Double Cloth

What It Does

Double Cloth converts a single-layer weaving draft into a two-layer fabric. The result is two separate layers of cloth woven at the same time on the same loom, connected at one or both edges depending on the fold type you choose.

TempoWeave automatically doubles your shafts and treadles, rearranges the threading so the two layers interleave, adjusts the treadling to weave both layers, and builds a new tie-up that keeps the layers separate while connecting them at the edges.

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Opening Double Cloth

• Ribbon: Tools tab > Double Cloth button

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The Double Cloth Dialog

The dialog asks you to choose a fold type — how the two layers connect:

Left Fold

The two layers are joined at the left selvedge, creating a fabric that folds open like a book. The top and bottom layers interleave in a TBBT pattern (Top, Bottom, Bottom, Top). When you open the fabric, it's twice as wide as the draft on the loom.

This is the most common choice for double-width weaving — weaving a fabric wider than your loom by folding it in half during weaving and opening it afterward.

Right Fold

Same as Left Fold, but the layers are joined at the right selvedge instead. The interleaving pattern is the same (TBBT), just mirrored. Choose this when you want the fold on the right side of the loom.

Tubular

Both selvedges are open — the top and bottom layers are not connected at either edge, creating a tube. The layers interleave in a TBTB pattern (Top, Bottom, Top, Bottom).

Use this for:

• Bags and pouches — Weave a tube, then sew or weave the bottom closed

• Pillows — A seamless pillow cover

• Double-faced fabric — Two distinct faces that can be separated or left as-is

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What Changes in Your Draft

The dialog includes a note: This operation will double your shafts and treadles. EPI and PPI will also be doubled.

Here's what happens in detail:

• Shafts — Doubled. If you had 4 shafts, you now have 8. The original shafts control the top layer, and the new shafts (5–8) control the bottom layer.

• Treadles — Doubled similarly. Original treadles work the top layer, new treadles work the bottom layer.

• Threading — The top and bottom layer threads are interleaved. Where you had one thread per position, you now have two (one for each layer) alternating across the warp.

• Treadling — The picks are interleaved to weave both layers. Each original pattern pick is accompanied by picks for the other layer.

• Tie-up — Expanded to a four-quadrant structure:

  • Top-left: Your original tie-up (top layer weaving)

  • Bottom-right: Inverted copy (bottom layer weaves the opposite interlacement)

  • The other quadrants ensure the layers stay separate except at the fold edges

• Colors — Preserved for both layers. The top layer keeps your original warp and weft colors.

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How to Use It

1. Design your single-layer draft as usual

2. Go to Tools tab > Double Cloth

3. Choose your fold type — Left Fold, Right Fold, or Tubular

4. Click Apply

Your draft is transformed into a double cloth structure.

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Step-by-Step Example: Double-Width Blanket

You want to weave a blanket wider than your loom. Design it at half the final width:

1. Create your pattern at half the desired width (e.g., 20" wide on a 24" loom)

2. Open Double Cloth from the Tools tab

3. Select Left Fold (the fabric will fold at the left selvedge)

4. Click Apply

5. Weave the doubled draft on your loom

6. When you take the fabric off the loom, open the fold — you now have a 40" wide blanket

Step-by-Step Example: Woven Bag

You want to weave a seamless tube that becomes a bag:

1. Design the fabric pattern for one face of the bag

2. Open Double Cloth from the Tools tab

3. Select Tubular (both edges open, creating a tube)

4. Click Apply

5. Weave the draft

6. Sew or weave the bottom closed to finish the bag

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Limitations

• Shaft and treadle count — Since the operation doubles both, your original draft can use at most 64 shafts and 64 treadles (the maximum is 128 each). If your draft exceeds this, TempoWeave will let you know.

• Complexity — Double cloth drafts are inherently more complex. A simple 4-shaft draft becomes an 8-shaft draft with a larger tie-up. Make sure you're comfortable reading the expanded draft.

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Tips

• Undo works — Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) reverts the entire double cloth conversion in one step.

• Design simple, convert later — It's much easier to design your pattern as a single layer and then convert to double cloth, rather than trying to build a double cloth draft from scratch.

• EPI doubles — Remember that your ends per inch (EPI) and picks per inch (PPI) effectively double because you're weaving two layers. Plan your sett accordingly — if you want 20 EPI in the finished fabric, you'll need 40 EPI on the loom.

• Top layer shafts — TempoWeave remembers which shafts belong to the top layer. This information is saved with the draft file so it persists across sessions.

• Try different folds — If you're not sure which fold type to use, try Left Fold first (the most common for double-width). You can always undo and try another option.

• Works with liftplan — The double cloth conversion works in both tie-up and liftplan modes.

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Quick Reference

Fold Type	Layers Connected At	Interleave Pattern	Common Use
Left Fold	Left selvedge	TBBT	Double-width fabric
Right Fold	Right selvedge	TBBT	Double-width fabric (fold on right)
Tubular	Neither edge (tube)	TBTB	Bags, pillows, double-faced fabric