Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts

April 25, 2010

tea towels on the loom

modeling the chained warp
tea towels can appear to be scarves, for a moment

I have been dreaming of a spring line of wovens. Scarves were my first choice, but as I wove tests, towels seemed like the best place to start for spring weaving. There is nothing like a good tea or hand towel in the kitchen- drying dishes, wrapping up freshly made bread, brightening up the front of a stove. For this line, I've chosen salmon and white for one set and turquoise and white for another. Spring for me is all about crisp, clean, bright colors.
The first salmon/white warp has been warped and wound onto the loom. Structurally, it is a basket weave with a plainweave ground; simple yet elegant.

test warp
this is the test warp- what the industry calls a handloom

salmon/white on the warping board
half of the warp on the warping board

winding the 9 yard warp
winding the warp- even tension throughout!

winding the warp
more winding

the makeshift shuttle
homemade shuttle

As I am building my collection of weaving tools, I currently only have one boat shuttle. Of course I chose some patterns that need two colors, so I have a second boat shuttle on order. Until it arrives, I decided to make my own very rudimentary shuttle. On one hand, I'm almost embarrassed to show this, as "professional" it's not. But on the other hand, I'm a fan of making do with what you have, and trying to solve the issues that occur.

test warp on the first towels
test warp and plainweave/basketweave structure