Category Archives: handwoven

I wove these two dishtowels nearly 20 years ago!

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a handwoven cotton dishtowel
Handwoven cotton dishtowel
the different weaves in this dishtowel

The above dishtowel was woven from gray and white plyed, stranded, weaving cotton. While I don’t remember the grist, I remember enjoying sampling the structures in this towel and 18 years later, it dries dishes like a champ.

Handwoven cotton dishtowel

This dishtowel was woven using washed, spooled crochet cotton. It’s a bit heavier than most, and is sturdy and strong. It absorbs water 100% better than any commercial terry cloth dishtowel I’ve ever owned. It dries super fast as well!

The key to finishing dishtowels is to pre-wash them at least once in a washing machine, preferably a top loader. This pulls everything together.

spring fling dishtowel version number 2 being woven
Spring Fling Dishtowel #3

This is the third set of Spring Fling dishtowels is currently on the LeClerc Dorothy loom and is being woven in a true plaid. I think it could’ve been more square, but I’ll need to acquire an appropriate reed to do that.

Spring is nearly here! Get busy and create something or sort your garden seeds and test them for viability.

I’ve nearly finished weaving the first two Spring Fling Dishtowels.

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I found an excellent weaving draft software that’s actually Free and it can be used offline!! It’s called QuickDraw and you can get it at QuickDrawWeaving.com

The above photo is what the the first 2 Spring Fling Dishtowels as depicted by the software.

I drafted the next 2 dishtowels using the software and I can tell you that it’s pretty neat to see. I’ve always kept a notebook of everything I draft and weave. I still do because I’m a contingency planner.

Part 2 of the Spring Fling Dishtowels

The above photo is what the next 2 Spring Fling Dishtowels will look like when I continue weaving.

The rest of these towels are woven on the fly, while being notated in a notebook. I prefer creating on the fly because it doesn’t require a computer or electricity.

Get busy! Learn something new or make something you’ve never made before! It will keep your brain healthy!!

The weaving progress of the first set of handwoven dishtowels!

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This was an interesting process for me as I’d mostly woven wool cloth and heavy rugs. I did these towels freestyle because I was fascinated by the patterns being created in the plaids. I love plaids, so this seemed most natural to me.

When the warp was all woven up, I cut off the weaving and finished up the dishtowels. I sewed all of the side ends in (weft) and hemmed the ends of each towel. The towels were shipped to the wonderful woman who gave me all of the cotton thread/yarn which led to the creation of these dishtowls.

I used my Singer 319 to hem these dishtowels.

Get busy and make something you love! If you don’t know how, get a book and learn (I do it all of the time!).