By far the most common type of wire mesh has been woven, or interlaced together. These meshes have a higher mesh count and finer gauge than welded wire mesh. Weaving wire mesh is a practice extremely similar to the textile art of fabric weaving to make clothing and rugs. Although wire mesh weaving and cloth weaving use very different materials, the process is near identical. They both use a warp (vertical threads/wires) and weft (horizontal threads/wires) that interweave together in a tight, intricate and strong pattern.
In both wire mesh and fabric weaving, there are 2 basic, simple weave patterns that are most commonly used. The plain weave is made when each weft wire/thread passes alternately over and under each warp wire/thread, creating a uniform pattern and square openings. Twill weaves are a little more complicated. While the warp remains straight and never moves, the weft passes alternately over two and under two warp wire/threads. The resulting pattern looks as if there are parallel diagonal lines running across the mesh.
There are many other more complex, intricate designs for both wire and fabric weaving. These require either skill and patience, or a machine to complete. The Dutch Weave involves larger, straight warp wire/threads and weft wires/threads that are woven closely together to make a very dense weave with very tiny openings, best used in filtration. Other types are a combination of two weaves, combining their properties and benefits. The Twill Dutch weave has the strength of the Dutch weave and finer openings of twill weave. Reverse Dutch weave uses larger weft instead of warp. For wire mesh weaving, the individual wires may be crimped. This provides extra structural stability and strength.
