Finally landed the quad

I've had this weaving project on the loom for a while - I warped it on August 4 and didn't take the cloth off the loom until September 14. In my defense, the loom was inaccessible for part of that time due to a DIY furniture refinishing project that took over our living room.

This set of towels is done! They are a bit different than the last set I wove. I wanted to use some of my weaving yarn in stash, and I have a bit of 8/4 cotton (which is thicker than the 8/2 cotton I used on the last project). The only heddle I have for my new Flip loom right now is the 10-dent, so that's what I used. I found something online that says 8/4 cotton is usually woven on a 12-dent heddle, but using a 10-dent results in a cloth that is drapier. I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying it.

My warp included 3 colors: white, a light, minty green (curiously labelled "army green"), and a sage-ish green (which had no color so I keep referring to it as "mystery" in my notes). I used the same color for the weft throughout each towel, and kept things simple with plain weave. Towel #1 had the "army green" weft and towel #2 had the mystery color - I didn't introduce any new colors on those.

They are completely pleasant. But after I started using a fourth color as weft, I found the first two towels a little staid. For towel #3, I tried using a boucle yarn in a periwinkle color (official name is "vieux bleu"). This changed the overall color quite a lot, and also added a nubbly texture. Here's a closeup so you can see the boucle:

For towel #4, I went back to 8/4 cotton, but in a brighter blue called "light jade." This might be my favorite combo. Adding that blue really made the cloth come alive.

I guess all this is a bit difficult to see on the screen, but trust me. Here are the four fabrics all together:

You might notice that these are not all the same size. This is curious to me, as I used a paper guide for each towel that was exactly the same length.

I recently read that whether you pin the guide with the fabric under tension or not makes a difference, which makes sense - so that is something I'll pay attention to next time. I also noticed that the paper guide really bulked up the cloth beam by the time I got to the last towel, so next time I will not begin it in the same spot with each towel. Can you see how the cloth is thicker on the right end? That is guide buildup!

Let's check the dimensions. My goal was to make towels 17.5" x 25". This is what I got:

1. 15 3/8" x 22 1/4"
2. 15 1/2" x 22"
3. 14 3/4" x 23 1/2"
4. 15 1/4" x 22 3/8"

My length ranged from 22" to 23 1/2" - that is a big gap. But the width also varied, especially with towel #3. That is because the boucle doesn't shrink the same way that that 8/3 cotton does - I got a towel that was skinnier AND longer that time. And in general, this 8/4 cotton woven at a sett  of 10 shrinks a LOT more than my previous project. Interesting! I will note that for future projects using this yarn.

Next time, I will pay better attention to the guides. I'll remove the t-pin after the beam has turned one time (the pins add even more bulk than the paper), and place the guide in a different spot for each towel. I'm also ready to be more bold about mixing different yarns - weight, color, and type. I am expecting a "Play Box" of cotton and linen yarns for towels before this month is over, so I am ready to go. My loom is free and I'm ready to try something new!