Plot on Network

What It Does

Plot on Network transforms your threading (or treadling) so that it conforms to a specific network pattern — a repeating initial structure that determines which shaft positions are "legal" at each point. The result is a threading that follows the contour of your original design but is constrained to the network's structure, producing the characteristic curves and flowing lines of network drafting.

Network drafting is a technique where a simple initial pattern (the "network") acts as a template, and your design is "plotted" onto it. This creates complex, organic-looking patterns from relatively simple inputs.

TempoWeave provides Plot on Network for both warp (threading) and weft (treadling).

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Location

• Ribbon: Design tab > Plot on Network group > Plot on Network Warp / Plot on Network Weft

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The Dialog

Network Initial Pattern

The core of the dialog is a grid (up to 16×16) where you define or select the network's initial pattern. Each column has exactly one marked cell, indicating which shaft position is the "base" for that point in the network.

Presets — A dropdown with common network patterns:

• 1/1 Plain (left and right variants)

• 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 patterns

• 6-end Point

• 8-end Point

• 10-end Point

Select a preset to load it into the grid, or draw your own custom pattern by clicking cells directly.

Pattern Width / Height — Control the dimensions of the network grid.

Reduction Options

After plotting onto the network, you can optionally reduce the result to fit a smaller number of shafts:

Reduction Type:

• None — Use the plotted result as-is

• Telescoping — Wraps shaft numbers using modulo arithmetic, folding higher shafts back into the available range

• Digitizing — Scales shaft numbers linearly to fit the target range

Reduce to Shafts — The target number of shafts when using Telescoping or Digitizing.

Apply

Apply Plot on Network — Check this to apply the transformation when you click OK.

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How It Works

For each threaded warp column (or treadled weft row), the operation:

1. Looks up the column's position in the network pattern (cycling through the pattern width)

2. Finds the "legal" shaft position at that point based on the network initial pattern

3. Maps the original shaft assignment to the nearest legal position

4. Optionally reduces the result to a smaller shaft count

The original contour of your threading is preserved, but every shaft assignment is snapped to the network grid — creating the flowing, curved patterns characteristic of network drafting.

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How to Use It

1. Thread your draft with the design you want to plot (a simple curve, a profile, or any threading)

2. Open Plot on Network Warp (or Weft) from the Design tab

3. Select a network initial pattern from the presets, or draw your own

4. Choose a reduction type if you need to fit the result onto fewer shafts

5. Check Apply Plot on Network

6. Click OK

7. Your threading is transformed to follow the network pattern

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Step-by-Step Example: Network Drafting a Curved Threading

You have a 16-shaft draft with a simple curved threading and want to plot it on an 8-end point network:

1. Start with your curved threading (e.g., a sine-wave profile across 16 shafts)

2. Open Plot on Network Warp

3. Select 8-end Point from the presets

4. Set Reduction to None (you have enough shafts)

5. Apply

6. Your threading now follows the network — the curves are preserved but constrained to the network structure, creating the characteristic flowing pattern

Step-by-Step Example: Reducing a Network Draft to Fewer Shafts

You've created a network threading on 16 shafts but your loom only has 8:

1. Open Plot on Network Warp

2. Select your network pattern

3. Set Reduction Type to Telescoping

4. Set Reduce to Shafts to 8

5. Apply

6. The threading is folded to fit on 8 shafts while preserving the pattern's character

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Tips

• Start simple — Begin with one of the preset network patterns before creating custom networks. The presets are proven starting points.

• Experiment with reduction — Telescoping and Digitizing produce different effects from the same network. Try both to see which you prefer.

• Custom networks — Click cells in the grid to create your own initial pattern. Each column must have exactly one marked cell.

• Works on existing threading — Plot on Network transforms your current threading. The more interesting your starting design, the more interesting the result.

• Undo works — Ctrl+Z reverts the transformation.

• Warp and Weft — Separate buttons let you plot the threading and treadling independently on different (or the same) networks.

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Quick Reference

Setting	What It Does
Network Initial Pattern	The base network structure (up to 16×16)
Presets	Pre-built network patterns (plain, point, etc.)
Reduction: None	Use plotted result as-is
Reduction: Telescoping	Wrap shafts using modulo arithmetic
Reduction: Digitizing	Scale shafts linearly to fit target
Reduce to Shafts	Target shaft count for reduction
Apply to Warp	Transform threading
Apply to Weft	Transform treadling