Before converting your design to a Jacquard weave, you must make sure that the motifs are arranged correctly and the repeat joins have been fixed. You then need to check that the design is the correct size and sett for your chosen loom. The sett will be decided by the type of fabric you are weaving and the yarns you are using. The size will be determined by the number of hooks you are using on your chosen loom and should therefore divide evenly into this number.
Checking the sett
It is likely that the resolution (ends/picks per cm or inch) of the design will initially be much higher than you need for the final weave design output, particularly if the design originated from a scanned artwork. This is because it is always a good idea to scan at a high resolution to get a good starting quality to your design (for example 254 – 300dpi). For designs created solely in the AVA software, it may be more appropriate to set a slightly lower resolution when creating the design (for example 72dpi) so that you avoid having to make such large changes to the resolution later in the design process.
It is very likely that designs will start off with a ‘square set’ resolution (having the same number of pixels per inch/cm in the X and Y axis). The resolution can be checked by selecting Quality from the Edit Menu. The number will be given in dpi or dpcm. Alter these units as required to check the appropriate number in your document.
Changing the sett
- Go to the Edit Menu and select Quality.
- Click on the pop up menu named Same, and select Other. The two resolution fields at the top of the window will become highlighted, allowing you to enter the new sett. The first field will be the number of ends per inch or cm and the second field will be the number of picks per inch or cm.
- Enter the new sett (for example 53 epi x 64 ppi) and click Set. The resolution will change and you may notice the design’s zoom level change. The dpi/dpcm information in the Layers window will now show two figures instead of one, to reflect the different X and Y resolutions now contained in the file.
Tip: Try using the zoom shortcuts below to see how different the design looks at different zoom levels;
- Hold down ^ (control key) and double click on the Magnify Tool. This will set the zoom level of the design to 100% (actual size). This zoom percentage will be shown at the bottom left of the design window and can be displayed by adding the Scale option to the toolbar.
- Hold down the ⌥ (option key) and double click on the Magnify Tool. Alternatively, click on the button in the toolbar named Fastest Size. This will set the zoom level of the design to ‘fastest size’. This means that one pixel of the design matches one pixel on the screen and the pixels will appear to be elongated and rectangular rather than square.
Checking the size of the document
- Go to View > One Repeat.
- Then go to Edit > Select All, or use the keyboard shortcut command A.
- Go to Window > Info and make sure the units in the Info Window are set to pixels.
- Note down the W and H measurements displayed. This will give you the number of pixels (ends and picks) in the design.
If the number of ends and picks in the design are different to those needed, you will either need to resize or crop the design to the required numbers.
Changing the size of the document
Resizing the design by a large amount may cause too much distortion in the motifs, so it may be better to crop the design if a large change is required to make it the correct size. Small changes are often best made by resizing. Cropping the design larger or smaller will alter any repeat joins that you have already fixed as it will either add extra pixels or remove pixels from the design; so if you do not want to spend a long time correcting the repeat joins again, it may be best either to resize the design, or consider the final size before working on the repeat.
Resize
Go to Edit Menu > Resize and enter the required number of pixels in the Width and Height fields. When you click ok, the design will get larger or smaller (depending on the figures you entered) to reflect the new measurements. All the elements within the design will be scaled up or down within the existing document area.
Crop
Double click on the Crop tool in the Tools window and enter the required number of pixels in the Width and Height fields at the bottom of the window. When you click ok, a crop box will be displayed over the design. This can be moved to a different position on the design if desired. When the box is positioned as required, double click inside the box and the design will change in size to reflect the new measurements you have entered. If you entered higher numbers, additional pixels will be added to the edges of the design; if you entered lower numbers, pixels will be removed from the design.
Separating the design into the required number of colours
Once the design has been set to the correct size and sett, it needs to be broken down into the desired colour areas, in other words, separated. There are several ways that this can be done, depending on the type of design. You may find that the Automatic separation method works well for most types of design.
By the end of the separation, you should have one 1 bit layer for each colour in the design. If too many layers are created initially, the number of colours can be reduced until you have the desired number. The colour reduction process can be aided by using the Despeckle filter and Mover tool. By the end of this process, each layer should ‘fit’ to the others so that there is no overlapping of colours.
At this stage, you may find that you wish to create different colour versions (colourways) of your design.