Designed and woven by Malynda Allen
Woven on the Flip Loom
I recently discovered that I really like linen towels in my kitchen. Linen is crisp, cool, and absorbent, and it dries quickly. It is wonderful for drying dishes and hands, and it softens the more you use and wash it. Sometimes stiff linen warp can be a challenge on a rigid heddle loom, so I chose to eliminate the problem by using a cotton warp and a linen weft. A simple pick-up pattern adds interest and repeats throughout this set of towels. With two colors of linen weft, I could play around with color combinations.
Equipment
- Rigid heddle loom with at least an 18″ weaving width. (I used my 25″ Flip loom and Trestle Stand.)
- 10-dent heddle
- Two shuttles (I used stick shuttles)
- One pick-up stick at least 18″ wide
- sewing machine and sewing thread to match the warp
Note: These towels can be woven on three shafts of a floor loom. The width would be perfect for any Wolf Pup. You may need a longer warp to accommodate more loom waste.
Materials
Warp Yarn: 8/2 unmercerized cotton, 850 yards in natural and 300 yards in a contrasting color. I used Georgia Yarn Company Natural for the main color and Valley Yarns Eggplant for contrast.
Weft Yarn: 16/2 linen similar to the background color and 18/3 linen in a color similar to the warp contrast color. I used Valley Yarns 16/2 half bleach and Gist Yarn 18/3 linen in Lavender, a total of 350 yards 16/2 half bleach and 300 yards 18/3 contrast.
- 200 yards 16/2 linen for Towel 1
- 200 yards 18/3 linen for Towel 2
- 150 yards 16/2 linen and 100 yards 18/3 (doubled for this towel only) for Towel 3
Yarn substitution: You can use 8/2 unmercerized cotton for the weft, though it may slightly change the width of the finished towel. You can also use 18/3 linen for both weft colors; since 18/3 is slightly thinner than 16/2 linen, you may get fewer picks per inch.
Download the PDF for complete project instructions
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