What are the design guidelines for woven products?

Woven products are crafted by weaving together combinations of red, blue, green, gold, white, and black yarns in varying proportions. This intricate process results in textured designs with a distinct woven appearance, which affects how colors, gradients, and fine details are reproduced.

This article explains how woven colors are produced, how finish options affect results, and which design choices work best for woven products.

In this article: 

• How woven colors work
• Woven design finish options
• Designing gradients that weave well
• General design guidelines for woven products
• Color changes for Artwork finish
• Source image checklist

How woven colors work

Woven designs are created using a six-yarn system (red, blue, green, gold, white, black) along with natural and black fill yarns. Together, these produce around 195 perceived color combinations. This means designs don’t reproduce every digital shade precisely—instead, they “snap” to the closest available match.

• Fluorescent/neon shades (especially bright yellows, greens, and oranges) will be mapped to the nearest available color, often shifting toward gold or olive.
• Yellows and light tones may look duller or earthier when woven.

Woven design finish options

When designing woven products in the Product Creator, you can choose between two finish options: photo or artwork. Always make sure you select the option that best complements your design.

Photo option

• Best for photographs and photorealistic imagery.
• This option better showcases subtle color gradations and fine details. 
• Not suitable for: bold, graphic artwork, as colors may appear muddled or less vibrant.

Artwork option

• Best for graphic designs with solid, distinct color blocks.
• This option enhances clarity and sharpness in designs with bold, separated colors.
• Not suitable for: photographs, as it may cause patchy areas and visible color banding, leading to unnatural transitions between tones.

You can view the differences between the two options in the example images below.

Designing gradients that weave well

Gradients do not reproduce as smooth fades. Instead, weaving renders them in steps. To make them work:

• Use strong contrast between gradient steps.
• Keep clear, defined separations rather than soft fades.

General design guidelines for woven products

To achieve the best results, follow the general design guidelines for woven products described in the dos and don’ts below.

Design dos

• We recommend using colors that closely match the available palette shown below. Colors outside this palette will be replaced with the closest match due to the limited color range.

• Use bold, high-contrast transitions and color changes to ensure the finished product closely resembles the original design.
• When designing your products in the Product Creator, be sure to select the finish option (photo or artwork) that best suits your design.
• If your design includes text, we recommend using large, bold fonts for better readability.
• If you use a design with transparent elements, the transparent parts will match the color of the physical product.

Design don’ts

• Avoid using vibrant, neon, or very bright yellow colors. These shades may not appear as intended due to limitations in the available color palette and will be replaced with the closest match.
• Avoid using gradients. Opt for bold color transitions or solid colors instead, as subtle transitions and gradients may not reproduce well. 
• Avoid using small, intricate details in your designs, as they may not be accurately reproduced in the final woven product.
• Avoid large areas of solid color, as they can be generally difficult to achieve with woven products. Instead, we recommend using artwork with busy backgrounds, where attention to fine details is not crucial.

Color changes for Artwork finish

There may be cases where you receive a woven product with the Artwork finish and the color outcome doesn't match your expectations. In most of these cases, it would be the expected outcome for the design, due to how the weaving program interprets digital colors based on the chosen finish.

Below are examples where the color outcome differed from the digital file but was technically correct for the Artwork finish:

1. Color shifting (Grey-Blue to Charcoal):
   1. A grey-blue background turned out charcoal grey.
   2. The chosen shade was closer to the grey spectrum than blue.
   3. To achieve a true blue, choose a color value that leans more distinctly towards blue.
2. Color shifting (Red to Yellow):
   1. Red tomatoes appeared yellow.
   2. The design contained light/highlighted parts in the red tomatoes that were yellow-tinted. The Artwork finish interpreted these distinct light areas as yellow yarn. This design would likely have been better suited for the Photo finish.
3. Light saturation (Red-Orange to Beige):
   1. A red-orange shade turned out beige.
   2. The color used was very light/desaturated. The program interpreted the faint color as a neutral beige tone rather than a vibrant orange.

Source image checklist

To get the best woven result, start with high-quality source images:

• Photos: in focus, high contrast, clear subject separation.
• Text: crisp shapes, large enough sizes to avoid blending.
• Artwork: bold edges and large features (avoid very fine details).

Keep in mind that woven products are typically designed to be large. Whether used as blankets or wall hangings, they are meant to be viewed from several feet away. While fine details may not reproduce well up close, they are less likely to be noticeable from a distance.

To have full confidence in the final product, we recommend placing a sample order before adding woven products to your store.