I began with a traditional 4 shaft rosepath threading and then added some basic twill threadings for different stripes in the warp. The final combination is my own design. In total, 461 ends were threaded so it is important to count heddles before starting to thread the loom. I used a 4 shaft direct tied up floor loom for the various towels I wove on this warp.
The treadling in this draft is an advancing twill with reversing points.
This basic design was on the Handwoven Magazine website but woven in huck lace on 8 shafts. I liked the design and wanted to try some Swedish lace on 4 shafts so I modified the design and moved blocks around using weaving software. When I found a threading I liked, I could weave different towels by altering the treadling blocks and adding or deleting horizontal color stripes.
I was looking for some ideas to help me mix colors and found this draft in a Weavers Magazine. I ended up making 4 towels and used the various suggested treadling options to create alternate patterns and a sampler towel for future reference. Weaving this towel taught me how to reverse a treadling order in a way that made sense. It took a bit of experimentation to find the right transition point.
This draft is a standard basic twill with plain weave borders at each end. The twill combined with color sequence for the warp was devised by Beth Willson, Purcellville, VA. I have woven a number of towels using this draft, changing the color sequencing in the warp. This gives a family of towels…all related, but each a bit different.
