Weave Draft Generator

Interlacing percentage reflects how often warp and weft actually cross each other within the repeat -- plain weave crosses at every single intersection (100% of the repeat, since each thread alternates over-under with no floats at all), the maximum possible for any structure, while 5-shaft satin is built with long floats specifically to minimize those crossings (just 1 crossing per 5-thread repeat, 20%), hiding the weave structure under the float and producing the smooth, lustrous surface satin is known for. Fewer interlacements also means the fabric is generally less durable and more prone to snagging than a tightly interlaced plain weave of the same yarn.

Based on the shaft counts this calculator uses, a 4-shaft loom can weave plain weave (needs 2 shafts, so it fits with room to spare), twill 2/2 (needs exactly 4), and basket 2/2 (also needs 4 shafts but only 2 treadles). A 5-shaft satin structure needs a 5th shaft that a 4-shaft loom does not have, so the calculator's Feasible on Loom? check would report No for satin at that shaft count -- you'd need to add a shaft or choose a different satin variation designed for fewer shafts.

No -- the repeat size (2 threads for plain weave, 4 for twill or basket, 5 for satin) is fixed by the structure itself, not by how many total threads are in the project. Doubling Warp Threads simply means the same small repeat tiles across the warp twice as many times, which is why this calculator reports the count of full repeats separately from the repeat width -- more threads means more repetitions of an unchanged pattern unit, not a bigger pattern.

This calculator assumes the common 4-shaft threading for basket 2/2, where two adjacent warp ends are threaded together as a pair (same repeat width as twill), but the treadling only needs to alternate between 2 combinations to produce the paired-thread pattern, versus twill's 4-step treadling sequence. Note that basket weave can also be threaded on just 2 shafts with 2 treadles -- the 4-shaft version shown here is a common convenience choice (it avoids crowding two threads through one heddle), not a structural requirement, so a 2-shaft or rigid-heddle loom can still weave basket 2/2 even though this calculator's Feasible on Loom? check is based on the 4-shaft threading.