Prepare Threading

What It Does

Prepare Threading creates a special WIF file designed to help you thread your loom with the assistance of a dobby or computer-controlled loom. It takes your draft's threading sequence and converts it into a liftplan where each pick corresponds to one warp thread, showing which shaft that thread belongs to. The warp colors are also carried over to the picks so the color sequence is visible.

When this file is loaded into the Weave Assistant, the loom can step through the threading one thread at a time — raising the correct shaft for each warp thread as you thread it. Instead of reading a threading chart and counting heddles, you simply advance to the next pick on the loom and thread the warp thread onto whichever shaft is raised.

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Opening Prepare Threading

• Ribbon: Tools tab > Dobby group > Prepare Threading button

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How It Works

The feature performs these steps:

1. Saves your current draft — Your original file is saved first so nothing is lost

2. Creates a new file — You're prompted to save a new file. TempoWeave suggests a name based on your original file with "-THREADING" appended (e.g., MyPattern.wif → MyPattern-THREADING.wif)

3. Converts the draft — The threading pattern is written into the liftplan:

   • Each warp thread becomes a pick (row) in the liftplan

   • The shaft that warp thread is on becomes the active shaft for that pick

   • The warp colors are copied to the weft so the color sequence is preserved

   • The tie-up is set to a simple diagonal (shaft 1 → treadle 1, shaft 2 → treadle 2, etc.)

4. Saves the threading WIF — The new file is saved and ready to load into the Weave Assistant

The result is a liftplan file where pick 1 corresponds to warp thread 1, pick 2 to warp thread 2, and so on. Each pick raises exactly one shaft — the shaft that thread should be threaded through.

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How to Use It

1. Open the draft you want to thread on your loom

2. Make sure the draft has been saved at least once (Prepare Threading requires a saved file)

3. Go to Tools tab > Prepare Threading

4. Click OK on the confirmation dialog

5. Choose where to save the threading WIF file (the suggested name includes "-THREADING")

6. TempoWeave saves your original draft, converts it, and saves the threading file

7. Open the Weave Assistant (Tools tab > Dobby group > Weave Assistant)

8. Load the threading WIF file into the Weave Assistant

9. Step through the picks one at a time as you thread each warp thread onto the raised shaft

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Step-by-Step Example: Threading with Dobby Assistance

You have a complex 16-shaft Summer & Winter draft with 400 warp threads and want help threading it accurately:

1. Open your Summer & Winter draft in TempoWeave

2. Save it if you haven't already

3. Click Prepare Threading in the Dobby group

4. Confirm with OK

5. Save the threading file as SummerWinter-THREADING.wif

6. Open the Weave Assistant and load the threading file

7. Start threading your loom:

   • The Weave Assistant shows pick 1 — shaft 1 is raised

   • Thread your first warp thread through a heddle on shaft 1

   • Advance to the next pick — shaft 3 is raised

   • Thread the next warp thread through shaft 3

   • Continue through all 400 threads

8. The color display helps you verify you're threading the right color of yarn at each position

Without Prepare Threading, you'd need to read the threading chart back and forth across 400 threads, counting heddles on 16 shafts. With it, the loom tells you exactly which shaft each thread goes on.

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What Changes in Your Draft

When you run Prepare Threading, the new file is a completely transformed draft:

• Treadling/Liftplan — Replaced with the threading sequence (one pick per warp thread)

• Tie-up — Set to a diagonal (identity) matrix

• Weft colors — Copied from the warp colors

• Pick count — Equals the number of warp threads

• Mode — Switched to liftplan mode

• Threading — Unchanged (still contains the original shaft assignments)

Your original draft is saved separately before the conversion. The threading WIF is a new file — your pattern draft is preserved.

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Tips

• Save first — You must save your draft before using Prepare Threading. If the file hasn't been saved yet, you'll be prompted to do so.

• Original is preserved — Your original draft file is saved before the conversion happens. The threading WIF is a separate file. You can always go back to your original.

• Use with Weave Assistant — Prepare Threading is designed to work with the Weave Assistant window. Load the threading WIF there and use the foot pedal or keyboard to advance through the threading sequence.

• Colors help verify — The warp colors are carried into the picks, so as you step through the threading, the color shown for each pick matches the yarn color you should be threading. This is a helpful visual check.

• Works with any shaft count — Whether you have 4 shafts or 32, Prepare Threading handles the conversion. It's most valuable for high shaft counts where manual threading charts are hard to follow.

• Naming convention — TempoWeave automatically suggests adding "-THREADING" to the filename. This makes it easy to keep your pattern file and threading file together and distinguish between them.

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Quick Reference

Detail	Info
Location	Tools tab > Dobby group > Prepare Threading
Input	Any saved draft (tie-up or liftplan mode)
Output	New WIF file in liftplan mode
Output naming	Original filename + "-THREADING.wif"
What's converted	Threading → liftplan picks, warp colors → weft colors
Original draft	Saved and preserved as a separate file
Best used with	Weave Assistant for at-the-loom guidance