Cottolin Gothic

Cottolin Towels woven in
8H Gothic Cross Shadow Weave

It’s a rare rainy July morning and I'm Back-Blogged. I've simply lost track of the order of recent projects. I wove these towels months ago and can't remember what came before and what came after them. Checking my records will set it right.

Piles of recent work with my camera perched among them cover our dining room table awaiting attention. Lots of weaving time has been one of the few benefits of being stuck in since March. That and lots of gardening time. But since the virus hit my husband has been working from home and my computer time has been limited so posting opportunities have been few.

The Bull’s Eye Cottolin towels were such a success that I wanted to weave more. A fellow Structures Study Group member, Shelly, shared a draft for another Gothic Cross Shadow Weave that I liked very much. At the meeting she wore a smashing scarf she’d woven using this draft. I immediately wanted to weave her Gothic Cross. The draft comes from 1000 Patterns in 4, 6, 8 Harness Shadow Weave by Marian Powell.

Here I used 22/2 Cottolin sett at 20 e.p.i. The first warp is Natural paired with #2048 Dark Olive Grey. The second warp is Natural paired with #2080 Red.

Gothic Cross in Natural and Dark Olive Grey

Gothic Cross with the weft color order reversed

This design is dramatic but really very simple. The colors are used every other one in both warp and weft. The first photo is woven according to the draft. The second one shows the effect of changing the order of the two colors in the weft. Isn't the difference striking?

This swatch shows the effect of
throwing two Natural weft shots in a row.

These were fun to weave. They are fun to use, too. The time was well spent. If you are stuck at home, think about weaving some for yourself and for those you love.

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Cottolin Gothic Towels, Detail

Another shot - Bull's Eye

The two latest color ways of my Color & Effect Cottolin Towels
I played with contrast in a few of the hems on the blue towels.
They were fun to weave and are nice to use, too.

I need to send a reply to Cindy who commented on my post “Conundrum Solved” from Jan. 14, 2015. She wanted help learning how to balance an Overshot block as in my Swedish Kitchen rework of Davison’s Nordic Kitchen draft. I found the solution and an explanation of why blocks wind up unbalanced on pages 41-42 of Madelyn van der Hoogt’s book “The Complete Book of Drafting for Handweavers”. Her information is top shelf and comes complete with photos and graphics. I hope you see this note, Cindy. I apologize for having to reply here. I have tried and tried unsuccessfully to post a reply. I do not know why this is a problem. (If you have helpful hints and can manage to post a comment please do.) I hesitate to think it but it may be time to find a different blog host. Thank you for your kind comment, Cindy.

Here are a few additional photos of my Color & Weave Effect Cottolin towels. I think of them as Bull’s Eye. That is not an official name for this draft. It's only an impression I have. If you see something else feel free to comment – if you can make it work.

Four different Color & Weave effect Cottolin towel warps
I think I see Bull's Eyes

Meanwhile, weaving and gardening continue. Things are really popping out in the yard which makes me very happy.

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Spring Sunshine and Happy Colors

Great Colors Make Me Happy

Things that make me happy include grandchildren, sunshine, flowers and just the right color combinations.

My third foray into Strickler Draft #760 was a happy one. Color is one of my life-long delights. I am rather a practical person. Still, practicality does not exclude beauty.

I take particular joy in weaving everyday household textiles that are both useful and visually pleasing. This kitchen hand towel exemplifies my goal and makes me happy.

Kitchen Hand Towel, Stickler #760

Structure: Deflected Double Weave, #760 from "A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns from the Friends of Handwoven" edited by Carol Strickler

Yarns: 10/2 and 20/2 perle cottons in three solid colors and one variegated. Sett: 30 e.p.i.

Third color way of Stickler #760 on 8 Harnesses

Reverse Side, Third color way of Stickler #760

Spring has sprung. Yard work beckons and the fun continues.

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Weaving and Wishing for Spring

Wishing for Spring Cotton Towel

This has been a tough winter with more snow, colder temperatures and more freezing nights than I can remember. Added to my Midwest Polar Vortex adventure, spring seems a very long time coming. Yet it is still early March. Guess it’s time for patience. In the meantime, I’ve planted several seed trays indoors. Anticipation grows.

While awaiting spring, indoor color adventures continue. Here is the second warp using the Strickler draft #760. The turquoise 10/2 unmercerized cotton had been on my shelf for some time. With 10/2 perle cotton in Porcelain Green, 20/2 UKI mercerized cotton in Banana and 20/2 cotton in a variegation called Spray I think this is a winning combination.

Wishing for Spring Cotton Towel, reverse side

I don’t usually complain about the weather and a few crocus have been blooming. Patience is a virtue, right? Still, I’m very happy that this winter will soon be over – at least according to the calendar.

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A Wave of Blue Waffles

Blue 6H Waffle Weave Towel

Here you see results of the final warp of my waffle adventures, at least the final one for now. These just happen to be my very favorite of all the Waffle Weave towel warps I have woven – six warps producing 44 towels.

For the Blue towels I tightened the sett from 34 e.p.i. to 36 e.p.i. The final combination of 16/2 cotton (Natural & Variegated) for the waffle cells partnered with 20/2 cotton (Blue) for the plain weave stripes made the best cloth of all my waffle weaving. The blue towels are pleasant to the eye and to the hand. As an extra-added bonus they are very good at soaking up water, too.

Blue Wave Waffle Towel
Front side showing border treatment

Blue Wave Waffle Towel
Reverse side showing border treatment

Someday I’d like to get back to weave waffles but for now other projects beacon. Warp Rep is on my horizon. Hooray!

Loved One's health issues continue to sap time, energy and emotion. It seems, though that improvement is on the horizon. So maybe life will get back to some kind of new normal. Time will tell. Our garden also keeps me away from the loom but that is a happy distraction. Slight hints of autumn are beginning to show. Autumn is my favorite season. Happy times lie in store.

Happy Weaving!

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Teal Waffles

A cone of 16/2 dark teal cotton found its way to my stash. It sat on the shelf for a long time. I have not been using 16/2 and since I haven’t used it I haven’t collected many cones of this size. Recent waffle adventures were the perfect chance to use what little 16/2 I had.

The "right" side of Teal Waffles hand towel

The lighter stripes in this warp are actually a lovely pale grey. I expected the bright colors in the variegated yarn to really pop where they peek through in the center of each waffle cell. It seems the teal yarn has a bit more loft than yarns in previous warps. It bloomed slightly in the wash and now the colors barely show at all.

The "wrong" side of Teal Waffles hand towel

The reverse side is nice though. That is where those colors really sing. When the towels were all finished and washed I wished they'd been hemmed to the other side making the reverse the "right" side. 

The nice thing is, when drying hands, both sides of the towel are easily visible and enjoyed. And besides, there is always the next warp.

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A Sweet Stack of Waffles

A great waffle stack
Towels from four warps beginning with the first one on down

Look at that sweet stack of waffles! These are what I still have of four separate waffle warps. There are fewer left of the top two because they were the earliest. Additional Waffle Weave warps have come off my loom since my previous post when I whacked the pink towel. My fifth waffle warp is off the loom and waiting to be cut apart and hemmed. There will be more about the latter warps in future posts. I am having a lot of fun weaving waffles. Can you tell?

The latest addition to our back garden
We look forward to warm weather
 out in the new Gazebo.

In the mean time the great outdoors has been calling and keeping me busy. Yard work is fun in spite of frequent pouring rain. We dodge the drenching when we can and put up with the damp when we must. Going outside and thinking about growing things (things other than weeds!) is invigorating. Often even if I don’t feel like it, I head out there thinking of doing a specific small task or two. Before I know it I am enjoying the work and making real progress. My husband and I look forward to warmer, dryer weather. We look forward to leaves on trees, colorful flowers and fresh vegetables in our own yard. All the toil is worth the resulting satisfaction and enjoyment.

It can be like that with weaving, too. Sometimes it seems so pointless. Why am I doing this? It takes so much time. Perfectly acceptable commercially woven towels, rag rugs, baby blankets, etc. are available at discount stores. Yet, there is a difference. Having beautiful and useful handwoven things in our home is satisfying. Cloth of my own making speaks to me of who I am and what I have accomplished. Working at the warping mill, the loom, the sewing machine is what I do and have always done best. Color, proportion and design speak to me. A long list of ideas and goals spurs me on to create. Even repeating a draft can be an adventure. There is always another color arrangement, another yarn combination, another end purpose. The possibilities are endless and fascinating. The end product gives me satisfaction; the process brings me joy. And giving handwoven gifts is a unique way to express my love for friends and family.

Detail, Pink 7H Waffle Weave Towel
16/2 Cotton, Sett: 36 e.p.i.

Detail, Reverse side Pink 7H Waffle Weave Towel

Lately there have been some distractions and distresses in my life. But somehow, even if it’s late at night, I find time to weave. I create unique gifts, beautify my home, and feed my creative spirit. I weave. What could be better? Sunny weather, maybe??? Ha!

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A Slice of Pink -OR- Don’t Try This at Home

Oops!

It was late at night and I was in a hurry to finish. This is one way to add to my personal collection of kitchen hand towels. But I wouldn’t recommend it.

As soon as I took the last snip it was clear what was wrong. All the way up through the scissors I could feel the difference between single and double layers. Alas!

If not for the purple borders I could have salvaged this towel by hemming it slightly shorter. Oh, well. We will use it here at home and it will serve as a reminder to me: Slow down, be careful and get more sleep.

This one is a "keeper"

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Meant to be Together

Three yarns for my 2017 Christmas towels came from three different sources. The 16/2 cotton in Natural came as a WEBS mill end several years ago. The 16/2 Bockens cotton in "Dusty Purple" came my way via the free shelf at my weaver's guild. An unidentified person brought several boxes of yarns that had belonged to her grandmother. Apparently none of the family chose to take up weaving and grandmother's stash was of no use to her heirs. The third, variegated yarn came from the estate sale of a former friend and fellow guild member. Although the rather large cone of this yarn is unmarked, I think it is 20/2 cotton. These yarns came to me at different times from different sources. I did not have a use in mind for them when they arrived. But with these towels it seemed clear that they were meant to come together in one cloth.

Large cone of variegated from an estate sale
Bockens 16/2 Cotton in "Dusty Purple" from someone's grandmother's stash
Mill end 16/2 cotton in Natural from WEBS

The time spots of color inside each waffle cell are a little too subtle, probably because that variegated yarn is a bit finer than the other two. The changing colors show far better on the reverse side where they form a surface grid. Even so I find the colors and the arrangement pleasing.

Waffle Weave Christmas Towel, detail

Waffle Weave Christmas Towel, reverse side detail

Using yarns from my stash, especially those that once belonged to other weavers, makes me happy. Perhaps these yarns waited a very long time specifically in order to become part of this very project. It's impossible to know the reason why the original owners had these yarns or what they had in mind for them. In my imagination it is nice to think they would be happy that yarns they held have become useful and beautiful hand towels.

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year, a year filled with exciting and satisfying new weaving adventures.

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Waffling Away – Sample #4

My exploration of waffle weave drafts continues. This time I chose to use more of the 14/2 machine knitting cotton in an eye-popping green and navy blue. The sett is 35 e.p.i.

The draft is my own modification of Strickler #388. Floats in my previous samples (#1 & #2) seemed too long for towels. Snagging on rings is my primary concern since I plan to weave hand towels. So I merely shortened the floats by shortening the “V” of the waffle cells in both threading and treadling, omitting shaft 8 and treadle 8 and adjusting accordingly.

Variegated ends that peak out from the center of each cell add interest. The changing colors work well on the reverse side making for a lively surface grid. Both sides are nice.

Top left: Unwashed and unfinished sample with sewing thread weft for hem
Top right: Navy blue sewing thread for hem weft, machine hemmed, machine washed and dried
Lower: Reverse side, machine washed and dried

This cloth is rather satisfying. As well as being great for hand towels, it would be fantastic for baby blankets. I am on the right path but there is one more idea to test.

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Weaving Waffles -OR- Never Look a Gift Yarn

Several goals combined to send me searching for a great Waffle Weave draft. The hand towels in my kitchen are showing wear from many years of hard use. My handwoven Cottolin towels are particularly worn which is no surprise since they are favorites. Christmas is coming and I always like to send handwoven kitchen towels as gifts. And there are yarns on my shelf.

Early attempts at Waffle Weave
Top: Cottolin sett at 24 e.p.i.
Bottom: Cottolin sett at 18 e.p.i.

Detail showing wavy Waffle Weave hems

Waffle weave with its superior insulation and absorbance has always attracted me. And it is a magical and beautiful structure. Years and years ago I wove this little piece (tan one above) of Waffle using Cottolin, sett at 24 e.p.i., for both warp and weft. Machine washed and dried, it shrunk a bunch and the hems went wobbly. Next I tried weaving the same structure with (white) Cottolin sett at 18 e.p.i. I hoped a less dense sett would improve the hems. The problem with that idea is the waffle structure suffered. So I shelved that goal. But I  have been meaning to get back around to waffle weave for the longest time. Now is as good an opportunity as any.

Over time yarns from various friends, studio sales, estate sales, and such have worked their way into my stash. One late weaving friend in particular was an ardent yarn hoarder. Sorry to write it but she did very little weaving and a whole lot of yarn collecting. Anyway, one way or the other my shelves hold yarns that I did not particularly seek. They arrived without plan or purpose.

Not meaning in any way to dwell on the morbid, I intend to use my yarns—to use my stash while I am able. If the good Lord wills it, there will be plenty of time to achieve this goal. Going forward I aim to use, as far as possible, yarns already in hand, even if they are garish colors, unknown fibers or difficult grist or ply.

Sample #1
Orphaned yarns somehow make their way to me
The larger sample here has not been washed
This portion of the sample shows variegated perle cotton ends
 centered in the plain weave sections.

Sample #1
Top left is the unwashed portion
I tried several different colors and yarns for weft

With a few cones of 16/2 cotton on hand but wanting to save those for the actual towels, I decided to combine gift yarn of a similar size (pink and orange 14/2-cotton machine knitting yarn) to weave samples. Love for variegated yarns has kept several skeins of what appears to be space-dyed linen singles in a very fine size on my shelf. The pink and orange are eye-popping. Aside from the color it is beautiful, soft yarn. If only those yarns could tell me their tales!

Attempting to weave waffle without wavy hems, I am trying drafts that combine waffle with plain weave. First I tried draft #388 from Carol Strickler’s "A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns". I like this draft because it combines a six-end waffle with three ends of plain weave in each threading repeat. Surely the addition of plain weave sections would help even out the hems.

Sample #1 sett of 24 e.p.i. was far too loose. For Sample #2 I tried 30 e.p.i., a big improvement but still not ideal. Later I re-sleyed to weave at 35 e.p.i. Also, using sewing thread as weft while treadling the waffle pattern for hems kept them nice and flat.

In the first few of these samples I tried to use a few widely spaced ends of the variegated among the cotton ends with disastrous result as it immediately began to break. (Predictable—what was I thinking?) The ones that survived eventually frayed away. Really, I ought to have expected problems. The second time around, I tried using my spinning wheel to ply the linen single with one ply of sewing thread. The thread held but the linen still broke and frayed. Back at the drawing board, I replaced the problem yarn with variegated perle cottons.

My friend Sue at The Willingham Weavery weaves lots of waffle weave so I asked her what she does about the hems. She told me she uses sewing thread for the hem weft. Another hint she gave was to weave in two "gathering" threads at each hem fold line. So far I haven't tried the second hint but it's good to know and may come in handy.

Sample #2 - Spaced dyed ends plied with sewing thread, alternating coral and pink in threading repeats, variegated ends are centered in the waffle cells
Top: Sett at 35 e.p.i., machine washed & dried
Middle: Sett at 30 e.p.i., machine washed & dried
Bottom right: Sett at 30 e.p.i., not washed, lower portion shows sewing thread weft for hems

Sample #3
Kerstin's draft from an IKEA towel
I gave up on using the linen singles.
This sample shows 10/2 variegated perle cotton instead.

Yarn skips in the 6-end waffles seem too long to be practical as kitchen towels. So now I am trying a draft from Kerstin's Extras blog. She analyzed an IKEA towel and came up with the draft. This structure is far more stable. The sewing thread hems worked well. But I didn’t like the way the waffle areas do not weave to square and I’m still not certain this is the way to go for my Christmas towels. The blue 10/2 perle cotton variegated ends are very pleasing in these samples. This draft will be worth coming back to another time.

Kerstin's draft makes a very stable structure sett at 36 e.p.i.
Here you see the sewing thread weft hems
 both before and after finishing

My pile of samples is growing. But I am learning lots and lots. Maybe all this pink and orange will be consumed and then with the 16/2 cotton I will begin again at square one. Waffle square, that is.

As for my goal of using Cottolin . . . I guess it will wait. And there are lots of other yarns on my shelves.

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Lost in the Woods

Pine Tree Towel
8H Summer & Winter

According to the calendar, spring is here but still we wait for sunshine and warm days. It was a tough winter for a lot of reasons including but not entirely due to severe weather. Instead of feeling blue while suspended between situations and seasons I decided to try my hand at weaving Summer & Winter.

So I headed for the woods and searched for a nice pine tree border in several books. My loom is limited to eight harnesses and ten treadles allowing me to weave six blocks in Summer & Winter. In order to achieve a nice branch effect I wanted to find a draft using all six possible blocks. I was particular that the trees appear as realistic as I could make them.

This draft seemed to best fit my requirements. You will find it on pages 27-28 of the Shuttle Craft Guild Monograph #19: Summer and Winter and Other Two-Tie Unit Weaves by Harriet Tidball.

Pine Tree Towel showing front and back sides
8H Summer & Winter

Summer & Winter has long been on my "to-do" list because it took time for me to get over being intimidated it. Most worrisome was the necessity of using a skeleton tie-up on my countermarch loom. I studied and sampled and discovered it was not as difficult as I had feared. It is possible to use the countermarch action using a skeleton tie-up but instead of tying only rising or falling sheds to every treadle, one ties only selected harnesses on each treadle to be paired. Yes, two countermarch treadles can be tromped at once when tied up this way.

Weaving with the skeleton tie-up requires half again as many treadle steps as otherwise therefore many more opportunities to go wrong. But with careful attention a rhythm establishes itself.

There are several methods of treadling Summer & Winter. I attempted to illustrate the three I chose to weave with these photographs. They produce similar but different results. It is tough to say which I like the best.

Click on Photo to better see results of three treading methods.
Lower Left: Paired X's
Lower Center: Singles
Lower Right: Paired O's

Treadling Variations:
Black: Paired X's
Dark Green: Singles
Medium Green: Paired O's (this towel shows reverse side)

In my usual fashion, I added color to the warp and tabby threads. To make the tree trunks seem more real, I used brown warp ends and in the very center of the brown trunks is one subtly variegated thread. I hadn't considered how the added color would play throughout the center of the warp. The result made me very happy. Variety is, after all, the spice of life!

8H Summer & Winter Pine Tree Towel
Hem details

After a while I grew tired of weaving with only green and gave black a try with pleasing results. Dark brown would work well, too. Take a close look at the hems on the black towel. I began with the hem on the right. By the time the ending came I'd decided to add two extra shots of black to close off the block design. This seems to make for a more finished look.


Summer & Winter opens exciting possibilities for further design exploration. But for now I am working to rethread my loom with another warp based on this draft. At 15x19 inches these towels are rather small so now I am working on something a bit wider.


Will I find my way with Summer & Winter or stay lost in the woods? Actually, being lost in these particular woods isn't so bad.

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8H Summer & Winter Towels
The towel at upper left showing the reverse side

Marled Madness

Already it is April but the whole "March Madness" hype still rings in these ears. So I decided to make my own version and changed it to "Marled Madness".

Swedish Kitchen Towels with Marled yarn warp ends

Do you remember my puzzlement over how to use marled yarn? What is marled yarn? It is yarn of two or more colors plied together. The tube I have consists of one ply of navy blue and one ply of white spun together.

While pondering this question I decided to try using marled yarn in my Swedish Kitchen towels. It is in the places where I previously used variegated ends. This warp was maddening to weave because it was difficult to see where I was when doing the border.

While on the loom these did not impress me at all. In fact, they were hard to weave because they did not excite me.

Fortunately, initial impressions are often mistaken as was the case here. The finished towels are nicer than anticipated. Doing these was a good experience and I like them very much now.

In two of these towels I added marled tabby ends throughout. Weaving with three shuttles was fussy but the result is nice. The red and gold towels were done this way.

Detail of Swedish Kitchen Towel using marled ends in warp and tabby weft

Swedish Kitchen Towel

I put another new idea to use on the hems. You can see a couple of marled weft shots in the photo. They are spaced in such a way to mark the fold lines. This worked very well for me and I like the way it looks. Having that marled end near the sewing line at the top of the hem helped keep my sewing in a nice straight line.

For my next warp I am looking at colors and drafts for another of my "Wee Coverlets". There is a precious new addition to our family. I want to swaddle her in my love even though she lives very far away.

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Miniature Norse Kitchen - Third Warp

Miniature Norse Kitchen towels

Darker teal yarn used as both warp and tabby in borders

Here you see finished towels from the third warp of my Miniature Norse Kitchen draft. This warp was shorter than usual due to limited supply of yarn. Look closely and you will see a darker shade of teal blue added into the borders. Sometimes I mix in other colors of warp for design interest. Other times I mix in additional solid warp colors due to limited supplies of yarn. It is a great way to use up small bits of yarn. Each of these reasons was relevant with this warp.

Third color way of Miniature 

Right side of Miniature Norse Kitchen

Both sides are beautiful. The variegated and darker teal is more obvious on the reverse side. If you ask me, either side could be considered the "right" side.

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Reverse side of Miniature Norse Kitchen