When I was thinking about weaving designs, I thought that if I used a grid (like a table) to design the weaving, I would not get lost in the weaving process. With a grid design, you can simulate where the weft will travel.
Adobe Illustrator is the software used to create digital illustrations; it is available on Mac and Windows computers.
The main reason I chose Illustrator as my weaving design tool is because it supports WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). WYSIWYG means that you can edit while seeing the final result on the screen.
The key point is that Illustrator allows you to create a grid with almost exact aspect ratios, and you can check it on the screen and reproduce it very close to the actual work.
There are many useful functions other than WYSIWYG, and I would like to introduce various functions I use when designing weaving patterns.
First off, in this article, I will provide Illustrator basic information and basic operations:
1. Illustrator Basic Information
Adobe Illustrator is a paid software. It is offered as a subscription license.
There is a 7-day free trial period so you can try before you subscribe it.
There are three types of plans available for subscribers; if you plan to use the service for more than one year, the Yearly plan is the best value. There are two types of Yearly plans: one is billed upfront and the other is billed monthly. Both plans are for one-year use.
If you are not sure whether you will use the plan for a year, or if you want to try it for just one month first, there is the Monthly plan.
After you purchase a plan, it will be set to automatically renew. If you do not want to renew, you will need to manually cancel your subscription before the subscription period ends.
Note: This information is current as of November 2025. I recommend that you check the Adobe website for the latest information.
2. Illustrator Basic Operations
From this point on, I will explain basic operations for those who have already installed Illustrator and have never used it before.
If you have already used Illustrator, you can skip this information.
This section explains the steps from starting Illustrator and creating a new document, zooming in/out and moving on the artboard, as well as how to display several panels used to create a grid design, along with screen shots.
2-1. Create a new document
Start Illustrator and select New from the File menu.
2-2. Choose a document size
Select the Letter size or A4 size that is already available, and click the Create button.
Basically, letter size is used in the U.S., while A4 size is used in Europe and Japan.
It is convenient to use either of these sizes, since you may print the document later.
Please check which size your printer supports and select the document size.
If you are unsure of the document size, simply choose either one, as you can change it later.
When you create a new document, a blank document is opened. This is called the artboard. We will create weaving designs in the artboards.
2-3. Zoom Tool and Hand Tool
The vertical group of tools on the left side of the screen is called the toolbar.
To zoom in or out on the artboard screen, select the Zoom tool, which is the magnifying glass icon on the toolbar.
Alternatively, press “Z” on your keyboard to select the zoom tool.
On the artboard with the Zoom tool selected, drag to the lower right to enlarge the screen, or drag to the upper left to shrink the screen.
To move the artboard, right-click on the Zoom tool icon and select the Hand tool.
Alternatively, press “H” on your keyboard to select the Hand tool.
Once the Hand tool is selected, move the mouse pointer over the artboard, click and hold, and drag the mouse to move the artboard around on the screen.
2-4. Display panels
Next, select the following panels from the Window menu to display them:
- Layers
- Properties
- Swatches
- Character
The above series of steps can be viewed in the YouTube video. I hope it will be helpful.
You are now ready to create a grid template.
See the following article to create it.
Thank you for reading to the end!