Plain Weave

Other types of weave

Plain
Oxford
Lace
Twill
Grenadine
Herringbone
Houndstooth
Jacquard
Moire
Repp
Ribbed
Satin
Barathea
Self-On-Self
End-On-End


Warp and Weft

All weaves are made up from Warp and Weft ‘yarns’. Warp ‘yarns’ run along the length of the material, whilst weft ‘yarns’ run across the width of the material. It is the different methods of interlacing the warp and weft ‘yarns’ that create a particular type of weave. Many of the most common weaves have acquired names that come down to us over the centuries.

Plain Weave

Plain weave is the most common and the tightest method of interlacing warp and weft. Each warp ‘yarn’ passes alternately over and under each weft. The interlacing is opposite in all neighbouring cells. Plain weave allows the highest possible number of interlacings which, depending on the fibre and ‘yarn’ type, the thread density and the finishing, can yield fabrics with high abrasion resistance and resistance to ‘yarn’ slippage.

Brief Glossary of Weaving Terms

Float
A float is created when a warp or weft ‘yarn’ is passed over two or more threads.
Shed
A shed is the opening created on a loom where the weft passes between the warp ‘yarn’.
Pick
A pick (also referred to as a shot) is a single pass of the weft through the ‘shed’.
Ends
Individual warp threads.
Yarn
Yarn is the generic term for a thin, long, continuous strand of textile fibre, filament, or material in a form suitable for knitting, weaving, or otherwise intertwining (or interlacing) to form a textile fabric.