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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

First Batch of Towels Finished

Yesterday I washed, pressed, and hemmed the first batch of towels. Here's the lineup:



From left, 2 green hemp/cotton blend wefts, 2 mercerized cotton wefts, and 3 unmercerized cotton wefts. To my surprise, the hemp/cotton shrank the least - because it's a very loosely plied yarn, I expected it to shrink more. The unmercerized cotton shrank more than the mercerized, as it usually does. Each piece was about 15.5 x 30 on the loom (not counting hem area), and the finished towels are all close to 14 x 27, so the average shrinkage was about 10% (give or take 1/4 inch here or there, as much due to the difference in float length among the various structures as the difference in fiber content and prep).

I love the hand of the finished cloth. And I'm pleased to report that the harsh, hairy hemp/cotton yarn did indeed soften nicely in the wet finishing. They feel just as good as the towels with the all-cotton wefts.

Here are some closeups taken after pressing:






The remaining 7 towels' worth of warp is now retied and the 8th towel is being woven, using the same sett and ppi.

11 comments:

Phiala said...

The pics don't seem to be working.

Sojourner Design said...

A fine batch of towels. I'm so jealous!

Beryl Moody said...

There is something so satisfying about weaving towels. Yours are wonderful.

Stephen said...

Can you explain your use of the tape running up the side of each towel? I would also like to know about your use of clamps as a lateral tensioning devise as you weave. Is that a rolling temple?

Stephen.m.palmer@comcast.net

Thanks,

Stephen in Cloverdale, CA

Anonymous said...

They all look even prettier now when they are finished!

Anonymous said...

Oh, how you want me to get a loom with more shafts. The towels look great!

Cate Rose said...

They're all really beautiful, Sandra. I love the rainbow arrangement, too.

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting such complete info about how you made the towels! I especially love the plaited twill greenish one!!!

Is it generally true that you can use a different fiber for warp and for weft as long as the entire piece of fabric is the same weave structure and the same yarn?? (I have all these odds and ends that I'd love to use up as weft for different towels.) Sorry to ask a question in a comment!! If this isn't a no-brainer to answer, don't feel obligated!!! I'll ask on one of the weaving lists if need be!

Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing!

Phiala said...

Those are lovely; thank you for sharing. I shall have to try weaving towels, though I can't do anything that fancy on my loom.

Leigh said...

Lovely selection Sandra, well done!

neki desu said...

they look so smart!

neki desu