MAFA 2021 Towel Exchange

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Name draft created from the title Bellwether, a book by Connie Willis.

Because the warp threads alternated in color every two threads, it was easier to see any errors in the
blocks as the weaving progressed.

I only had a 15 dent reed with this loom that I borrowed for the pandemic, and would have preferred a 10
dent reed.

There were 360 ends in the warp, six repeats of 60 threads each with the addition of a floating selvage at
each edge; hemming was done by hand. The hem was woven for 24 shots with Guttermann cotton sewing
thread to reduce bulk.

The towel was washed on a regular cycle in a mesh bag and dried on the cotton heat setting in the dryer.

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Hand-dyed warp, dyed in the skein using fiber-reactive dyes, undyed weft. Woven on a new-to-me Bexell Cranbrook countermarche loom.

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I use my towel projects as experiments. The draft does not show threads per color stripe, and the final threading was not exactly what my original plan called for. For these towels, the threading (right to left) was: Grey 20, White 4, Grey 12, White 4, Grey 24, Cannell 48, White 40, Sage 56, Grey 64, then reverse for mirror image). Total ends: 480; width in loom: 20″.

On this warp I wove 4 towels, and all have different treadling and design, although the same weft colors were used for all four. Hems are hand stitched.

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Warp Width: 19.5″
Sett: 24
Reed: 12
Sley: double
# Ends: 470
Warp Yarn: unmercerized cotton
Count: 8/2
Color: 6 colors
Weft Yarn: unmercerized cotton
Count: 8/2
Color: 6 colors, same as warp. Used one color for each of the 6 towels.
Finished dimensions: 16.5 x 24
Turned Taqueté

I did not weave the squares described in the Handwoven article, as I was having so much fun weaving bubbles.

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This design was inspired by 200 Patterns for Multiple Harness Looms by Russell E. Groff (1979).

Calculated as follows:

Weaving width 20″
EPI: 20
400 warp ends, but I calculated 405 warp ends to balance the design. I added 2 floating selvages at each side.

Shrinkage: 15%; used machine wash delicate cycle

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I was inspired by “Twill Illusions with Two and Four Blocks” by Freya van Holst Pellekaan, p. 96 in Best of Weaver’s: Twill Thrills (2004).
Basic threading, tie-up, and treadling for 5-end satin blocks is in Handweaving.net #74464.

Warp color progression, right-to-left: 514 ends plus 2 FS:

1. 12 natural
2. 55 green
3. 10 natural
4. 75 red
5. 10 natural
6. 100 gold
7. 10 natural
8. 165 orange
9. 10 natural
10. 55 green
11. 12 natural
FS: 2 (1 on each side)

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A temple is most useful to prevent draw-in. You can make a coordinated set of towels on the same warp, having fun varying weft colors and block sizes.

480 ends
Sett 2 per dent in a 12-dent reed
Wet finished
Hemmed, hand-stitched

Love this cottolin!

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I used a Josephine Estes miniature, “Cambridge Beauty” (www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/monographs/eje_min1.pdf), to design this towel. I added some striped segments that altered the miniature repeats to create the structured effect I was seeking in the towel.

735 ends plus 2 FS each side.

I played with the treadling to create many different versions of the towels. The draft shows the treadling for the main pattern repeat. For the towel submitted, I used a segment of the treadling repeat for the border along each edge of the towel and then wove some plain weave with striping before starting to weave the main pattern repeat.

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20″ wide, 600 ends plus floating selvages.
Straight draw on 24 shafts so each towel could be different.
I put on a 10 yard warp.
I wove each towel about 37″ on the loom and hand hemmed.
The towels are generously sized; the one for the towel exchange has finished dimensions of 17.75″ by 30.75″.
Relatively lightweight, easy to use towels.

This was inspired by “Santa Cloth” by Becky Hamblin in The Best of Weaver’s: Huck Lace, and she cites Thomas Jackson, Weaver, Shuttle Craft Monograph 13. Originally a 12 shaft pattern, I used 24 shafts and so was able to come up with several variations on the pattern. This one has a huck border around plain weave diamonds.