All- I'm thinking about buying a weaving software tool. I'm downloading and trying out a couple. They all have their quirks. What is your favorite software tool?

Comments

Tue, 12/13/2016 - 09:26

ReedGuy

I've always like Fiberworks. But I have used the free program Weave Design by Pikes Peak weavers guild. Fiberworks has more options. Try them all and choose, is the best way. :)

Tue, 12/13/2016 - 15:13

Queezle

for Fiberworks.  You can download the demo software (which I think you've done). I am generally impatient with tutorials or manuals, but on a cross-country flight I went through the manual step-by-step, and learned quite a bit.  In fact, its probably time for me to do this again.

I am also hoping to some day purchase a tempo-treadler, and so if that happens, I will need my full plan worked out in software.

Sat, 12/17/2016 - 17:12

Sara von Tresckow

Fiberworks is the good old stable weaving program. It goes into complex patterning such as would later be used on dobby looms and many other advanced weaves.

Weavepoint is from Scandinavia and has links to a module that is helpful for those contemplating double harness weaving. 

IWeaveIt has hooks into designing for gridded designs like Southwest rugs.

All of the above do a great job on beginning to intermediate weaving projects.

Unfortunately I have tried that Pikes Peak freebie (over a span of at least 10 years) and found it crashed every operating system over that span and wasn't that well documented. No longer consider it.

Sat, 12/17/2016 - 19:45

yarncrazy

Thank you all. I"ve had time to play with the fiberworks demo and I like it. Like anything free I'm likely not seeing all the details that I really need to know in the demo.

I will check out Weavepoint and IWeaveIt-thanks for suggesting those.

 

Sat, 12/31/2016 - 02:46

thenutmeg2000

I love Fiberworks. I used it in college from the university and when I graduated I found myself annoyed with the free version. It will certainly do in a pinch if you dont want to use graph paper and take a long time. I love the string counts and heddle counts most. Also, tinker with the printing until you get what you like before printing a big draw down. I usually only print the threading plan and then I use a paper printout I got at school to do the lift plan. I hand write those in. I have one for 4 shafts and I fudged one for 8. You can make one of those on basic spreadsheet software. I make every other row grey so I can look at a glance when weaving an overshot and know what the next tabby pic is. Like every grey row is a 2 and a 4. every white row is a 1 and a 3. I am sure that might not be explained well without a photo but maybe you get my drift.

I probably should look further into what I can actually do with that software. It also makes visualizing your draft so much simpler when you are just following a receipe in say Bertha Grey Hayes and you can figure out how your sides need to look. I guess because I learned to weave with this software it's all I know. I tried Wif N' Proof for my tablet but it didn't rock my world

Sun, 01/01/2017 - 07:25

ReedGuy

You can do liftplans with Fiberworks with one mouse click and print them also. ;)

 

However about WeaveDesign, there are a couple glitches, but not major ones if you are just loading and viewing a draft. If you just want to load a WIF file and do some adjustments to a draft the software works fine. I don't think you can go from a tie-up to a liftplan, it does not convert it. But you can do a liftplan in the software, just not go back and forth, which can be limiting if you have two kinds of looms. I have run it for 5 years now on Windows XP, 8 and 10. I have not crashed it, but it does have a couple bugs. One is during threading of wide projects if I recall. These days I open it up to convert an old draft I have saved to a WIF for Fiberworks to load. Fiberworks is stable, but I have crashed it and there are minor bugs. Sometimes I see a long vertical flashing cursor in the treadling grid and in the pallete to there is a bug. If your threading is say green and you want to use the default white in the pallette, upper left, it will not select. When you hit a thread to change it to white it apears white as you click but immediately reverts to the old color. You have to select another color and change that to white. This is one of the long standing bugs. Overall it is a good program, I have spent a good amount of time designing with it the last 3 years. :)

Sat, 12/31/2016 - 19:51

kate.foreman.suko (not verified)

... so I'll start with this somewhat-related thread.  My new Toika Compudobby is wending its way over the bounty waves, and I thought I'd get started on the learning curve.  Thing about a learning curve is it's largely unknown,.  I've used PixeLoom for years, and I'm at that "but Pixeloom does it like ..."  

I've got three specific questions about WeavePoint, so it's probably just the start. 

1.  How do I indicate quantity (say 6 towels) on the the project plan? 

2.  Where is the warp length shown (7.5 yds for 6 towels). 

3.  When I inserted tabby into a Rosepath design/motif, the tabby was added on the same pick as the design, so the motif disappeared.  What did I do incorrectly?

Thanks so much

Sat, 12/31/2016 - 19:49

kate.foreman.suko (not verified)

... so I'll start with this somewhat-related thread.  My new Toika Compudobby is wending its way over the bounty waves, and I thought I'd get started on the learning curve.  Thing about a learning curve is it's largely unknown,.  I've used PixeLoom for years, and I'm at that "but Pixeloom does it like ..."  

I've got three specific questions about WeavePoint, so it's probably just the start. 

1.  How do I indicate quantity (say 6 towels) on the the project plan? 

2.  Where is the warp length shown (7.5 yds for 6 towels). 

3.  When I inserted tabby into a Rosepath design/motif, the tabby was added on the same pick as the design, so the motif disappeared.  What did I do incorrectly?

Thanks so much

Sun, 01/01/2017 - 02:41

Sara von Tresckow

For what isn't in the project plan, you need to use the "Notes" feature which is a free form comment section.

The "on loom warp length" only fills in when you have completed all the steps - finished length, takeup percentage, loom waste - then the total appears on the ON LOOM LENGTH line .

Likewise, the yards of warp needed appear after you enter epi and number of warp ends.

When doing an inserted threading or treadling, read the screen carefully. It asks you if you want to insert from end or pick 1 or after an interval that you specify. You also need to specify the interval between the inserted threads or picks. Then you need to go to the display box and choose tabby, 3-end, 3-end, etc. It defaults to no structure, so it is quite possible to "insert" without proper interval or structure.

Sun, 01/01/2017 - 02:50

kate.foreman.suko (not verified)

Thanks, Sara.