Category:Patterned weaves

Where a patterned weave was used, the most common seems to have been a 2/2 twill. This pattern gives a striking diagonal pattern when the warp is a different colour to the weft. This twill is often used in the other variations, as is shown below. The broken diamond twill is known in some books as a broken lozenge twill.

Unfortunately, most cloth finds have been in fragments, and so the orientation of the cloth can be questionable. These are also known by different names. For example, the chevron twill when rotated 90 degrees is called "wave twill".

2/2 twill weave

Examples of twill weaves have been found at York, Birka and Haithabu. Broken diamond and herringbone twills have been found at Birka in Sweden.

2/1 twill weave

A second type of twill weave is 2/l. However, it is technically harder to set up on the loom than 2/2 twill, and 2/1 is consequently found less frequently. High quality 2/1 twill is still easy to get hold of as fine woollen suiting, or as overcoat fabric, though 2/1 fabric may be quite expensive. You can find coarse woollen blankets as twill weaves, though these are prone to tearing.

'Dogs tooth' weave

A final method of patterning weaves, is to vary the colour of the warp and weft. If this is done, then Celtic checks are easy to construct. The ‘dogs tooth’ weave, as found on sports jackets today, is also easy to construct. Examples of 'dogs tooth' weave have been found in Denmark.