Interlacing shapes with the Weave tool in Vectornation
The Weave tool in Vectornation by Zaweba interlaces objects so you choose which one is on top at each crossing, for knots, chains, rings and lettering.
Interlocking rings, chain links, Celtic knots, woven baskets and ribbons that pass through lettering all share one feature: at each crossing, one strand goes over and the other goes under. In ordinary vector drawing that is awkward, because one whole object is simply above or below another. The Weave tool in Vectornation by Zaweba solves it by letting you choose which object is on top at each crossing.
It was added in version 0.9.16, and you can reach it as a tool or through Object, Other objects, Weave.
The problem it solves
Draw two overlapping rings and one sits entirely on top. To make them interlock, the top ring must pass over the bottom one at one crossing and under it at the other. The old way to fake this was to cut the shapes into pieces and rearrange the stacking order of each piece, which is slow and makes later edits painful.
Weave interlaces the objects instead, so each crossing can be set on its own while the objects stay whole.
Using it
Draw the shapes that should weave together and select them. Apply Weave, either with the tool or from the menu. Then, at each crossing, choose which object should be on top. Work round the design crossing by crossing until the over and under pattern is right.
For a two ring design, that means setting one crossing each way. For a knot, it usually means alternating over and under as you follow a strand around, which is the rule that gives woven designs their look.
Jobs it suits
Logos are a common use. Interlocking letters and linked shapes suggest partnership and connection, and are popular for events, firms and monograms.
Decorative work is another. Celtic knots, rope borders, chains, woven patterns and wreaths all depend on crossings. Illustrations of ribbons threading through type, snakes wrapping round objects and vines climbing a trellis use the same idea.
Getting a convincing weave
Follow a strand. When setting crossings, trace one path with your eye from start to finish and alternate over and under as you go. Breaking the alternation makes a weave look wrong even to people who could not say why.
Give strands a visible edge. A thin stroke in a darker or contrasting colour around each strand makes the over and under clear, especially where strands share a colour.
Keep shapes simple at first. A weave between clean, smooth paths reads well. Very complex shapes with many small crossings can be hard to set and hard to read.
How it fits with the rest
Weave works with shapes from any of the drawing tools. The shapes tools give you clean rings and ellipses. The Flow curve tool and the pen give you flowing strands for knots. Offset path and Outline stroke can turn single lines into strands with width, which you can then weave.
Repeaters and live repeats are useful for building regular patterns, such as a chain of identical links, before weaving them together.
A caution on output
When sending woven artwork to someone else, preview it in the format you are exporting, and check the crossings look right. If the file is going to a program or a cutter that needs plain, flat shapes, consider expanding the design first. As always, keep an editable copy so that you can adjust the crossings later in Vectornation by Zaweba.
