The most common weave is the plain weave. The plain weave is produced when a weft yarn is woven over a warp yarn and under the next warp yarn in a repetitious pattern across the entire width of the fabric. In each subsequent row, the weft yarn is woven over and under and in the opposite direction of the previous row. As a result, a fabric with a maximum number of interlacings produces a very regular, repetitious weave. By varying the type and weight of the yarns and the number of yarns in a given area, plain weaves can range from lightweight, sheer fabrics to heavy, opaque fabrics.

Balanced weaves are the most common of the plain weaves. They have a very even checkerboard appearance produced by using similar yarns in both the warp and weft directions and by evenly spacing the warp and weft yarns. Because there are so many balanced weaves, they are divided by the weight of the fabric. Examples of balanced weaves are listed in the chart.