It is possible to apply a weave structure to a jacquard layer to create interesting patterns and effects
Adding the Jacquard layer
A Jacquard layer is required for every jacquard design in order to apply the individual weave structures to each coloured layer.
To add a Jacquard layer, select Jacquard from the Weave Menu. A new 1 bit layer named Jacquard will be added to the bottom of the layer list.
Opening the Weave Library and viewing the structures within it
The Weave Library is required in order to apply structures to the Jacquard layer.
- Go to Window Menu > Weave > Library.
The first time the library is opened it will be blank. Weaves can either be added by hand one by one, or they can be loaded from a saved library. Every subsequent time the software is launched, the weave library will reopen containing all the new weaves which were added last time it was used.
Assigning weaves to the layers
Once you have added the weave structures that you want to use to the Weave Library (or you have identified them if they already exist in the library), they can be transferred to the Jacquard structure layer.
- Activate your first separated layer by clicking on its pencil in the Layers Palette.
- Highlight the weave to be used in the Weave Library.
- Go to Weave Menu > Name and Transfer.
- Make the Jacquard layer visible and you will see that the chosen structure has been applied to it, across the whole design wherever the chosen layer colour appears.
You will also notice that the name of the weave structure has been added to the chosen layer name in the Layers Palette. This will help you to remember which weaves were used for each layer.
Note: It is important to make sure you select weaves which will work correctly across the repeat join of the design. Assuming you have already spent time making your design the correct number of ends and picks, it will be easy to select the right weave structures for the design. Just make sure the single repeat unit of the structures you choose divides equally into your design repeat size. For example, if your design repeats on 1600 ends, choosing weave structures which repeat on 4, 8, 16 or 32 ends will be fine. Choosing weave structures which repeat on 6 or 12 ends will not work however, because they do not divide equally into 1600, and this will cause problems on the repeat join.
- Repeat steps 1 – 3 for each layer in the design until all layers have been transferred and the whole Jacquard layer is complete.
If you do not like the way a certain weave looks on a particular layer, just choose a different weave in the library and repeat step 3 again, on the relevant layer.
All layers will now be named according to the weave structure which has been assigned to it.
Editing the layers and retransferring the weaves
It is quite likely that a customer may request changes to a design after you have applied the weaves to it. If this is the case, it is far easier to make the changes to the layers and then reapply the weaves, rather than trying to edit the Jacquard layer directly.
- Go back to the layers and make the necessary changes using whichever tools are relevant for the job.
- Activate all of the layers (excluding your original image and Jacquard layer).
- Go to Weave Menu > Transfer Weaves. The software will look up the weaves in the library using the names on the layers and reapply them all at the same time, taking into account any changes you have made to the design. The Jacquard layer will also update to show the updated weave information.
Note: If the changes involve something major such as removing a colour completely, you must make sure you fill the missing areas with one of your other colours before retransferring the weaves, otherwise you will be left with holes on the Jacquard layer, which will result in an unusable fabric.