All Access
| Project Type | Towels, Table Linens/Kitchen |
|---|---|
| Loom Type | Multi-Shaft Floor or Table |
| Number of Shafts | 8 |
| Number of Treadles | 4 |
| Weave Structures | Plain Weave, Twill |
| Magazine Issue | Handwoven Summer 2025 |
| Author | Andrea Williams |
| Format | WIF |
This requires an 'All Access Subscription' to view. Log in to access or subscribe today to unlock all of the premium content available.
LoginThese bread cloths from the Summer 2025 issue are woven using cotton in dimity—plain weave with twill stripes.
Designer Andrea Williams lives a few miles from the New Hampshire coastline. In the winter you’ll see dark, empty beach houses and boarded-up businesses along the ocean road. If anyone read newspapers anymore, there would no doubt be papers blowing across deserted streets.
Then, come July 4th weekend, the towns explode with bodies, bikinis, and beach balls. For many in the Northeast, the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine are synonymous with “Vacation!” with their many houses for rent, clean sandy beaches, and yummy lobster rolls.
Andrea found her inspiration for this design in Susan E. Horton’s Stash-Busting Exchange Towels. Her eyes lit up when she saw how the twill stripes in Susan’s design perched atop plain weave, maintaining their pure color against the background. How delightful it would be to use some of her colorful stash yarn against a neutral or complementary-color background, with minimal concern about weft interaction!
Susan’s project uses 8/2 cotton in a 10-dent reed: 2 ends per dent for the twill and 3 ends per dent for plain weave. That sleying was awkward for Andrea’s bread cloths, which have alternating 4-end units of twill and plain weave. Switching to 5/2 cotton allowed her to devise the sleying pattern used here.
Andrea is happy with the results. These bread cloths, with their bold, lively colors and fresh look, capture the spirit of the season.
Structure
Dimity (plain weave with twill stripes).Equipment
8-shaft loom, 23" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 1 shuttle.Yarns
Warp: 5/2 pearl cotton (2,100 yd/lb; UKI; Camilla Valley Farm), #79 Natural, 774 yd; #140 Safari, 182 yd; #106 Persian Green, 78 yd; #60 Duck, 52 yd; #141 Silver, #81 Grotto, #115 Peach, and #17 Wine, 65 yd each.
Weft: 5/2 pearl cotton (2,100 yd/lb; UKI; Halcyon Yarn), Bleached White, 570 yd.Dimensions
Width in the reed: 223⁄12".
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 76".
Finished size: (after wet-finishing and hemming) three bread cloths, 19" × 19" each.
Visit our help article for more information on WIFs, including what they are and how to use them.
All items in the library are intended for personal use. Please do not distribute without written approval.