stripes of color and white.
Tattersall Check
Thin stripes in two colors on a light ground, forming an open grid.
Madras Plaid
A vibrant four-color asymmetric plaid with an informal, handwoven character.
Windowpane
Large-scale check with thin grid lines on a solid ground. Elegant and minimal.
Stripe & Texture
Pin Stripe
Thin contrast stripes in the warp only. Classic tailoring detail.
Shadow Weave
Alternating dark and light threads on 2/2 twill. Subtle texture that shifts with light.
Herringbone
Wide color bands on a point twill creating bold V-shaped chevrons.
Bird's Eye
Single alternating threads on a point twill. Creates fine all-over diamond texture.
Nail Head
A tiny 2×1 check on 2/2 twill producing a dot-like texture.
Barleycorn
A 3×1 alternating pattern on point twill. Creates a distinctive pebbly surface.
Broken Check
A 4×4 check on broken twill for an irregular, organic texture.
Basket Weave Check
4×4 blocks on 2/2 basket weave. Bold and structured.
Iridescent / Shot
Close-value colors for optical color mixing — the warp and weft blend visually.
Classic Multi-Scale
Buffalo Check
The iconic large 8×8 check. Think flannel shirts and lumberjack patterns.
Prince of Wales
An elaborate multi-scale plaid with four colors. Luxury suiting at its finest.
Color Palette
Each preset defines a set of color slots — typically two to four colors labeled A, B, C, D. Each slot is shown as a button with a color swatch.
Changing a Color Click any color slot button to open the color picker. The full TempoWeave color picker appears, including access to your master palette. Choose a new color and the live preview updates immediately.
The beauty of color slots is that changing one color updates every thread that uses that slot — you can experiment with different color combinations without rebuilding the sequences.
Warp Sequence
The warp sequence defines the color order across the warp. Each entry specifies:
Color Slot — Which color (A, B, C, D) this group of threads uses
Count — How many consecutive threads get this color (1–100)
The sequence repeats (tiles) across the full width of your warp. For example, if your warp has 200 threads and your sequence totals 8 threads, it repeats 25 times.
Add — Adds a new entry to the sequence.
Remove — Removes the selected entry.
Mirror — Mirrors the sequence so it reads forward then backward, creating a symmetrical pattern. This is essential for tartans and other mirror-symmetry plaids.
Weft Sequence
The weft sequence works identically to the warp sequence but controls the pick-by-pick color order.
Equal Warp — Copies the warp sequence to the weft, making them identical. This is the starting point for most color-and-weave patterns where warp and weft share the same color order (like houndstooth or gingham). You can then adjust the weft independently if needed.
Weave Structure
Color-and-weave effects depend heavily on the weave structure underneath. The explorer lets you pair your color sequence with any weave structure:
Category — Filter the weave list by category, or choose "All."
Weave — Select a weave structure. The first option is always Current Project, which uses whatever threading, tie-up, and treadling you already have in your draft. The remaining options come from the built-in weave structure library (the same structures available in Common Weaves).
Changing the weave structure updates the preview instantly, so you can quickly see how the same color sequence looks on plain weave vs. twill vs. basket weave.
Live Preview
The preview canvas (on the right side of the dialog) renders a realistic simulation of your fabric. It shows:
The weave structure (which threads cross on top)
The color sequence (warp colors left-to-right, weft colors top-to-bottom)
The combined visual effect — the actual pattern your fabric will produce
The preview updates in real time as you:
Change any color
Modify sequence entries or counts
Switch weave structures
Adjust the preview size
Preview Size — A spinner (16–200) controls how many threads the preview shows. A larger number shows more repeats of the pattern; a smaller number shows fewer repeats at larger cell size.
Sett & Beat
Update Sett & Beat — Check this box if you want the applied result to also set the sett (ends per inch) and beat (picks per inch) for your draft. When checked, the sett and beat spinners become active.
Each weave structure has default sett and beat values that are auto-populated when you select a weave. You can override these to match your yarn and loom.
Applying to Your Draft
The dialog offers two apply options:
Apply Colors
Applies only the color sequences to your draft — the warp colors and weft colors are set according to your sequences, tiled to fit the full warp width and weft length. Your existing threading, tie-up, and treadling are left unchanged.
Use this when you already have the weave structure you want and just need to set up a color-and-weave color order.
Apply Colors And Structure
Applies both the color sequences and the selected weave structure. This sets:
Threading (tiled across the warp)
Tie-up (replaced with the weave's tie-up)
Treadling (tiled down the weft)
Shaft and treadle counts
Warp and weft colors
Sett and beat (if the checkbox is enabled)
Use this for a complete color-and-weave setup from scratch.
Reset
Clears all saved state and returns the dialog to its initial condition — useful when you want to start fresh from a preset without any previous customizations carrying over.
How to Use It
Open your draft (or create a new one)
Go to Design tab > Color Weave Explorer
Browse the presets — select a category and pattern that interests you
Watch the live preview to see the effect
Customize the colors by clicking the color slot buttons
Adjust the sequences if needed (add entries, change counts, mirror)
Try different weave structures to see how they interact with your colors
When satisfied, click Apply Colors And Structure (or Apply Colors if you want to keep your existing structure)
Step-by-Step Example: Creating a Custom Houndstooth
You want to weave a houndstooth scarf in your own color palette:
Open a new draft sized for your scarf (e.g., 200 warp threads, 600 picks)
Open the Color Weave Explorer
Select Classic category, then Houndstooth
The preview shows a traditional black-and-white houndstooth
Click Color A and change it to a deep teal from your palette
Click Color B and change it to cream
The preview instantly shows your teal-and-cream houndstooth
The weave is set to 2/2 twill — leave it as is (that's what makes houndstooth work)
Check Update Sett & Beat and set them to match your yarn
Click Apply Colors And Structure
Your draft now has the complete houndstooth setup in your custom colors
Step-by-Step Example: Exploring Log Cabin Variations
You want to experiment with log cabin on different weave structures:
Open the Color Weave Explorer
Select Plain Weave category, then Log Cabin
The preview shows the classic log cabin blocks on plain weave
Now change the Weave to "2/2 Twill" — notice how the blocks become more subtle with diagonal texture
Try "Point Twill" — the blocks develop a diamond quality
Try "Basket Weave" — the blocks become bolder and more structured
Each change updates instantly — you can quickly find the combination you like best
When you find the right combination, click Apply Colors And Structure
Step-by-Step Example: Building a Custom Tartan
You want to design your own family tartan:
Open the Color Weave Explorer
Select Classic category, then Tartan as a starting point
The preset gives you a basic symmetrical tartan
Change the colors to your family's palette — perhaps forest green, navy, and gold
Adjust the warp sequence: modify the count for each color band to get the proportions you want
Click Mirror on the warp sequence to ensure symmetry
Click Equal Warp on the weft section to match warp and weft
The preview shows your custom tartan
Fine-tune band widths until the proportions look right
Click Apply Colors And Structure
Tips
Start with a preset — Even if you want something completely custom, start with the closest preset and modify it. The presets provide proven color orders and weave pairings as a starting point.
Color slots are powerful — Because sequences reference slots (A, B, C) rather than specific colors, you can completely change the look of a pattern just by swapping colors. Try unexpected combinations.
Mirror for symmetry — Most traditional plaids and tartans are symmetrical. Use the Mirror button to ensure your sequence reads the same forward and backward.
Equal Warp saves time — For patterns where warp and weft use the same color order (most color-and-weave patterns do), click Equal Warp instead of manually duplicating the sequence.
Try "Current Project" — If you've already designed a custom weave structure, select "Current Project" as the weave to see how your existing structure pairs with color-and-weave sequences.
Preview size matters — For patterns with large repeats (like tartans with wide bands), increase the preview size to see at least one full repeat. For small patterns (like pin dots), a smaller preview size shows the detail better.
Settings persist — When you close and reopen the dialog, your last settings are restored. Use Reset when you want a clean start.
Undo works — After applying, Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) reverts the entire application if you want to try a different approach.
Quick Reference
Select Preset
Load a named color-and-weave pattern
Click Color Slot
Change a color in the palette
Add Sequence Entry
Add a color group to warp or weft
Remove Entry
Remove a color group
Mirror
Make the sequence symmetrical
Equal Warp
Copy warp sequence to weft
Change Weave
Pair colors with a different structure
Apply Colors
Set only warp/weft colors
Apply Colors And Structure
Set colors + threading + tie-up + treadling
Reset
Clear all customizations
Classic
Houndstooth, Shepherd's Check, Dog's Tooth, Glen Plaid, District Check, Gun Club, Tartan, Blackwatch, Royal Stewart
Plain Weave
Log Cabin, Pepita, Pinwheel, Gingham, Tattersall, Madras, Windowpane
Stripe & Texture
Pin Stripe, Shadow Weave, Herringbone, Bird's Eye, Nail Head, Barleycorn, Broken Check, Basket Weave Check, Iridescent
Classic Multi-Scale
Buffalo Check, Prince of Wales
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