ArahWeave

Overview

ArahWeave is a specialist design environment for dobby and jacquard fabrics, built around the technical demands of woven textiles rather than general illustration. It suits textile designers and mills working toward loom-ready production. Its appeal is the link between detailed fabric design and weaving workflows, though the edition you choose determines which looms and weave sizes you can use.

Key features

Fabric simulation uses thread pattern, weave structure, density, yarn composition and yarn color to represent cloth at actual size. That makes ArahWeave a focused tool for assessing a textile design in terms of its construction and materials, not a substitute for a general-purpose graphics editor. It supports seamless repeats and colorways, but has no vector editing.

Textile-specific tools include double-fabric decomposed editing, thread-pattern generation, automatic long-float correction and crêpe weave generation. CIE Lab-based colorimetry and simulations of overprint, chiné, ikat, seersucker, raised finishes and wrinkles provide additional control over color and appearance. The breadth is useful when a design depends on weave structure and finish; readers seeking vector-based artwork should look elsewhere.

The Weft Blanket groups fabric samples with different patterns in one file for weaving without stopping the loom. ArahWeave also supports major industrial dobby and jacquard loom formats and can save cards ready for weaving. DobbyPro and JacquardPro add XML import and export for ERP interfacing. For sharing CAD data and cloud backup, Arahne recommends Dropbox; that is a suggested workflow, not a built-in cloud service.

Pricing

The Demo is free, but cannot save ArahWeave projects; it can save images, and ArahPaint works fully. It is useful for exploring the software, not for building and retaining ArahWeave project files.

Personal Edition costs 2500.00 EUR once. It allows a maximum weave size of 2048 × 2048 and supports handloom jacquards only: AVL and Digital Weaving Norway. It disables XML technical-data saving. Buyers receive one year of phone, email and TeamViewer support and one year of software updates. This is the entry paid edition for those handloom formats, but its loom scope and project-size ceiling make it a poor fit for industrial production.

Selvedge Edition costs 3850.00 EUR once. Its maximum weave size is 1024 × 8192, and it supports only Stäubli JC5, JC6 and JC7 selvedge jacquard looms. It includes TIFF and PNG, one year of phone, email and TeamViewer support, and one year of updates; XML technical-data saving is disabled. Choose it for those specific selvedge looms, not as a general industrial interface package.

DobbyPro and JacquardPro have custom pricing. DobbyPro supports weave sizes up to 65000 × 65000, industrial dobby loom interfaces and XML import/export for ERP; it includes one year of support and updates and 2 to 3 days of training. JacquardPro supports the same maximum size, industrial jacquard and dobby interfaces, XML import/export, one year of support and updates, and 2 to 5 days of training. These are the relevant editions for industrial loom workflows and ERP exchange, with JacquardPro covering both loom families.

Platforms

ArahWeave is Linux-based and runs natively on Linux or in a virtual machine. Arahne also describes Mac support and Windows use through Linux virtualized in VMware or VirtualBox. This is workable across the listed desktop platforms, but Windows users need a virtualization setup rather than a native Windows version.

Exports include PNG, GIF, JPEG, TIFF and BMP, as well as XML and HTML technical data. XML technical-data saving is disabled in Personal and Selvedge editions, so the format list does not mean every edition provides that workflow.

Who it's for

ArahWeave is best suited to textile professionals designing dobby or jacquard fabrics who need construction-aware simulation and a path to loom-ready output. The handloom editions fit narrower loom needs, while the industrial editions add broad loom interfaces, ERP exchange and training. It is not the right pick for general vector illustration or for someone who needs a free project-saving edition.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Simulation grounded in fabric construction: thread pattern, structure, density, yarn composition and color inform the actual-size simulation.
• Production-oriented workflow: Weft Blanket samples and loom-ready cards address practical weaving needs, while industrial editions add loom interfaces and ERP XML exchange.
• Textile-specific design controls: long-float correction, crêpe generation, CIE Lab colorimetry and finish simulations cover needs beyond generic pattern drawing.

Cons

• The free demo cannot save ArahWeave projects: it can save images, but is not a lasting project workflow.
• Lower paid editions have narrow compatibility: Personal is limited to two handloom jacquard systems, and Selvedge to three Stäubli selvedge models.
• XML technical-data saving is disabled in Personal and Selvedge: readers needing ERP exchange must consider an industrial edition.
• Windows relies on virtualization: Linux must run through VMware or VirtualBox rather than as a native Windows application.

Alternatives

Browse Pattern Design Software for a broader category comparison. Pick Repper if you want a mobile or web pattern app with a free plan and trial; its free mobile option has simplified exports and image uploads limited to the first two weeks, and is separate from the desktop app. Raspberry AI Prints & Patterns is a web or API alternative with a free plan of 50 one-time credits and a paid Individual plan at 49.00 USD per month with 120 monthly credits and seven-day history.

Texloom Studio is a web and extension alternative with 100 starting free credits and 27 tool pages available without signup; its Starter plan costs 15.00 USD per month, or 10.00 USD per month when billed at 120.00 USD per year. For a free browser-based option with no signup or subscription, watermark-free SVG and PNG exports up to 8000px, and personal and commercial use, consider JUMI PatternMaker. Loocie Design is a free web option during beta for desktop, tablet and phone, with files that auto-delete after a short time.

Textile Designer AI is a paid option for macOS, Windows, web and API, with a Basic plan at 999.00 INR per month for one user and 275 credits; unused credits expire after 30 days. Artlandia SymmetryWorks is a paid macOS and Windows extension, with its student download at 124.50 USD once and full download at 249.00 USD once. Choose TUKA3D instead if you need its Windows-focused 3D apparel software; its Professional Edition requires Windows 11 64-bit, at least 32GB DDR5 RAM and an Nvidia RTX 5060 or better, and hardware is not included.

Verdict

Choose ArahWeave if your work centers on dobby or jacquard fabric design and you need construction-aware simulation linked to loom production. Its strongest reason to buy is that integrated textile-to-loom workflow; its main drawback is that useful compatibility and data exchange depend on buying the edition matched to your loom, while the free demo cannot save projects. If you need broad visual design, native Windows operation or a free project-saving tool, look elsewhere.