Loom control
DB-WEAVE drives computer-controlled looms directly: ARM Designer Electronic, ARM Patronic, the Finnish Varpapuu controller, and the LIPS / SLIPS controllers (experimental).
To weave a pattern, open or create the pattern in DB-WEAVE and then choose Extras → Weave (Ctrl+W) to enter weave mode. The screen splits three ways:
- The pattern on the left.
- The pegplan in the middle, with the current pick highlighted in blue and the last actually-woven pick marked by a triangle.
- The nine braces on the right, controlling what is woven in what order.
Braces
Braces decide what is woven, when, and how many times. With one brace covering the whole repeat and a repetition of 1, the repeat is woven endlessly — and that is the default DB-WEAVE sets up for you, so you can start weaving immediately.
For more elaborate sequences, all nine braces are available. If more than one brace has a repetition greater than zero, they are woven left-to-right.
To resize a brace: drag either end with the mouse. To move a brace: drag its middle. To set a brace's repetition: click the brace to select it, then press 0–9. The maximum repetition count is 9.
The selected brace's data is shown in the status bar.
Keyboard usage
Loom-control mode is fully usable — sometimes more comfortably so — from the keyboard.
When a pick is selected (blue or red highlight), the cursor up / down keys move the selection.
Enter switches between pick selection and brace selection.
When a brace is selected (red highlight):
- Cursor up / down moves the brace's upper limit.
- Ctrl + cursor up / down moves the brace's lower limit.
- Shift + cursor up / down moves the entire brace.
- Cursor left / right switches between braces.
Weave menu
Start weaving (F5) — starts the weaving.
Stop weaving (F5) — stops it again.
Weave backwards (F4) — reverses direction.
Close (Esc) — closes weave mode and returns to the main program.
Position menu
Set current position (Ctrl+G) — moves the current weave position.
Last woven pick — sets the position back to the last pick that was actually woven.
Goto → Brace 1…9 (Shift+1…9) — jumps to the start of the chosen brace, if active.
View menu
Draft (Ctrl+1) — standard draft view.
Color (Ctrl+2) — uses the warp and weft colours.
Fabric (Ctrl+3) — schematic interlacement view.
Zoom in / Normal / Zoom out (Ctrl+I / — / Ctrl+U) — zoom controls.
Options menu
Loom — pick your loom from the list and configure the connection (port settings vary per loom).
Endless — when active, weaving wraps from the last brace back to the first without interruption. When inactive, weaving stops at the end with a bell signal.
Reversed shafts — reverses the shaft order. Make sure the shaft count is correct under Options → Number of shafts.
Number of shafts — the number of shafts your loom has.