Textile technique
Dobby weaving
A shaft-control system produces small repeating woven figures and textures.
Also searched as: Dobby fabric
Open the interactive guide ↗How it is made
A dobby selects combinations of shafts, moving the warp ends threaded through those shafts together. Many different interlacings can be woven this way, so there is no single dobby draft.
How to recognize it
Small dots, diamonds or other repeating geometry are common, but appearance alone cannot prove the loom type.
Common uses
- Shirting
- Towels
- Dress fabrics
What to distinguish
Dobby identifies pattern control and a fabric family, not a fourth basic weave alongside plain, twill and satin.
Sources & further reading
Research checked 2026-09-27. Descriptions are original summaries; references support terminology and construction, not every product sold under a name.