The twill and diamond pattern bars (also called heddle bars) are simple and so fun. These bars create patterns with one color of yarn, so they’re easy for brand new weavers, but satisfying for more experienced weavers too. If you’re new to weaving, videos 1-3 take you through the basics of weaving, so it may be helpful to watch those first.

The main trick with all of our pattern bars is the floating selvedge, which is the first and last thread of every row. Watch the “floating selvedge” section at about 2:25 of the video for a demonstration. Here is a brief explanation:

The floating selvedge is an extra warp thread at each edge (“extra” meaning not part of the pattern) that you make sure you always catch when you start a new row. With plain weave, you always catch the edge warp thread without thinking about it, because the warp switches each time between raised and lowered, under and over, as you weave.

But many patterns raise and lower the warp threads irregularly (that’s how they make a pattern). With those patterns, you might not always catch the edge warp thread when you reach the end of a row and turn around to weave the next row. For example, it might be lowered when you needed it to be raised to catch it. So you'll have a gap in the pattern at the edge of your weaving. The floating selvedge is a way to make sure that you can always catch the edge warp thread.

Here’s how to use it: If you always go under the first warp thread on the way into a row, and over the last warp thread on the way out of a row, then you will always catch the edge warp thread as you weave. Essentially you are just adding a stitch of plain weave at each edge, and it ensures no gaps in your edges.