Weave Patterns

Woven fabrics from THS come with many different weave patterns, each with their own benefits for specific applications. We’ve created this guide to detail a few of the standard weave patterns we use. 

The most common and simplest weave pattern: Plain weave. This weave pattern gives fabric strength and durability, with the versatility to be used in many applications. A plain weave fabric forms a basic one under and one over pattern, where the warp yarn and weft yarn cross one at a time. THS Weldblock utilises this weave pattern which is woven from heavy, texturised yarns for welding applications. 

A more flexible and pliable weave pattern, which shows some ‘stretch’ properties, is recognisable through the visible diagonal lines. This is of course: Twill weave. This pattern forms distinguishable diagonal lines through an alternating pattern of the warp or weft yarns. THS twill weave fabrics are more suitable for applications such as fire blankets, which are required to be folded up into small container for long periods, the twill weave pattern, protects the fabric from potential damage. 

When fabrics are required to have a smooth finish, a Satin weave can be utilised. Satin weaves can be woven in different methods, such as 4 Harness or 8 Harness, but the outcomes are very similar. A satin weave can be woven by the warp or weft yarn, looping over 4 (although it could be more) of the opposite warp or weft yarn, but then only dropping under 1 before repeating the jump again. This creates a smooth surface finish. Satin weaves make up the majority of THS’s polymer coated range, from silicone, PU to PTFE. 

A fabric which has become very recognised in the oil and gas industry, as well as the offshore industry is Square weave or checkerboard weave. This can be woven in multiple ways to have a smaller or larger ‘square’ pattern re-occurring throughout the fabric. This pattern provides a durable and robust fabric construction. THS utilise this pattern for in welding blankets, but also in some hot face applications on insulation jackets. 

When a tight construction is required, for applications such as low air leak properties in smoke curtains, a panama is utilised. This is essentially a double plain weave – where instead of 1 warp and weft yarn going under and over, 2 yarns in both the warp and weft follow the same pattern equally, thus creating a tighter construction. 

A fabric weave which has higher abrasion resistance and strength is herringbone, also known as broken twill, this pattern is very similar to twill weave, with its diagonal pattern. However, its offsets after a certain point and reverses its diagonal, creating what is recognised as the continual ‘V’ shape or ‘chevrons’.