Draft by Madelyn van der Hoogt, design by Jane Patrick, woven by Judy Steinkoenig
Twill Blocks Kitchen Towel
Draft by Madelyn van der Hoogt, design by Jane Patrick, woven by Judy Steinkoenig
This past April I traveled to Coupeville, Washington on Whidbey Island to spend a week at Madelyn van der Hoogt’s The Weavers’ School. What could be more idyllic for a weaver than spending a whole week weaving—on pre-warped looms no less? Each morning Madelyn gave an engaging lecture on weave structure and then we spent the rest of the day WEAVING! Though I’ve been weaving for over 50 years, I’ve never focused on structure, so this was an excellent opportunity to do so with Madelyn’s deep understanding of how structures work. I took Weaving II; new weavers should take Weaving I. If you have always wanted to go to Madelyn’s, now is the time to sign up, as Madelyn is threatening to retire in the near future. www.weaversschool.com
This towel, woven in twill blocks, was one I enjoyed weaving. I liked the optics that come just from threading and weaving blocks wider and narrower. Woven on 8 shafts, this pattern consists of two blocks: 1234 and 5678. It is woven as it is threaded (or tromp as writ). This is a one-shuttle weave—which I love as the weaving moves along quickly.
The towel was woven on an 8-shaft Baby Wolf. I wove a hanging loop on my Schacht Inkle Loom. I always love how the Scandinavians use a woven loop to hang their towels. Since this towel feels pretty Scandinavian, I decided to weave my own hanger for this towel.
Project Specs
Finished size: Three towels, 20-2/3" x 35"
Weave structure: Twill blocks with plain weave hems
Number of warp ends: 578 (including 2 floating selvedges)
Warp length: For three towels, you’ll need a 5 yard warp. This allows for take-up and 36" for loom waste.
Width in reed: 24"
EPI: 24, 2 ends sleyed in a 12-dent reed
PPI: 20–24
What You'll Need
- Warp: Bockens 8/2 unmercerized cotton, 0000 unbleached 250 gr/1625 m (8.8 oz x 1777 yd), 2,900 yds needed for towel, 12 yds needed for hanging loop (2 cones)
- Weft: Bockens 8/2 unmercerized cotton in a contrasting color, 250 gr/1720 m (8.8 oz x 1890 yd), 2,200 yds needed for towels, 24 yds needed for hanging loop (2 cones). We recommend 139 Dark Turquoise, 134 Medium Blue, and/or 122 Rose. One cone is enough for 2 towels.
- 8-shaft Baby Wolf (note: nearly every loom in Madelyn’s studio is an 8-shaft Baby Wolf—which was thrilling for me, coming from Schacht)
- 12 dent reed
- 11" boat shuttle with a 4" bobbin
- 14 yard warping board
- bobbin winder
- Schacht Inkle Loom
- belt shuttle
- short green Texsolv heddles or string heddles
Materials
Equipment
For towel:
For hanging loop:
Directions
Warping for the Towels:
Warp following the project specs and draft.
Weaving the Towels:
- Weave a 2" hem in plain weave and hemstitch the beginning.
Weave the pattern following the treadling for 40". Use an even beat and advance frequently for best results.
- End with a 2" plain weave hem and hemstitch.
- Repeat for 2 more towels.
Finishing the towels:
- If you did not hemstitch the ends of your weaving, machine zigzag before washing.
- Wash towels in hot water in the washing machine with a load of white towels. Put it all in the dryer, then remove while still slightly damp.
- Steam iron and then make a double folded hem to finish the ends.
For the hanging loop:
- Follow the warp color order chart. Wind the warp at the
shortest length possible for the Schacht loom.
- Weave a couple of inches as a header to establish your band width.
- Secure the weft and then weave 4", finishing by weaving in the weft at the other end.
Remove the band from the loom, trim the fringe to 1/8". Find the center of the towel edge, fold over the band on the ends for a short hem, and machine stitch in place.
