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DRAFT ANALYSIS February 1999
© Judie Eatough

I would like to share a couple of ideas that are dominating my designing process at this time. I have been working to really understand the many implications from the definitions of a weaving draft and then to use the information to design profile drafts. This is a more formal method of some of my past experiments. Sorry for the repeat for those who found the earlier drafts easy or uninteresting. Since I need a name to call this process, I=m going to use draft analysis.

The following graphic will be used to explain the process. This design is not meant to be a finished design, but an illustration of a process for creating designs. Start with a simple curve using 8 shafts. Treadling is same as threading. Tieup was chosen to illustrate topic. The rest, I=m going to attempt to explain. I think this method has the most interesting results when more than 8 shafts are used for the starting curve. (Note the >9's are only used to get blanks in the draft with computer program.)When working with tieups and more shafts, drafts often use more shafts and treadles than are actually needed. The process of fabric analysis will reduce the draft to the minimum shafts and treadles needed to produce the drawdown. When working with a drawdown, this is the only way to do it. If the repeat is long, this can take a while to do. Draft analysis starts with a weaving draft, warp, weft, tieup. Draft analysis uses the tieup square to do all of the work, reducing the time that it takes to analyze a draft. And once a tieup has been analyzed, the information can be used with any curve. This same information can be obtained from a software program that will do fabric analysis.

Begin by looking for the shafts that are the same. The shafts are represented by the rows in the tieup square. Note that row 1 and row 6 are the same. This means that shaft 1 and shaft 6 are the same. Put 1 and 6 in column >A=. Do the same thing for the remaining rows. This design requires 4 shafts or profile blocks. Look at the columns in the tieup to see which treadles are the same. Note that it only requires 4 treadles or profile blocks to produce this draft.

Next, insert some blank ends and picks into the draft. This will make any weaving drafting program produce a pictorial new draft. In this case, enter the ends and picks on shafts 13, 14, 15, and 16. The new draft is at the top and right sides of the drawdown. The tieup can also be done. Remember to keep your rows and columns correct. Since many of the tieups are symmetrical it is easy to get ends and picks reversed.

Telescoping is one of the simplest drafts to do. This tieup telescopes the curve to 4 blocks. Thanks to Alice Schlein and Clotilde Barrett for all of the things they have done with curves. The curve that appears in the draft (first four picks) is just what you would get if you used the standard telescoping methods.

This tieup will digitize the curve.

Draft analysis does not replace other design techniques, but is another tool to use to try to design something pleasing to weave. There are so many things to try with a curve, that it is impossible to explore even a small number of the possibilities. This method rearranges the curve into other curves to explore. The pattern in the tieup becomes a template for pattern telescoping. If you need profile drafts that use a set number of blocks, this method gives a predictable number of blocks.

This draft produces a profile draft with 5 blocks.

Tieups could be saved and filed according to how many blocks they created. Curves could be manipulated without telescoping. Lots of exploration possible.

This tieup reduces to 8x8 blocks, from Ruth Holroyd, Jacob Angstadt Designs, Figure 6.

The curve used for the design is a lemniscate. Lots of possibilities. I hope some of you like this idea.

Designing with Curves: for more information on applying this technique to designing with curves.