Weave Assistant

What It Does

The Weave Assistant is your at-the-loom companion. It displays your draft pick by pick, showing which shafts to raise for each pick and a real-time cloth preview as you weave. If you have a dobby loom (Louet or Leclerc), it can connect directly and send shaft commands automatically. If you don't have a dobby, it still works as an on-screen guide — advance through your treadling with a foot pedal or keyboard and follow along visually.

Think of it as a scrolling teleprompter for weaving: it keeps your place, shows what's coming next, alerts you to color changes, and lets you focus on the loom instead of a paper draft.

---

Opening the Weave Assistant

• Ribbon: Tools tab > Dobby group > Weave Assistant button

The Weave Assistant opens as a separate window. Only one instance can be open at a time — if you click the button again, it brings the existing window to the front.

---

The Weave Assistant Window

Toolbar (Top)

Navigation Controls

Forward / Reverse Toggles the weaving direction. In Forward mode, advancing goes to higher-numbered picks. In Reverse mode, it goes backward. Use Reverse when you need to unweave or re-do a section.

Previous / Next Pick Step backward or forward one pick at a time. You'll typically use the foot pedal or keyboard instead, but these buttons are available for mouse navigation.

Back Up Goes back one pick, undoing the last advance. This is direction-aware: if you are weaving forward, it goes back one pick; if weaving in reverse, it goes forward one pick. Use this when you need to re-do the previous pick.

Pick Jump Type a pick number and click Go (or press Enter) to jump directly to any pick. The display immediately centers on that pick.

Section Filter A dropdown that lets you limit the weaving range to a specific section of your draft. If your draft has Section Assembly markers (such as "Header," "Pattern," "Footer"), they appear here. Select a section and the Weave Assistant only cycles through picks in that range, automatically wrapping at the section boundaries.

When "All" is selected, you weave through the entire draft.

View Controls

Zoom + / - Adjusts the size of the shaft grid and cloth preview cells. Zoom in for detail or out to see more picks at once.

3D View Toggles interlacement rendering on the cloth preview. When enabled, shadow and highlight lines simulate the over/under texture of real cloth. When disabled, the preview shows flat colored cells.

Alert Enables or disables the color change chime (a quick toggle for the sound alert without opening Settings).

Settings Shows or hides the settings panel on the right side of the window.

Info Bar

A full-width bar below the toolbar showing three pieces of information about the current pick:

• Pick number — Large, bold display (e.g., "Pick 42")

• Active shafts — Which shafts are raised for this pick (e.g., "Shafts: 1, 3, 5, 7")

• Weft color — A color swatch showing the weft color for this pick

This gives you all the essential information at a glance without looking at the grid.

Shaft Grid (Left Panel)

The shaft grid shows the treadling or liftplan data in a grid format:

• Header row — Shaft numbers across the top (1, 2, 3, 4...)

• Pick rows — Each row represents one pick. The current pick is highlighted with a red border and its number shown in red with a ">" marker.

• Filled cells — Dark cells indicate which shafts are raised for that pick

• Weft color dots — Small color indicators on the right margin showing the weft color for each pick. If a yarn is variegated, the dot shows a striped pattern.

• Section highlighting — If you've selected a section, its range is shown with a colored background

The display is centered on the current pick, with upcoming picks above and completed picks below. As you advance, the grid scrolls to keep the current pick in view.

Cloth Preview (Right Panel)

The cloth preview shows what the fabric looks like as you weave:

• Woven picks (below the current pick) are shown at full brightness

• Unwoven picks (at and above the current pick) fade to 35% opacity, giving you a sense of what's coming without visual clutter

• Interlacement (when 3D View is enabled) shows shadow and highlight lines for a realistic thread-over-thread appearance

Both panels share the same vertical alignment, so the current pick row lines up across the shaft grid and cloth preview.

A resizable splitter between the two panels lets you adjust how much space each one gets.

Status Bar (Bottom)

Shows:

• Connection status — "No dobby connected" or the connected port name

• Pick position — "Pick 42 / 200" (or with section range: "Pick 42 / 200 [Pattern: 21–180]")

---

Advancing Through Your Draft

Using the Keyboard (No Dobby)

By default:

• Space — Advance to the next pick

• Shift+Space — Go to the previous pick

These keys are configurable in the Settings panel. You can map them to any key or key combination.

Using a Foot Pedal

If you have a USB foot pedal (commonly available online), configure it to send the Space key. Then you can advance picks hands-free while keeping both hands on the loom.

The key mapping in Settings lets you set up any key your foot pedal sends.

Using a Dobby Loom

When connected to a supported dobby loom:

1. Connect the loom via the serial port in Settings

2. Click Start Cycle

3. The Weave Assistant sends shaft commands to the loom for each pick

4. When the loom reports a cycle complete (the shed has been opened and closed), it automatically advances to the next pick

5. The keyboard/foot pedal still works for manual control alongside the automatic advance

---

Settings Panel (Right Side)

Click Settings in the toolbar to show or hide this panel.

Dobby Connection

For weavers with a supported computer-controlled dobby loom:

Dobby Type Select your loom model:

• Louet Megado

• Louet Octado

• Louet Magic

• Leclerc Weavebird

Serial Port Select the port your loom is connected to. Click Refresh to scan for available ports.

Connect / Disconnect Opens or closes the connection to the loom.

Test Sends a self-test command to verify communication with the loom.

Start Cycle / End Cycle Starts or stops the automatic weaving cycle. When cycling, the loom and software work together: the loom reports when a pick is complete, and the software sends the next shaft configuration.

If you don't have a dobby loom, you can ignore this entire section. The Weave Assistant works perfectly well as a visual guide with just the keyboard or foot pedal.

Foot Pedal

Next Pick Key Shows the current key mapping for advancing to the next pick. Click Set, then press the key you want to use. Default: Space.

Previous Pick Key Shows the current key mapping for going back. Click Set, then press the key combination. Default: Shift+Space.

These settings are saved between sessions.

Sound

Volume A slider (0–100%) controlling the chime volume. Default: 70%.

Color Change Chime When enabled, a chime plays whenever the weft color changes from one pick to the next. This is especially helpful for patterns with frequent color changes — you can hear the change coming and reach for the next shuttle without looking at the screen.

• Play button (▶) — Test the current chime sound

• Browse (...) — Choose a custom WAV file for this chime

• Clear (X) — Remove the custom sound and return to the built-in default

End Wrap Chime When enabled, a distinctive double-ding plays when you reach the end of the treadling sequence (or the end of the current section) and it wraps back to the beginning. This alerts you that you've completed one full repeat.

Same controls as the Color Change chime: play, browse, and clear.

Custom chime files must be WAV format. TempoWeave includes built-in default chimes that work without any setup.

---

Working with Sections

If your draft has Section Assembly markers (defined in the Section Assembly editor), the Section Filter dropdown in the toolbar lets you limit weaving to one section at a time.

For example, if your draft has a Header (picks 1–12), Pattern (picks 13–180), and Footer (picks 181–200):

1. Select "Header" from the Section dropdown

2. The Weave Assistant only cycles through picks 1–12

3. When you reach pick 12, the next advance wraps back to pick 1 (and plays the End Wrap chime)

4. When the header is done, switch to "Pattern" and weave that section

5. Switch to "Footer" for the closing section

This is much easier than remembering pick numbers or manually stopping at section boundaries.

---

How to Use It

Basic Workflow (No Dobby)

1. Open your draft

2. Click Weave Assistant in the Tools tab

3. The window shows your treadling starting at pick 1

4. Sit at your loom with the screen visible

5. Press Space (or your foot pedal) to advance to each pick

6. For each pick, look at the info bar to see which shafts to raise and what color to use

7. Weave the pick, then advance again

8. If you make a mistake, press Shift+Space to go back

Basic Workflow (With Dobby)

1. Open your draft

2. Click Weave Assistant

3. In Settings, select your Dobby Type and Serial Port

4. Click Connect, then Start Cycle

5. The loom raises the correct shafts for pick 1

6. Throw your shuttle and beat

7. The loom automatically advances to the next pick when the cycle completes

8. Continue weaving — the loom and software stay in sync

---

Step-by-Step Example: Weaving with Color Change Alerts

You have a pattern with alternating color blocks and want audio cues for color changes:

1. Open your draft and click Weave Assistant

2. In Settings > Sound, make sure Color Change Chime is checked

3. Set the volume to a comfortable level and test it with the ▶ button

4. Start weaving with Space or your foot pedal

5. Each time the weft color changes, you hear a chime — time to switch shuttles

6. At the end of the repeat, a double-ding tells you it's wrapping back to the start

Step-by-Step Example: Threading with Prepare Threading

You have a complex draft and want help threading the loom:

1. Use Prepare Threading (Tools tab > Dobby group) to create a threading WIF

2. Open the threading WIF file

3. Click Weave Assistant

4. Each pick now represents one warp thread

5. Step through with Space — for each pick, the info bar shows which shaft to thread that warp thread through

6. The weft color shows what color yarn should be at that position

7. Thread your warp one thread at a time, advancing after each one

---

Tips

• Keep the window visible — Position the Weave Assistant window where you can see it from your loom. The large pick number and shaft list in the info bar are designed to be readable at a distance.

• Use the foot pedal — Hands-free advancing is a game-changer, especially for long treadling sequences. Any USB foot pedal that sends a keyboard key will work.

• Zoom for comfort — If the grid is too small to read from your weaving position, zoom in. If you want to see more picks at once (to plan ahead), zoom out.

• Section filtering saves time — Rather than counting picks to know when a section ends, let the Section Filter handle it. The End Wrap chime tells you when it's time to switch sections.

• Color change chimes are addictive — Once you get used to hearing the chime for color changes, you'll wonder how you ever wove without it. It's especially helpful for rep weave and color-and-weave patterns.

• Escape to close — Press Esc to close the Weave Assistant quickly.

• Your position is saved — When you close the Weave Assistant, your current pick number is saved. Next time you open it for the same draft, you'll pick up where you left off.

• Keyboard shortcuts — Ctrl/Cmd + Plus/Minus also works for zooming, matching the standard zoom shortcuts.

---

Supported Dobby Looms

Loom	Manufacturer	Connection
Megado	Louet	Serial (USB adapter)
Octado	Louet	Serial (USB adapter)
Magic	Louet	Serial (USB adapter)
Weavebird	Leclerc	Serial (USB adapter)

If you don't have one of these looms, the Weave Assistant still works fully as a visual guide — just skip the Dobby Connection section in Settings.

---

Quick Reference

Action	Default Key	Configurable?
Next pick	Space	Yes (Settings > Foot Pedal)
Previous pick	Shift+Space	Yes (Settings > Foot Pedal)
Zoom in	Ctrl/Cmd + Plus	No
Zoom out	Ctrl/Cmd + Minus	No
Close window	Escape	No

Setting	Default	Saved?
Next Pick Key	Space	Yes
Previous Pick Key	Shift+Space	Yes
Chime Volume	70%	Yes
Color Change Chime	On	Yes
End Wrap Chime	On	Yes
Dobby Type	Louet Megado	Yes
Zoom Level	100%	No (resets each session)