Archive: January 2024

MAFA2023-041

The more contrast the better it looks....

MAFA2023-042

This wove up very easily. I like both the straight treadling, and the reversing. I used organic cotton, natural, for the light weft. I find it softer than regular unmercerized, and more linty to weave. Perhaps more absorbent....

MAFA2023-043

This was my first ever kitchen towel project! It also was my first shaddow weave! My inspiration was thinking about an American flag and how the stripes would undulate if the wind were blowing. I chose to shadow weave in blue and white vs red...

MAFA2023-044

The threading is called huck variation by Russell E. Groff. I experimented with twill tie ups, but treadled as drawn, 121, 343, 121, 565, 787, 565. Weaving in the reed was 20.5, “ and the shrinkage was 15%. Total warp ends: 414 plus 1 floating...

MAFA2023-036

Wind on 500 ends: 496 for the threading and 2 doubled floating selvedges (which I like for strength in a workhorse handwoven) Be sure to keep a record of your color order for symmetry. I found it best to create threading blocks divisible by 4...

MAFA2023-037

452 ends I put on a long warp and regretted it later; with the color changes it was slow weaving. I was unable to find an attractive way to carry the colors along a selvage. I liked the use of two shafts to create a...

MAFA2023-038

This Handweaving.net draft was enhanced with the use of color warp stripes and can then be woven in a number of complementary weft colors. I found some errors in the original draft which I corrected and changed the widths of the straight twill, braided twill...

MAFA2023-039

282 ends. Advanced twill threading inspired by Susan Balascio....

MAFA2023-040

Towel uses 2 variations of treadling with a traditional M & W twill pattern. Vary treadling and colors as desired. Floating selvedges are incorporated. Hems are woven with plain weave, folded and machine stitched. WIF file shows 2 options for colors and treadling. There are...

MAFA2023-031

I wet finished the towel by boiling it in water with dawn detergent for one hour and laid it flat to dry. I used a 19th century draft for a southern counterpane from Martin Marshall an Alabama weaver. I have not been able to find...

MAFA2023-032

Delightful Weave. Fantastic fabric. Total number of ends: 498. Increased EPI at selvedges. Serged and Hemmed....

MAFA2023-033

I have started into Jane Stafford’s School of Weaving and this towel is a variation of the Asymmetry sample from the second season. I substituted turquoise where Jane used red, and enlarged the graphic to get the size towel I wanted. I played with the...

MAFA2023-034

I used 2 patterns – one was Rosalie Neilson’s from her class and one of my own created in the class. There are 4 colors in both the warp and weft. I experimented with different colors in the weft. Floating selvedges were used. There was...

MAFA2023-035

Each warp stripe is 6 ends wide, alternating black and white except between wider sections where I doubled the black stripe. Weft stripes can repeat as much as you like. This pattern was inspired by my recent trip to New Zealand and the preponderance of...

MAFA2023-026

My weaving Study Group had a plan for a towel exchange this year. I was inspired by bright colors and designed a very colorful warp to include a mixture of smooth cotton yarns and boucle. I planned some color mixing in the warp with sections...

MAFA2023-027

Wanted to make the towel look like the sunrise I see most mornings from my garden window. It also was a stash buster. I hope when you are stuck drying dishes the towel will make you smile and think about the peace of nature....

MAFA2023-028

I used 6 shafts to reduce the number of heddles on shafts 1 & 2; putting the plain weave portion on #5 & 6. This could be woven on 4 shafts as well. I used Valley Yarns variegated “Cotton Candy” for the plain weave portions...

MAFA2023-029

Scottish Meadow Towels I created this pattern while watching the series Outlander. It’s a very easy draft to weave and goes very quickly. Warp Threads: 282 (7 pattern repeats + 2 selvedge threads)) Warp End Color Sequence: Maysville Navy Blue 20 ends + 1 floating...

MAFA2023-030

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...

MAFA2023-021

This towel is 3/1 twill stripes of hand dyed yarn alternating with plain weave stripes. The plain weave stripes are sett at 20 epi and threaded straight draw on shafts 1-4. The twill stripes are sett at 30 epi and threaded straight draw on shafts...

MAFA2023-022

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MAFA2023-023

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MAFA2023-024

Woven with 8/2 hemp (40%)/organic cotton (60%) yarn in both the warp and weft, ordered from Gather Textiles. 444 ends at 20 epi for a little over 22 inches in the reed (10 dent, 2 ends/dent). About 19 inches finished width. Length was about 36″...

MAFA2023-025

I’m a beginner, so while the pattern called for 20 ppi, I was unable to beat that close. So I adjusted the pattern’s weft instructions and used 16ppi. I wove this on a 4 shaft table loom....

MAFA2023-016

6 repeats on the threading. Outside 2 are the floating selvage. Weft: 1.5″ border, Edge 13 repeats of middle section Edge 1.5″ border. Part of a 4 Season Towel kit by Lunatic Fridge Yarns by Mary Berent...

MAFA2023-017

This was from a warp that I put on to make thank you towels for my neighbor. She picked colors outside of my comfort zone, so my brief was to make towels that I liked out of colors that weren’t my favorite. I was pleased...

MAFA2023-018

Our weaving study group had a challenge to design and weave something using a given simple profile draft. I decided to give myself a further challenge by using a weave structure that I had not or had rarely used, and chose turned taqueté. I used...

MAFA2023-019

The warp was 359 ends. The hem is hand sewn with a polyester sewing thread....

MAFA2023-020

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MAFA2023-011

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MAFA2023-012

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MAFA2023-013

This was the first project I wove on my first loom, an older 12-shaft Macomber that took me over 9 months to refurbish. The towels turned out better than I had hoped, so of course I put them away “for posterity”. I couldn’t bear to...

MAFA2023-014

This is actually a variation of the above draft. I was inspired by similar variation I’d seen in a Facebook weaving group. I loved the way she had highlighted one repeat of the design instead of repeating it across the whole towel – she had...

MAFA2023-015

On the .wif, the first 14 thread is one edge of the towel and the other edge is the last 32 threads. Repeat the 40 threads in the middle as often as needed for the towel you are weaving. I overestimated the shrinkage of my...

MAFA2023-008

This pattern is based on a draft that Robyn Spady sent me for my participation in her MAFA 2023 class ‘Pictures, Piles, Potpourri, and Perplexing Curiosities.’ She titled the structure “Better Than Basket Weave Basket Weave.” I used two threads for each floating selvage. After...

MAFA2023-009

410 warp ends total. 408 for pattern, plus one extra at each selvedge. Draft adapted for cotton instead of linen/cotolin. Woven using picks of sewing thread at each end to create fold lines for the hem. Sewing thread was removed prior to turning and sewing...

MAFA2023-010

The wider stripes in the warp are randomly placed, as is the order of the 4 pintripe colors throughout. The warp is 506 threads plus 4 FS, 2 on each side. The weft repeats two more times, using a different color pattern (Chambray/Denim/Natural) of Plain...

MAFA2023-006

455 ends – 1 end 6/2 and 2 ends 20/2 per dent in 8 dent reed. Warp: white thick, white thin Weft: blue thick, white thin Used Bluegrass Mills 6/2 cotton from Woolery for thick warp and weft and UKI 20/2 for thin warp and...

MAFA2023-007

Note – 1 doubled end/dent in 12-dent heddle)...

MAFA2023-001

This towel is woven in the colors of the Norwegian flag to reflect Caroline Halvorson’s 1904 pattern and my Norwegian heritage. The selvedge has a denser sett, as described by Dixon in her book, A Handweaver’s Pattern Book. Ends Ends 5-8 and 400-403 have two...

MAFA2023-002

I made a few small changes to the draft (especially the tie-up, so I could walk the treadling) but none of my changes alter the result in any significant way and credit for this design belongs fully with Ms. Hall. This towel used 368 ends...

MAFA2023-003

440 ends This was a really fun project, putting 4 threads through 1 heddle gave a really neat texture to the towel. Tom had a new to me suggestion for hems. Weave your hem length and then put 2 picks in the same shed to...

MAFA2023-004

I used Parson’s crepe threading, treadling and tie-up as referenced above, but added a band of my own design to one side of the towel....

MAFA2023-005

I used the Brighton Honey Comb towels in Handwoven as a starting point for my springy towels. I decided on 7 stripes of each 3 colors. Each group of three colors was separated by a thinner stripe of white and every stripe had a border...

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MAFA2019-041

Dark stripes always begin & end on harness 4 in any number of repeats. Light stripes always begin & end on harness 1 in any number of repeats. The color order is given in the accompanying chart. These yarns blend Sally Fox’ green and brown...

MAFA2019-046

Linen warp bobbins had to be very wet to prevent loops in the selvedge. Tension was a problem throughout and I helped that by spraying the threads. The yarn seems too coarse to make a really nice towel....

MAFA2019-049

Finished towel is 17.5″ x 25.0″...

MAFA2019-050

I wove this at 25 epi so it would fit on my workshop loom. If width had not been an issue, I would have woven it at 24 epi....

MAFA2019-055

The hand-painted stripes were dyed using Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes. I used a different color weft for each towel....

MAFA2019-060

We are big tea lovers in the family – so this towel in Handwoven S/O 2003 caught my eye. I have used this draft numerous times over the years – in various colours and weights of fibre – for towels and as material for tray...

MAFA2019-068

I like to choose a threading that can provide several patterns. Then I play…use one for the hem, another for the body, intersperse plain weave....

MAFA2019-077

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MAFA2019-079

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MAFA2019-081

The yarn was predominantly unmercerized cotton. The goal was to use yarns from dark to light so that the light warps would stand out. The colors were chosen as I wound the warp. Occasionally perle cotton was used if the color sequence required it and...

MAFA2019-065

A great way to use up small quantities of yarn...

MAFA2019-066

This towel was woven with 4 colors, 2 in the warp and 2 in the weft....

MAFA2019-067

I did a straight tabby weave hem for approximately 1-1.5 inches at the beginning and end of the towel. I used a weft that was laceweight in order to have a hem that was flatter when I folded it over twice....

MAFA2019-072

This has become one of my favorite towel warps. It is draft #246, false damask check. I call it woven ribbons, as that is what it looks like to me. Although it uses two shuttles, it is actually a very rhythmic weave. On my ten-yard...

MAFA2019-073

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MAFA2019-075

Used 5 stripes of my hand dyed 8/2 cotton (purple/blue, orange/pink, yellow, greens, red/orange) – each 3″ wide with 1/2″ wide stripes of purple, teal and blue of commercially dyed 8/2 cotton. The hems are plain weave (1 1/2″ long, turned and machine stitched). Crocheted...

MAFA2019-078

The section on the draft that is labeled to be omitted was included only to illustrate that I used a variety of colors for the last 8 threads of each 40-thread unit. I used unmercerized cotton for both warp and weft....

MAFA2019-053

This was a warp and project that was my first exploration of a complex (for me) gamp. While a newer weaver, and always trying new things, I loved working on a twill sampler with friend and weaving mentor Jane Stafford via her Canadian Online Guild....

MAFA2019-056

I started out with Strickler #246, and as I was working with two different shades of red in the weft, I realized how much it reminded me of watermelon. I decided to add some lines in shades of green to represent the rind, along with...

MAFA2019-057

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MAFA2019-059

Really enjoyed Tom Knisely’s “Weaving on a Straight Eight” class taken during the 2017 MAFA conference. Wanted to weave something from his class booklet and chose the pattern ‘Ribs of Twill and Plain Weave’. It’s a nice easy piece to weave, and the treadling is...

MAFA2021-051

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....

MAFA2021-052

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...

MAFA2021-053

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...

MAFA2021-054

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

MAFA2021-055

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...

MAFA2021-041

Warp is 8/2 cotton dyed by Kathrin Weber of Blazing Shuttles (for wider stripes) and 8/2 Maurice Brassard (for narrower stripes). Weft is 8/2 variegated purchased from Webs many years ago. Hems are 10/2 mercerized cotton from Lunatic Fringe. Lots of colors! The “Friendship Towels”...

MAFA2021-042

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...

MAFA2021-043

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!...

MAFA2021-044

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...

MAFA2021-045

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...

MAFA2021-046

This is my expression of pansies viewed through a window. Used Kathryn Weber ‘s Blazing Shuttles for warp with white cotton and purple accents for warp. Structure was plainweave with two overshot accents in the weft—one narrow purple and one wider of white. Floating selvages...

MAFA2021-047

This towel was woven on a long warp of 496 threads in a 2 block design. Each block uses 8 shafts in a straight threading. I used several tie-ups to vary the look of each towel, and even included a tabby with one or two...

MAFA2021-048

Woven in Valley Yarns 8/2 variegated unmercerized cotton in the ‘Cotton Candy’ colorway. It was interesting to weave because of the variegated yarn. Six towels were woven then zigzagged on the sewing machine. They were washed and dried in the dryer then cut apart and...

MAFA2021-049

This towel was washed in the machine, dried in the dryer, ironed with steam and hand hemmed with cotton thread. Other notes on making the towel are included in the WIF. I might sett it a tad closer next time—22-24 epi. It offers a great...

MAFA2021-050

I selected this pattern because I liked the geometry. I learned more about block patterns and how they are constructed. Strickler’s book notes that this draft, woven by Barbara McClanathan, is a 2 block twill adapted from Väv Magazinet, 1984, Nr.4, pages 20-21. Here are...

MAFA2021-031

It was my first experience with Bateman weaves. I looked at the following books to understand the technique and create my pattern: Bateman Weaves: The Missing Monograph by Linda Tilson Davis Weaving Innovations from the Bateman Collection by Robyn Spady, Nancy A. Tracy and Marjorie...

MAFA2021-032

This is the oldest, simplest, and most traditional Scottish tartan. It is variously known as Shepherd’s Check, Houndstooth, or Northumberland (Northumbria) tartan, as that is the area where it originated. I can just imagine those early medieval weavers deciding to add a little variety to...

MAFA2021-033

Changing the blocks in the tie-up and treadling can produce a variety of designs in the cloth while weaving on one warp. Towel designs are a good way to play with blocks in the tie up and treadling. I wove four different towels by changing...

MAFA2021-034

Warp (10/2 organic cotton) was 513 ends including floating selvages. Used #3 treadling. A rolled hem was machine stitched....

MAFA2021-035

The colors I used were blue, gray, red, and turquoise. This was a fun project to weave. I also added a hang tag woven with the same colors....

MAFA2021-036

I used 422 ends including floating selvages. The warp is Chocolate Brown by Spartan Dyers from Cotton Clouds. The weft is turquoise by Maurice Brassard from The Woolery. My draft is #355 in Strickler’s A Weaver’s Book of Eight-Shaft Patterns. This is a plaited twill...

MAFA2021-037

I was influenced by the piece Vavstuga had for Bockens Egyptian 8/2 cotton on their website (store.vavstuga.com/product/yarn-bock-cot-8-2-dyed.html). Their current piece is actually a little different, as the one that influenced me had some red accent yarns in warp and weft. I liked the combination of...

MAFA2021-038

The original draft I found on the Schacht website had 414 ends, so I adjusted to 430 ends to meet the necessary width requirement. I also used a simplified threading, a draft of which was supplied to me by Judie Eatough. I machine washed the...

MAFA2021-039

Note that the heddle count is significantly greater for harnesses 2 and 3 and minimal for harnesses 1 and 4....

MAFA2021-040

I was introduced to this pattern, “Checked Houndstooth,” in a Scandinavian Towel class taught by Melissa Weaver Dunning. This traditional design can be found in Simple Weaves by Birgitta Bengtsson Bjork & Tina Ingell, p. 92. Warp is wound 36 Periwinkle, 4 Marine, 4 White,...

MAFA2021-021

I created this draft as a sketch and then modified it as I wove. I had intended to warp it in three sections: ABA. Somehow, my B section became 2 sections when I inadvertently went from beige, white, beige to white, beige, white in my...

MAFA2021-022

I always loved the look of turned twill and Jane Stafford renewed my interest with her lesson in her Online Guild. The colors in the towel were inspired from a clothing tag that I’ve held onto for years. I also love purple and green and...

MAFA2021-023

My towel has a combination of twill treadling with narrow strips of basketweave to outline the weft color changes. This was a simple project with lots of opportunities for different outcomes by changing tie-ups and treadling....

MAFA2021-024

This was fun and fast to weave. 24 epi 24 ppi 576 ends and 2 floating selvages I simplified the treadling for a less busy effect. Before finishing: 26″ long x 22″ wide After finishing: 22″ long x 20.5″ wide Shrinkage: 22% Machine wash cool,...

MAFA2021-025

Twill blocks in 4 warp colors (red, black, grey, white) with block changes not coinciding with color changes. Blocks were woven as 3/1 and 1/3 twill rotating the same four colors as the warp. Color changes were made every 16 picks, alternating which side the...

MAFA2021-026

I used the napkin patterns in the Handwoven article and adapted them. I used the treadling for towel 1. I began and ended the towel with 1 ½ inches of 10/2 weft to make the hems a little less chunky. 20″ in reed; 30″ long....

MAFA2021-027

This is a draft that blends overshot and huck with plainweave in between. It was very hard to beat the overshot to square, so I ended up using sewing thread for tabby. 418 ends; 2.5 yards long. 8-shaft loom, 21″ weaving width; 10 dent reed....

MAFA2021-028

I made 6 towels on this warp. For all the towels except this one, I used 8/2 cotton. On this towel, I used a thicker cotton (Conshohocken ‘Softball’ cotton, color 088 – cherry). It made the whole towel very fluffy and I loved it....

MAFA2021-029

I varied Jane’s original design, but started with her ideas. My fiber is actually cotton boucle and cottolin....

MAFA2021-030

I just started weaving in August 2020. My fiber friends, who are also weavers, encouraged me to join Jane Stafford’s Online Guild. I fell in love with Jane’s boucle towel kits and bought two for the colors. However, I wanted to try something I had...

MAFA2021-011

I am delighted by the possibilities of such a simple weave as Monks Belt!...

MAFA2021-012

Traditional twill threadings like the Ms & Ws I used lend themselves to treadling variations. This towel includes straight, point, as-drawn-in, and several variations I “unvented” while playing around with Fiberworks. In the MAFA Samples Database, there is a second .wif file showing all the...

MAFA2021-013

Hems are in plain weave using quilting weight sewing thread—weave 1/2″, insert thicker white yarn, another 1/2″ and another thicker yarn, and the last 1/2″. That gives a crisp fold line (after pulling out the thicker threads) for your hems. Cotton bouclé (teal) in warp...

MAFA2021-014

This is a popular draft for kitchen towels with good reason. It is a fun weave and produces a good looking towel. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed weaving it. The Schacht website describes the “Friendship Towels” pattern: “This is...

MAFA2021-015

I was inspired when Judith, a member of our guild, wove this for our April 2021 newsletter sample. This was fun. I put on five yards of warp, total of 562 ends (used floating selvages). I had a 20 inch width and wove 32 inches...

MAFA2021-016

I am learning more and more each time I weave. I am taking classes this time around to help me learn how to more efficiently warp my loom. And this was the first time weaving on my new-to-me Leclerc table loom. I really enjoyed watching...

MAFA2021-017

The treadling was adjusted to allow squared blocks, with 8/2 Brassard cotton used for warp and weft. After being washed, the texture is nubby and more pronounced. The weaving width in the reed was 20.75″. I like the look and enjoy the process of hemming...

MAFA2021-018

I wanted to weave a linen towel but with this design the linen weft didn’t work well, so I changed to cotton and was well pleased. This can be woven on a 4 shaft loom also—Davison has many patterns....

MAFA2021-019

The loom was warped for a total of four towels. A total of 434 ends at 20 epi for the warp and 20 ppi for the weft. Allowance of two inches at the top and bottom of each towel. Using Fibonacci as my theme in...