I've had a resurgence of interest in this Plain Weave tutorial/template of mine from last year. I must be on some hot search site or something. I get a lot of request for other templates, like a twill or herringbone or houndstooth, etc. While I'd love to sit and do them all, I really don't have the time... but I am quite familiar with the twill weave, so I figured I could knock it out. Zoom in on the image above to get a clearer view of the texture.
I'm not really sure what construction this particular weave might equate to in real weaving terms, but we typically did flannels in a 64x54, 21's... and this seems a bit finer than that... more like s 100x80 40's (just a guess)- also, it's sort of a reclining twill, meaning it slopes more like 30º rather than a more typical 45º. Does all this sound like gobbledy-gook? Well, it is and it isn't... but believe me, if you're trying to let the average person know that the plaid you are designing is a "twill" this will work. And for all intensive purposes, if you were sending this pattern to a mill to weave, it would also work, only it would be known that you expect a construction let's say of 64x54, 21's in a 45º (which is something you and your mill would be working out WELL in advance to giving them artwork...).
Follow the directions on my previous post for how to use this downloadable Photoshop template. (caution, download starts upon click and it's nearly 5MB file!)
If anyone has any requests for other weaves, you can add them to the comments here and maybe someday I'll get to them.
7 comments:
Michelle-Thanks for this. Did you work with the Origin, Inc. book Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design? I find it a bit time consuming for plaids in Photoshop.
Do you email files to the mill? I have trouble with the scale coming across the same when the person on the other end prints it out.
I only send hardcopies to mills- digitally a .pdf would be best as they can't tinker with scale as much if they open it in Acrobat, but I have still run into issues. I've never heard of Origin, Inc. but it is probably a good reference. I find that every designer who works with Adobe for the creation of textile designs has a unique way of doing things. Because these programs aren't made specifically for textile design and they can be used for a myriad of design projects, it leaves flexibility to the user and allows them to use it the way they feel most comfortable. I learned everything I know from trial and error- an idea in my head that needed to be worked out. Sometimes another designer would give me a tip and open my eyes to a completely new revelation... those are wonderful moments!
OK, I know about the thread count numbers, but what does 10's, 40's mean?
It is the denier- the thickness of the yarns- the higher the number, the finer (skinnier) the yarn. 21s are thicker than 41s. The denier is used in calculating the weights of fabrics. It's rather technical business, but if you are into fabric manufacturing you may want to understand the difference when buying goods- the higher the number, the finer the yarns, the more drapey the fabrics tend to be. The count is also important- they go hand in hand.
I ended up posting on the older entry instead of this one, but just wanted to say thank you again for sharing your method! If I work out any other weaves I'll be sure to send them on to you. :)
Thanks for the information! I don't work with prints, but this does seem very helpful even for graphic design.
OK, so I'm clueless about all the gobbledy gook, but the twill is very pretty.
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