> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tempoweave.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tempoweave.com/help-by-menu-tabs/yarns-menu/yarn-catalog.md).
# Yarn Catalog
*Available on Desktop and Mobile.*
## Yarn Catalog
*Available on Desktop and Mobile. The two interfaces differ more than most features — desktop is a dockable panel with a sortable tree, mobile is a full-screen browser — so the interface sections below are tabbed. Everything about the yarns themselves is identical.*
### Overview
The Yarn Catalog is your gateway to thousands of real-world yarns and your personal yarn stash. It has two parts:
* **Yarn Lines** — A built-in, read-only catalog of commercial yarns with accurate colors, fiber content, sett recommendations, and more
* **My Yarns** — Your personal collection where you can add, edit, and organize your own yarns, track inventory, and build your stash library
From either part, you can copy yarns into your project palette — bringing real colors, thickness, sett recommendations, and variegation profiles into your draft.
***
### Opening the Yarn Catalog
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Desktop" %}
* **Ribbon**: Yarns tab > Yarn Catalog button
* **View tab**: Yarn Catalog toggle
The panel opens docked to the right side of your workspace.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
* Tap **Yarns** on the rail (tablet) or the bottom dock (phone), then **Browse Yarn Catalog…**
Import My Yarns, Export My Yarns, and Get Shared Yarns live in the same section. The catalog opens as a full-screen overlay.
Yarn Catalog Icon
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
***
### The Interface
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Desktop" %}
#### Browsing the tree
The catalog is organized in a three-level tree:
1. **Supplier** — The yarn company (e.g., Louet, Valley Yarns, Brassard)
2. **Yarn Line** — A specific product line (e.g., Euroflax, 8/2 Cotton)
3. **Color** — Individual colorways within that line
Click the expand arrows to drill into suppliers and yarn lines. Each color shows a preview swatch next to its name. Right-click and choose **Expand All** / **Collapse All** to open or close everything at once.
#### Sorting
Click any column header to sort by that column; click again to reverse. You can also sort colors within a yarn line by right-clicking and choosing **Sort Colors**: By Order, By Hue, By Lightness, By Color Family, or Warm to Cool.
#### Choosing columns
The catalog shows a default set of columns, but there are over 50 available fields. Right-click and choose **Choose Columns** to customize — categories cover Core, Classification, Specifications, Measurements, Physical Properties, Performance, and Care & Source. Your choices are saved between sessions.
#### Docking and window management
* **Dock to any side**: drag the panel's title bar; drop targets appear as you drag
* **Float**: drag away from any edge — handy on a second monitor
* **Auto-hide**: click the pin icon; the panel collapses to an edge tab and slides out on hover
* **Close**: click the X; reopen from the Yarns or View tab
In **Focus Mode** (F11) the catalog hides automatically and returns when you exit. TempoWeave remembers whether the panel was open between sessions.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
#### Browsing
The catalog opens on the **Suppliers** list — each supplier shows a strip of representative colors and its yarn line count. Tap a supplier to see its yarn lines, then tap a line to see its colors, each with a swatch, name, and thickness/fiber summary. Use **‹ Back** to step out a level.
* **Yarn Lines / My Yarns** buttons at the top switch between the built-in catalog and your personal collection
* The **sort dropdown** reorders a line's colors (catalog order, hue, lightness, and friends)
* Tap a color's **ⓘ** for its full details — specifications, performance, photo
#### Selecting
Tap **Select** to enter selection mode, tap the yarns you want, then choose the action (copy to your palette or to My Yarns). This is the touch equivalent of desktop's multi-select.
There's no docking or column customization on mobile — the full field set lives behind each color's ⓘ detail view instead of in tree columns.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
***
### My Yarns
My Yarns is your personal yarn library. Unlike the built-in catalog, you have full control — add new yarns, edit any field, track your inventory, and organize however you like. It's organized the same way as the catalog: Suppliers → Yarn Lines → Colors, and Suppliers are just folders ("Local Dyer", "Scarf Project", "Storage Bin 2" — no rules).
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Desktop" %}
* **Add**: toolbar buttons or right-click — Add Supplier, Add Yarn Line, Add Color
* **Edit**: select and click **Edit**, or right-click → Edit
* **Duplicate**: right-click a yarn line → **Duplicate** (copies all its colors)
* **Delete**: at any level — a color, a line, or a whole supplier
* Sorting and column customization work exactly as in the built-in catalog, plus an **Inventory** column category
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
Switch to **My Yarns** at the top of the catalog. Add and edit yarns from there — the editor covers the same fields as desktop, including the color picker and variegation editor. Inventory-style record keeping is best managed on desktop, where the full column view makes it easy to scan.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
#### The Yarn Editor fields
Whichever platform you edit on, a yarn carries the same information:
* **General** — Name, description, color (full picker), color number, dye lot, variegation (space-dyed, ombre, heathered, marled — see the Variegated Yarn Guide), tags, classification, source, and a photo
* **Specifications** — Weight category, yarn thickness (1–16, affects how threads draw in the draft), yards per pound, fiber content, fiber prep, ply, and twist
* **Performance** — Warp performance rating, sticky/hairy notes, recommended applications, sett recommendations (wide/medium/close EPI), and care details
* **Inventory** (My Yarns only) — Quantity and unit, storage location, cost, purchased from/date, notes
### For information on Variegated Yarns see [Variegated Yarn Guide](/special-topics/variegated-yarn-guide.md)
**Tip:** When editing a Yarn Line (not a single color), use **Apply to Colors** to copy specifications like fiber content, weight, and sett recommendations to all colors in that line at once.
***
### Copying Yarns to Your Palette and Stash
The semantics are identical on both platforms; only the gesture differs.
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Desktop" %}
**Multi-select** with Shift-click (range) and Ctrl/Cmd-click (individual rows) — any mix of colors and yarn lines. Then right-click:
* **Copy to My Yarns** — copies catalog yarns into your editable stash (photos come along)
* **Copy to Palette** — adds the colors to your project palette
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
Tap **Select**, tap the colors or lines you want, then choose **Copy to Palette** or **Copy to My Yarns**.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
What happens when copying to the palette, on either platform:
* A yarn line expands to all its colors; duplicates are skipped automatically (even if you selected a line *and* one of its colors); one message reports how many were added
* Colors already assigned to warp or weft threads are preserved
* The palette holds up to 125 colors — if a line has more colors than free slots, the message tells you how many couldn't fit
* Along with each color, the **name and yarn line, thickness, sett recommendations, and variegation profile** all transfer — so your draft works with real yarns, and Project Info can reference the setts
***
### Yarn Swatches and Photos
Each color can display as a **solid** (flat color), a **swatch** (photograph of the actual yarn), or a **user-defined variegation** (gradient preview of a space-dyed, ombre, heathered, or marled pattern).
To attach a photo to a My Yarns entry, use the Photo field in the Yarn Editor (PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, WebP). The image is copied into your personal yarn images folder, so the original file can be moved or deleted afterward.
#### Adding Photos (My Yarns)
In the Yarn Editor (General tab), click **Browse** next to the Photo field to attach an image. Supported formats include PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, and WebP. The image is copied into your personal yarn images folder, so the original file can be moved or deleted afterward.
***
### Sharing, Importing, and Exporting My Yarns
**Share My Yarns (cloud)** — publish your My Yarns list (all of it, or just selected yarns) and get a short TW-XXXXX code to hand to another weaver. They choose **Get Shared Yarns**, enter the code, and merge into (or replace) their own My Yarns. Colors and yarn details travel. Publishing requires Lite or above; works on both platforms.
**Export / Import (file)** — for backups or moving between your own computers:
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Desktop" %}
**Yarns tab → Export My Yarns** saves your whole collection as an XML file; **Import My Yarns** loads one.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
**Yarns panel → Export My Yarns… / Import My Yarns…** — same XML format, interchangeable with desktop.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
{% hint style="warning" %}
Importing **replaces** your existing My Yarns — it does not merge. Export a backup first if you want to keep your current yarns. (The cloud share's Get Shared Yarns flow, by contrast, offers merge.)
{% endhint %}
***
### Tips and Workflows
#### Building a Project Palette from the Catalog
1. Browse to the yarn line you'll be using
2. Copy the whole line to your palette
3. Now when you assign colors to warp and weft threads, you're working with real yarn colors and accurate thickness values
4. The sett recommendations transfer too, so Project Info can reference them
#### Tracking Inventory
Use the Inventory tab in the Yarn Editor to track what you have on hand. The Storage Location field is especially useful if you have yarns spread across multiple locations; add purchase information so you can reorder from the same source.
#### Working with Variegated Yarns
When you add a variegated yarn to your palette, the variegation pattern transfers automatically — your drawdown, fabric viewer, and printed output all show the multi-color effect. See the **Variegated Yarn Guide** for full details. For information on Variegated Yarns see [Variegated Yarn Guide](/special-topics/variegated-yarn-guide.md)