Add Tabby
Found on the Tools Menu
Add Tabby
Available on Desktop and Mobile.
What Is Tabby?
Tabby — also called plain weave — is the simplest weave structure: over one, under one. Many pattern weaves like overshot, Summer & Winter, and Monk's Belt require tabby picks between their pattern picks to hold the fabric together. Without tabby, the long pattern floats would make the cloth loose and unstable.
Add Tabby automatically inserts alternating tabby picks between your existing pattern picks, saving you from having to add them one by one. This is on the Design Menu. The same function also presents in Block Substitution when Add Tabby is checked.
Opening Add Tabby
Ribbon: Tools tab > Tabby group > Add Tabby button
Tap Tools on the rail (tablet) or the bottom dock (phone), then Add Tabby… under Tabby
The Add Tabby Dialog
Treadle Source
The first choice is where the tabby treadles come from:
Use Existing Treadles Choose this when your tie-up already has two treadles configured for tabby (plain weave). You specify which two treadle numbers to use:
Tabby 1 Treadle — The treadle that raises odd shafts (1, 3, 5...)
Tabby 2 Treadle — The treadle that raises even shafts (2, 4, 6...)
By default, these are set to the last two treadles in your draft, since that's where tabby treadles are commonly placed.
Add New Treadles Choose this when your tie-up doesn't have tabby treadles yet. TempoWeave will create two new treadles and automatically configure their tie-up connections for plain weave (odd shafts on one, even shafts on the other). You choose where to place them:
Add at Right — Adds the two new treadles to the right of your existing treadles (default)
Add at Left — Adds them to the left, shifting your existing treadles over
Add at Far Left and Right — Places one tabby treadle at each end
Liftplan Drafts
Liftplan drafts have no treadles, so the Treadle Source options are replaced by a Tabby Lifts readout showing the two alternating lift sets that will be inserted — for example, "Pick A lifts shafts 1, 2, pick B lifts shafts 3–6."
TempoWeave works out the lift sets from your threading: the shafts used by odd-numbered ends form one lift, the shafts used by even-numbered ends form the other. For structures like Summer & Winter this automatically gives the correct tabby (tie-down shafts against pattern shafts). If the threading can't produce true plain weave, the lifts fall back to odd shafts vs. even shafts.
Everything else — insert position, pick range, color, and thickness — works exactly the same as for treadle drafts.
Tabby Ratio
Insert M tabby pick(s) after every N pattern pick(s), with 1 after 1 as the default, which is the classic tabby-after-every-pick result. Some designs have 1 tabby pick for every two pattern picks, for example.
Apply To
Controls which picks receive tabby:
All Picks (default) Inserts tabby between every pick in the entire draft. This is the most common choice.
Pick Range Inserts tabby only within a specific range of picks, leaving the rest of the draft unchanged. When selected, two fields appear:
From pick — The first pick in the range (1 = the very first pick)
To pick — The last pick in the range (defaults to your total pick count)
This is especially useful for:
Adding hems — Insert tabby at just the beginning and end of your draft to create plain weave hems. Run Add Tabby twice: once for picks 1–10 (top hem), then again for the bottom range (bottom hem).
Partial tabby sections — Some designs call for tabby in certain areas but not others, like a sampler with different structures in different sections.
Transitional areas — Add stability where the cloth changes from one structure to another.
Insert Position
Controls whether the first tabby pick goes before or after the first pattern pick:
Before First Pick — The very first pick in the result will be a tabby pick
After First Pick — The first pick stays as your original pattern pick, with tabby inserted after it (default)
Tabby Color
Sets the color for the inserted tabby picks:
Currently Selected — Uses whatever color is currently selected in your palette (default). This is the most common choice — typically a neutral background color.
Adjacent Weft Color — Each tabby pick takes the color of the pattern pick next to it. This creates a less visible tabby that blends with the pattern picks.
Tabby Pick Thickness
A slider (1–16) that sets the yarn thickness for the inserted tabby picks. Defaults to the thickness of your first pick. This is useful when your tabby weft is a different weight than your pattern weft — for example, a fine tabby ground with a heavier pattern weft in overshot.
Existing Pick Thickness
A slider (1–16) that sets the yarn thickness for your original pattern picks. This lets you adjust the pattern weft thickness at the same time. Defaults to the current thickness.
Step-by-Step Example: Adding Tabby to Overshot
Design your overshot pattern with threading, tie-up, and treadling
Open Add Tabby from the Design tab
Choose Use Existing Treadles if your tie-up already has tabby treadles, or Add New Treadles if not
Leave All Picks selected
Choose After First Pick for the insert position
Select your tabby weft color in the palette, then choose Currently Selected
Adjust the Tabby Pick Thickness if your tabby weft is a different weight
Click Apply
Your treadling is now doubled — every original pattern pick has a tabby pick next to it, alternating between the two tabby treadles.
Step-by-Step Example: Adding Plain Weave Hems
Design your pattern as usual
Open Add Tabby from the Design tab
Set your options (treadle source, color, thickness)
Select Pick Range and set From pick: 1 and To pick: 12 (for a 12-pick hem)
Click Apply — tabby is added at the top of the draft only
Open Add Tabby again
Select Pick Range and set the range to cover the last 12 original picks at the bottom
Click Apply — tabby is added at the bottom
You now have plain weave hems at both ends with your pattern untouched in the middle.
Tips
Undo works — If the result isn't what you expected, Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) reverts the entire Add Tabby operation in one step.
Liftplan mode — Works directly on liftplan drafts too: tabby picks are inserted into the liftplan using the lift sets shown in the dialog. No conversion to tie-up needed.
Check your tabby — After adding tabby, use Float Check (Project tab) to verify there are no unexpected long floats. Properly configured tabby should produce floats of 1.
Remove Tabby — Made a mistake or want to try different settings? Use Remove Tabby (Design tab) to strip out the tabby picks and return to your original pattern picks.
Pattern + tabby is traditional — In overshot, the pattern weft is typically thicker and the tabby weft thinner. Use the thickness sliders to reflect this difference and get a more accurate preview.
Quick Reference
Treadle Source
Use Existing
Use Existing / Add New (Right, Left, Far Left & Right); liftplan drafts show Tabby Lifts instead
Apply To
All Picks
All Picks / Pick Range (From–To)
Insert Position
After First Pick
Before First Pick / After First Pick
Tabby Color
Currently Selected
Currently Selected / Adjacent Weft Color
Tabby Pick Thickness
Current thickness
1–16
Existing Pick Thickness
Current thickness
1–16
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