I’m so enjoying the warm, sunny days of Spring, and even a little rain has not dampened my spirits. I was in the mood for some fresh kitchen towels, both for myself, and for future sales. These towels are based on a Rosepath threading, which is really a point twill, and with added pattern threads in embroidery floss, woven as if it were overshot, make pretty little flowers for the borders.
These are the April towels found in “Weaving Towels as a Means of Learning the Basic Four-Shaft Weaves”, by Clotilde Barrett, Weavers Journal, Fall 1983, Volume VIII, Number 2, Issue 30, pages 11- 19. The towels in the article used linen as warp and weft, so I changed the draft slightly to accommodate using 2/8 cotton sett at 18 ends per inch. My draft is:
I had put on a six-yard warp, so after making the first two towels as shown in the article, I played around and made companion towels in twill stripes. First I put blue-striped borders on a white ground, and then white-striped borders on a blue ground.
I thought these were pretty and fun, so I followed up with a green striped border on a gray ground, then finally a shorter gray-striped border on a green ground.
Six towels in all. Five are twenty inches wide by 30 inches long, and the last towel is 20 inches wide by 25 inches long.
spinweaverbarbara 
Ok Barb those r way too pretty to use make great show pieces in kitchen
Thanks, Vicki, and I will use the towels to dry my best china and enjoy the process.
I love making towels so these are very inspirational! Thanks for sharing your draft for the April flowers!
Thanks, Kerry
Very pretty! So much variety by changing treadlings and warp threads.
Thanks, Barb, it was so much fun watching the designs emerge like magic
Thanks great insipiration for spring😎
Hello,
I am about to make these lovely looking towels and have a question. I notice that you have a sett of 18. Usually the sett recommendation for 2/8 cotton in twill would be 24. Is a sett of 18 correct? I’m looking at your towels and see that they look perfect in the photos.
Thanks for the clarification.
Hi Charlene,
I do weave a little looser for tea towels, because I find that at the recommended sett of 24 epi, the cotton doesn’t have room to expand and absorb the water when drying dishes. So I set these towels at 18 epi, woven at 18 ppi, and they work perfectly for the intended use. Of course, they do shrink when washed and dried, so look tighter after finishing. The 8/2 cotton I use is from Maurice Brassard. But, of course, do what works best for you, with the materials you are using.
Thank you ! I have started weaving and so far so good! I’m looking forward to giving these as a gift.
I do have another question though, which I hope doesn’t sound to ridiculous. In your write up you mention that 5 of the towels measured 20″ wide and 30″ long when completed. If the width in the reed was 20″ did you not have any draw in or shrinkage in width? Thank you again.