S&TW: The most hideous towels in the world

Tags

colour, cotton, yarn

My third sampling project this summer was towels + cotton in the weight called 8/2, which I didn’t have, but I did have various small spools of cottolin 22/2 which is approximately the same thickness. So this is a “work with what you have” project like my rugs from yesterday, which is an exercise I enjoy in itself – although it would be even nicer if you actually liked what you have. But, one shouldn’t scorn free art supplies very much.

I didn’t want to go the way of randomizing the weft like my sampler 16/2 pillowcases, so I just put all the colours in the warp and wove with a white cotton. Completely failing to pick a sensible threading sequence because I guessed at a pattern and guessed wrong, meaning I had very few options for trying out different structures.

Anyway. I have no idea if I want to weave my own towels after this. They’re too heavy for dishes, too thin for bath. I’d love to try some waffle weave but I’m still uncertain which yarn weight I should pick! One of them did turn out semi-waffely on one side, so perhaps a 4 shaft waffle would be good for hand towels, in 16/2 I’d do an 8 shaft waffle. So perhaps 22/2 in 8 shaft waffle would be great for bath? Cottolin supposedly sucks up more water as well as drying quicker I’ve read somewhere. For dishes I think I’d prefer a plainweave or twill 16/2 cotton, aka nearly sewing thread. I have some waffle weave dish towels from the store, but they are woven in seriously thin thread, like the one used for bed sheets. Customs vary I guess, since I know in the US they weave towels in 8/2 or heavier all the time.

I used a thinner yarn for the hems, but still feel that they’re quite bulky. Another thing I tried was weaving in the strap for each towel, hence the white middle stripe; but forget that on loosely hanging warp threads, if I’m to do that another time I’ll need a second warp beam for proper tension. (because the warp threads need to be longer than the others to loop the woven strap and weave it into the main fabric)

These will work just fine for mopping up paint should I ever get my new place ready for such antics. As well as the most important test for a towel: How thirsty is it?

Please excuse my paint splattered table, I didn’t really feel that these towels deserved the hassle of taking off the cover. 😉 Well, the real reason being I’m not very talented in the “product photography” department. Arranging things with pretty props and stuff, just don’t have it in me, even if I try to copycat.