A woven fabric consists of a warp thread and a weft thread, and when crossing these two threads you create a weaving pattern.
The weaving pattern plays a major part in determining the look, hand feel and wrapping qualities of the sling/wrap.
To create the perfectly balanced slings/wraps we select yarns and weaves that compliment each other. For example: yarn with glide needs a weave with grip, yarn that lacks elasticity needs a weave that adds elasticity, and vice versa.
At Löft, we have three basic weaving patterns (adding a little twist sometimes 🙂 ).
Plain/tabby weave: A flat weave created by the weft thread passing over and under the warp thread. The plain weave characterizes by strength, tightness and its beautiful simplicity. Contrasts are beautiful, so we like to combine the plain weave with yarns that have a lot of texture and nubs, like the banana yarn. Shiva is a plain weave.
Twill weave: You properly know this pattern from your favorite jeans. Twill has a pattern of diagonal parallel lines. The twill pattern has less yarns interlacing than the plain weave, this adds mobility and resistance from tearing. Natural yarns like hemp and linen does not have much stretch, so they need a weaving pattern that gives them this extra mobility. The twill weave is used for Thapa and Kamala.
Herringbone weave: A variation of the twill pattern achieved by reversing the direction of the twill weave at regular intervals. You can always recognize this beautiful weave by the classic zig-zag looking pattern. A Herringbone has more diagonal stretch than a plain weave. The zig-zag pattern adds grip which is useful when using yarns with glide. Bishnu, Shanti and Riz have a herringbone weave.