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As you gain confidence in weaving and learn more about how to read weaving patterns, it’s inevitable that you’ll come across a draft where it looks like the rules have changed. Perhaps it seems like there’s information missing, or you’re only seeing only two shafts where you expect four. It’s not a mistake or some big weaving secret — what you’re seeing is a profile draft or block substitution, a type of weaving shorthand that helps to compress complex threadings to make it faster and cleaner to read, understand, and convey. Once you know how to read them, you’ll appreciate the shortcut and level up your understanding of drafting and patterns.
To understand what a profile draft is, we’ll first define what a block is. A block is a weaving structure where the warp and weft threads can make two (or more) different interlacements. The threading of a block pattern usually follows a predictable and recurring sequence. Many Gist patterns you may have already tried are made up of threading blocks, such as the Contrast Block Table Set (Overshot), the Creamsicle Towels (Summer and Winter), or the Midnight Sun Table Set (Swedish Lace).
A very simple example of a block pattern is Monk’s Belt. The two threading sequences are: 1, 2, or 3, 4. These are your two blocks: 1, 2 can be called block A, and 3, 4 can be called block B. Each block can be woven to create two distinct surfaces, a pattern and a Plain Weave, and can have a variable number of threads; as you can see in the example draft, I have two thread, four thread, and six thread blocks.
If this was a project of several hundred ends, the draft could quickly become very complex to print out and read. This is where profile drafts are a great tool to clean up and compress this information!
Profile drafts use the same notation as a regular weaving draft but they are not supposed to be followed exactly. As you can see in the profile draft for our Monk’s Belt pattern, you would quickly run into several different problems if you tried weaving it as is. Instead, the weaver must substitute each square for one of the two blocks.
Monk's Belt profile draft
In a profile draft, each row represents a different threading block and gets assigned a letter (A, B, C, and so on). Each column represents one threading repeat. Comparing this profile draft to the original, you can see every instance of block A is now represented by a black square on the row that would normally indicate shaft one. Block B is on shaft two. A weaver following this profile draft would substitute one threading block for each black square: therefore, starting from the right, you would thread two units of block A (1, 2, 1, 2 ) followed by two units of block B (3, 4, 3, 4) and so on.
You generally see a profile draft provided alongside either a traditional threading draft or a threading key: the detailed threading draft/key will provide the individual threading units and name each block, while the profile draft will tell you which order to use them in. While profile drafts are more commonly used for threading, you may see them used for treadling too.
You will often come across profile drafts in weaving books and magazines, especially when there are complex projects with 4+ blocks that are each several threads long. It just gets too long and difficult to parse, let alone publish, without using the shorthand of profile drafting.
Profile drafts substitute pages and pages of threading into an easy to understand short-form chart that is still visual, but without all the visual noise of many threads. Knitters who have used charts will be familiar with the concept of profile drafts; following written knitting instructions is much harder than simply following a chart where a symbol tells you where to knit, purl, cable or yarn over.
I use blocks and profile drafts to design weaving patterns all the time. I can use graph paper to sketch out a design and then apply the structure and threading units I wish to use when plotting the pattern on my computer. Blocks are one of the technical shorthands that help me think more quickly about patterns, threadings, and treadlings. Once you understand there’s no great big secret to profile drafts, you’ll feel more confident tackling projects that use them!
Ready to try a block weave project? Gist has several great patterns that use block structures for you to try, like the Cascade Runner or Creamsicle Towels.
Amanda Rataj is an artist and weaver living and working in Hamilton, Ontario. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design University and has developed her contemporary craft practice through research-based projects, artist residencies, professional exhibitions, and lectures. Subscribe to her studio newsletter or follow her on Instagram to learn about new weaving patterns, exhibitions, projects, and more.
