Summer WAL

The Yarnworker Summer WAL (weavealong) is any project from the WAL catalog! I've been wanting to get another set of towels on the loom, so I knew I would be doing towels. I also wanted to use yarn from stash, so I got out my entire collection of 8/2 cotton to see what I have on hand:

My initial idea was to rework the Color-and-Weave Towels in a larger size. I made these in 2017 in my 15" Cricket loom. After washing, the finished towels are a bit over 13" in width. But I like BIG kitchen towels - my target size is always 17.5" x 25". I wanted to try these again. As you can see, they are worked in two colors:

I sat down and did a bunch of math to figure out how much yarn I would need for my upsized version. Then I returned to my stash and realized the only color I had enough of in the main color yardage is white. I didn't want to use white, because it is likely to look dirty and dingy much faster. So I changed gears and looked at the pattern for Four Looks Towels, from Handwoven Home. They use four colors, so you need less yardage in any one color. By changing the weft on each towel, you get a significantly different look. Here's the page from the book:

My color scheme is not that different from Liz's - we both use two shades of blue, plus white, and a green accent color. I usually get a kick out of using very different colors than a pattern calls for, but my stash would not allow it this time - oh, well! 

I decided to warp using a new-to-me technique which combines elements of direct and indirect warping. It's mostly a direct method, but one uses a warping board to wind the yarn rather than walking back and forth across the room between the loom and the peg(s). It took me a few tries to get my winding pattern and length worked out, but here is a bird's eye view:

This is quite a long warp, and it was helpful to me to work on it intermittently, with breaks. This is where this warping method really shines. Its footprint is much more compact than the usual direct warping method, so I could leave this set up in the living room over a few days. My normal setup usually has to be set up and taken down between meals. Here's another view:

I discovered a mistake pretty early in my process - can you see it? I should have taken a slightly different path on the left. The warp threads on the far left travel a much further distance than the ones in the middle. This meant my warp was "foreshortened," or "not the same length throughout." Once I packed the beam, this is how crooked my warp threads were!

No worries, nothing a little trim can't even up:

I spread the warp and got ready to weave. All of this was done in late May, and then I got distracted by some other projects and didn't really get back to the loom for over a month!

In June, I finally got moving again (it only took a 21-hour power loss and 3-day internet loss, ha!). Towel #1 is "tromp as writ," which means the weft pattern is exactly the same as the warp pattern. It results in a very pleasing plaid. Here's the beginning of towel #1:

I got my weaving cart all organized to support this project. You can see the four shuttles all wound and ready to go. I've copied the weft instructions from the book and hung them over the top basket edge. My waste bowl for all the snipped threads is in the top basket, as are my T-pins and the 16/2 cotton I use for the hem area. The book and my notes are on the bottom shelf. The whole thing rolls easily to where I need it, and then can roll back in a corner when I don't. I love this little cart I got at Michael's!

I'm on to Towel #2 now. It is also a plaid pattern, but it only uses 3 colors. In my scheme, this will mean more of the dark blue. Here's the start of it:

Even though there is a lot of stopping and starting with the frequent color changes, there is still a soothing rhythm to the work that I really enjoy. I think these will be a lovely set, and I've already done the math for my next set in the future!