Plain Weave

A well-balanced fabric with excellent stability and good porosity. This weave does not drape well, and because the weft and warp have many interactions, strength is lower. This weave gives the cleanest edges when cut. It is the thickest of our common weaves. Because of the crimp, the surface is wavy. Because of many tight spots, wet-out is slower. When heavy yarns (e.g. roving) are used, we weave a basket pattern, which is a plain weave with 2 strands instead of one in both directions. This reduces crimp and improves strength and wet-out. If a fabric of a certain weight is required, and high stability is demanded, consider a tighter weave with thinner strands.

Twill Weave

This fabric is recognized by a distinct diagonal pattern. Twills come in different configurations given as e.g. 2×2, meaning each warp and weft end goes over and under 2 ends. Wet-out and drape are better than plain weave but stability is lower, especially in higher twills. Crimp is reduced resulting in a smoother thinner fabric with improved strength.

Mock Leno

We weave this pattern for aplications that require thickness, while maintaining permeability for good wet-out. The fabrics are usually much heavier than the other weaves and have a wavy surface. They have good strength but do not have good drape.

Uni-directional

Uni-directional fabrics have most yarn running in one direction. These are fabrics where the strength demand is in one direction only. Most uni-directional fabrics have low stability. This can be improved by placing hot melt strands or weave the thin yarn with a leno motion. Both will stabilize the fabric, but it will never be as good as one of the other fabrics. Stability does improve with a tighter weave.

Hopsack/Basket Weave

It is very similar to a plain weave, but there are 2 strands of roving in both the warp and the weft. This results in a flatter product with fewer, smaller gaps in the fabric. The fabric looks more uniform than with a plain weave. Hopsack weaves also have higher strength in both directions, as there are fewer crossovers between warp and weft.