Tablet labelling and configuration

The way that tablets are labelled and set up on a loom can vary, this is how mine work.

The tablets’ holes are labelled A, B, C, D clockwise on the right hand face as you look down on the woven section of your work. All my patterns begin with the holes A and D above the shed. A forward turn is a 90 degree clockwise turn when looking at the labelled face of the tablets, and a backward turn is a 90 degree anti-clockwise turn when looking at the labelled faces.

The shed is the gap between the two layers of warp threads and is created by the holes in the tablets holding the warp threads apart. The weft thread is passed through the shed between each turn of the tablets. Each pass of the weft is called a pick.

S and Z threading

The threading direction for each tablet is indicated on my patterns by S or Z, there are other notations, backslash and forward slash are quite common.

S or indicates that the threads run over the right/front/labelled side of the tablet, through the holes to the left/back of the tablet and on to the woven section

Z or / indicates that the threads run over the left/back of the tablet, through the holes to the right/front/labelled side of the tablet and on to the woven section.