Linked Birdseye
by Marjie Thompson
This towel uses a traditional “birdseye” threading. Birdseye is usually
treadled as a point twill using a single color throughout. In the variation used
for this towel, more colors and a more complex treadling order “link”
the birdseyes together into chainlike motifs that suggest a contemporary computer
data stream. (Four shafts) |
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Colors by Mozart
by Tomoe Edwards
The color orders for this towel are derived from the first movement of Mozart’s
Jupiter Symphony. Each note is assigned a color, and stripe width is determined
by the note’s duration. Waffleweave gives the towel a thirsty texture that
also frames the colors and makes them sparkle. (Four shafts)
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Global Warming Reminder
by Ursula Stehle
The warm colors in this towel are Ursula Stehle’s reminder to herself about
global warming. Wide stripes of warm colors alternate with a narrow light neutral
stripe in absorbent pearl cotton. The warm colors shift from dark on the outside
edge to light in the center. (Eight shafts)
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High-Twist Silk for Texture
by Ai Hikone
This highly textured fabric is created with high-twist silk warp and weft yarns.
Ai Hikone added the twist to a commercial silk yarn with a bobbin winder, but
commercial high-twist yarns can be used instead. The result is a uniquely dimensional
towel for washing and drying. (Four to Sixteen shafts)
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A Touch of Spring
by Lynda Friedel
In addition to its wonderful visual and tactile texture, this towel is thick,
absorbent, and easy to weave with just one shuttle. Even the plain-weave hems
have textural appeal! Here’s another bonus: the edges weave neatly with
no special effort or need for floating selvedges! (Four shafts)
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Flamingo Line Dance
by Helen Bobisud
Twenty-four shafts and a computer dobby make possible the dancing pink flamingos
in this cotton towel. The borders and towel body are woven in a point twill, and
the weft colors evoke a Florida beach in the summertime. (Twenty-four shafts with
dobby)
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Polychrome Magic
by Leslie Alperin
Sometimes two and other times three colors are used together as the pattern weft
in this summer and winter towel. The different combinations fool the eye into
seeing completely new colors, and the treadling variations produce different textures—chevrons,
dashes, and even circles! It's all magic! (Eight shafts) |
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California Colors
by Laura Schickli
The spring hills near San Francisco inspired the weft colors in this towel, and
most of the yarns are naturally colored organic cotton. The draft is adapted from
The Handbook of Weaves by G. H. Oelsner into a 14-shaft point twill with plain-weave
selvedges. (Fourteen shafts) |
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Herringbone Twill in Autumn Colors
by Ardis Arahood
The inspiration for this towel came from a vintage piece of Fiestaware pottery
and the many colors available in cottolin yarn. Woven in a 2/2 twill, the towel
has a soft, absorbent hand. (Four shafts) |
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Twill Blocks in Jewel-Tone Colors
by Judy Langhoff
This large, elegant dish towel is designed to show off fine yarns in beautiful
jewel-tone colors. Blocks of 1/3 vs 3/1 twill allow both color contrast and color
blending, and 16/2 cotton (available in many colors) provides the perfect weight
for a towel. (Eight shafts) |
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Color-and-Weave Pinwheels
by Susan Mansfield
The threading for this towel is in straight order except for the yellow accent
threads, which make little 2-thread hiccups before and after sets of repeats.
The treadling and color combinations produce an allover pinwheel twill design.
(Eight shafts) |
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Easter Egg Delights
by Barbara Nelson
These towels were designed in conjunction with the 2006 napkin/serviette exchange
that takes place every two years among members of an Internet chat group. The
draft produces a curvy variation of a plaited twill. (Sixteen shafts)
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Roller Birds and Bumbaret
by Jean Newsted
A South African roller bird inspired the colors in this 8/2 cotton towel. Jean
chose bumbaret as the weave structure because it allows the use of many warp colors
in a fascinating yet orderly fashion. (Four shafts) |
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Tropical Twill Stripes
by Karen Tenney
White plain-weave warp stripes alternate with more closely sett 3/1 twill stripes
for this towel; the twill stripes seem almost multidimensional. You can choose
any combination of colors that are close in value for the twill stripes. (Six
or eight shafts) |
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Cayenne Pepper
by Nancy J. Warren
A log cabin variation using a split-complement color scheme of two reds, two oranges,
and two values of turquoise are used for both warp and weft in this towel. Although
the hues in each pair appear very close to each other, all six are really necessary
to create the final richly colored effect. (Four shafts) |
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From Hopi to Huck
by Rosanne White
Native American pottery inspired the design and colors in this towel. The huck-lace
dogwood-blossom pattern highlights the spaced lines of color. Huck's warp and
weft floats add to the towel’s absorbency. (Eight shafts)
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Classic Plain Weave and Twill
by Freya Willemoes-Wissing
Cottolin and plain weave are a perfect combination for a classically beautiful
and durable towel. A weft-emphasis twill stripe adds a border at both ends of
this towel. Varying the colors in both the plain-weave and twill areas can produce
several different-looking towels on the same warp. (Two or four shafts)
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Tips for Weaving and Finishing Towels
Here are some useful tips for using this book: how to calculate yarn
amounts for different numbers of towels, how to substitute yarns, and how to work
hems, edges, and other finishes.
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