Fabric Analysis Mode

What It Does

Fabric Analysis Mode lets you work backwards, to a degree — instead of building a draft from threading, treadling, and tie-up, you draw the cloth structure directly on the drawdown grid and TempoWeave figures out the threading, treadling, and tie-up for you.

This is useful when you have a piece of fabric in hand (or a photo of one) and want to recreate it as a draft. You examine the cloth, mark which intersections are warp-over and which are weft-over, and TempoWeave analyzes the pattern to derive the shaft assignments, treadle sequence, and tie-up connections needed to reproduce it.

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Opening Fabric Analysis Mode

• Ribbon: Tools tab > Analysis group > Fabric Analysis button

This is a toggle — click it once to enter Fabric Analysis Mode, click it again to exit and apply the analysis.

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How It Works

Drawing on the Drawdown

When Fabric Analysis Mode is active, you draw directly on the drawdown grid:

• Left-click — Fill a cell (warp over weft — the cell turns black)

• Right-click (or Ctrl+click) — Clear a cell (weft over warp — the cell turns white)

As you draw, a dark green outline shows where your cursor is, and the last cell you clicked is marked with a lime outline.

You're essentially recreating the interlacement pattern of the fabric, cell by cell. Each filled cell means "the warp thread is on top at this intersection." Each empty cell means "the weft thread is on top."

Exiting and Applying

When you've finished drawing the pattern, click the Fabric Analysis button again to exit the mode. TempoWeave immediately analyzes what you've drawn and derives:

• Threading — Each unique column pattern in your drawing becomes a shaft. Columns with the same over/under pattern are assigned to the same shaft.

• Treadling — Each unique row pattern becomes a treadle. Rows with the same over/under pattern are assigned to the same treadle.

• Tie-up — The shaft-to-treadle connections are built from representative cells where each shaft/treadle combination intersects.

The shaft and treadle counts are updated automatically based on how many unique patterns were found.

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How to Use It

1. Go to Tools tab > Fabric Analysis

2. The drawdown grid is now in drawing mode

3. Examine your source fabric (or photo) and fill in the cells to match the interlacement:

   • Left-click to mark warp on top

   • Right-click to mark weft on top

4. Draw enough of the pattern to capture at least one full repeat

5. Click Fabric Analysis again to exit the mode

6. TempoWeave derives the threading, treadling, and tie-up from your drawing

7. Review the result — the threading, treadling, and tie-up areas now show the analyzed structure

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Step-by-Step Example: Analyzing a Fabric Sample

You have a piece of twill fabric and want to figure out the draft:

1. Look at the fabric closely (a magnifying glass or pick counter helps)

2. Open a new draft in TempoWeave with enough threads and picks to cover at least one repeat

3. Click Fabric Analysis in the Tools tab

4. Starting from one corner, examine each intersection of your fabric:

   • If the warp thread is on top, left-click that cell

   • If the weft thread is on top, leave it empty (or right-click to clear it)

5. Work through at least one full repeat of the pattern

6. Click Fabric Analysis again to exit

7. Check the threading — you should see a familiar twill sequence

8. Check the tie-up — it should show the twill connection pattern

9. You now have a working draft that reproduces the fabric

Step-by-Step Example: Recreating a Pattern from a Photo

You found a photo of a beautiful fabric online and want to weave it:

1. Open the photo on your screen for reference (or print it out)

2. Create a new draft sized to cover the visible repeat

3. Enter Fabric Analysis Mode

4. Fill in the cells to match the pattern in the photo as closely as you can

5. Exit the mode

6. Review the derived threading and treadling

7. If the shaft or treadle count is too high for your loom, you may need to simplify the pattern

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Tips

• Draw at least one full repeat — The analysis works best when you've drawn a complete repeating unit. Partial patterns may produce more shafts or treadles than necessary.

• Fewer unique patterns = fewer shafts — Every unique column pattern becomes a shaft. If you have 20 columns but only 4 unique patterns among them, you'll get a 4-shaft draft.

• Accuracy matters — A single misplaced cell can create an extra shaft or treadle. If the result has more shafts than expected, check your drawing for inconsistencies.

• Undo works — Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) can undo individual cell changes while you're drawing. After exiting the mode, undo reverts the entire analysis.

• Start small — If you're unsure about the pattern, start with a small section (one repeat) rather than trying to draw the entire fabric at once. You can always extend it later.

• Use with Image Center — For complex patterns, consider using Image Center to convert a photo to a grid first, then paste it into the drawdown and use Fabric Analysis Mode to derive the draft structure.

• Not available with multi-treadle — Fabric Analysis Mode requires single-treadle mode. If your draft uses double-press treadling, convert to tie-up format first (Tools tab > To Tie-up).

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Quick Reference

Action	How
Enter mode	Tools tab > Fabric Analysis (toggle on)
Fill cell (warp on top)	Left-click
Clear cell (weft on top)	Right-click or Ctrl+click
Exit and analyze	Tools tab > Fabric Analysis (toggle off)
Result	Threading, treadling, and tie-up derived from drawn pattern