The Great Handwoven Towel Challenge - Part 1

Late last summer, RFG weavers formed a study group to find out what makes a good handwoven towel and how to design and weave one (or many). In our research to find possible design and structure possibilities, we put together this document with many links to many different approaches.  You may download a copy here for your own towel weaving research.

We are now celebrating the towels that resulted from that challenge.  I am always amazed and gratified how these challenges result in a grand variety of ideas and resulting textiles. To make this post more readable and allow for ample photos, there will be another post about more weaver's towels in a few days.

 

Anni B. wove this towel  and the next in photo directly below.  Simple structures, but so much pizazz.  And, they will make very useable towels in soft unmercerized cottons. Love that texture in the soft green and lilac towel.

 Kathy R. designed a 4 shaft overshot pattern and wove a series of towels in astounding color combinations.  The warp was 10/2 cotton and she graded it in colors  of soft yellow to darker orange and back again.  Then she kept this same gradation in her tie down weft which was a 16/2 cotton.  The pattern wefts were a variety of colors in 8/2 cottons making each towel an individual. 

 

Laurel has a real flair in designing with stripes.  In the photo directly below, she used a 4 shaft 2/2 twill tie up and an interesting treadling sequence.  The resulting structure causes the little scallops in the black stripes. See the draft here.

Another of Laurel's towels.  This one woven in twill blocks and 8 shafts.