Satin Weaves

Appearance of Satin Weaves

Satin is one of the three basic weaves, similar to a twill, but the intersection points are irregular so as not to form a twill line in the fabric.

Fabrics woven with a satin weave have a soft, smooth, and lustrous face without any appearance of pattern formation. The number of interlacings between warp and filling yarns is reduced to a minimum.

Satin Harnesses

Satin weaves are designated by the number of harnesses that are required to weave them. The harnesses are sometimes referred to as shafts. Each end in the repeat weaves differently, therefore the number of ends per repeat will be the same as the number of harnesses required to weave the fabric. Satin may be made using as few as five harnesses and be made using as many as sixteen.

5-Harness Satin

The 5-harness satin is the most common. In the 5-harness warp satin, warp yarn 1 sinks under pick 1 and rises over the next 4 picks. This pattern repeats vertically over the same warp yarn. The second warp yarn rises over the first two picks, sinks under pick 3, and rises over picks 4 and 5. It’s easy to see that the sinker or binder moves up two picks instead of one as with a twill. Satin counters must never touch. If they do, then the weave is some type of twill. In subsequent warp yarns (3, 4, and 5), the sinker moves up two picks. This movement of the binder pick is referred to as a counter, therefore this satin has a two counter. The pattern repeat has 5 ends and 5 picks. This 5-harness satin has a 3 counter, notice that warp yarn 2 moves up three picks for the binder. The only possible counters for a 5-harness satin are 2 and 3. Counters 1 and 4 will not work because if the counter is either a 1 or 4 then the weave will be a twill.

8-Harness Satin

With the 8-harness satin weave, a 3 or 5 counter is possible. With a 3 counter, the first warp sinks for the first pick and rises for the next 7 picks. The next warp end moves up three warp ends for the sinker. The subsequent warp ends (3, 4 5, 6, 7, and 8) follow the same pattern. If a 5 counter is used, then on the first end the first pick is a sinker followed by 7 floating picks. The next warp ends move up five picks for the sinker. The subsequent warp ends (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) follow the same pattern of moving 5 picks before weaving the sinker into the fabric.

Satin Weave Variations

Sateen

The terms satin and sateen are often confused. Satin is a weave and a sateen is a satin weave constructed with yarns other than silk.