I bought 3 packs of these cloths (wash, face, etc) at the local Big Lots and am wondering if I can recreate them on my loom?  I have both 4 and 8 shaft (in addition to the RH) and I'm kinda thinking this is a twill and I could weave it in fine cotton, with the loops as a supplementary warp on the other shafts?  Am I close?  I dont have 2 warp beams, but i'm thinking I might be able to weight the "terry loop" warp on one of my extra beams for the Nadeau.  Here's a couple of shots I took and cropped to show the pattern.

 

 

 

I know that doing any pile weave by hand will be terribly labor intensive, but I want to weave this and then amaze all my friends.  :)

 

Sande in Fresno, CA, USA

Comments

Tue, 11/17/2009 - 05:07

laurafry

Check out WeaveZine - Syne wove some looped cloths on her rigid heddle during the summer

http://www.weavezine.com and search the archives.  She even posted a video clip on YouTube....

Cheers,

Laura

Tue, 11/17/2009 - 06:28

sandeleh (not verified)

Hi, Laura

Syne's cloths were made with loops in the weft rather than the warp.  It is my understanding that terry and velvets are made with the loops in the warp.  Am I wrong about the basics here?  I can see the tabby weave between the loops on my new wash cloths, and it looks to me like the loops are on warp threads (judging from the hems - and I didnt take good photos of the hems for you to look at). 

These cloths have loops on both sides, just like terry cloth towels, so I'm not sure at all that I can weave them on a home loom.  < sigh >

thanks, Sande

Tue, 11/17/2009 - 07:58

laurafry

I think the closest you can come easily is to do the weft loops.  :)

Cheers,

Laura

Tue, 11/17/2009 - 15:16

BonnieI (not verified)

If you can find a weft yarn with loops of the right size, that would be the easiest way to make a similar cloth. Warp loops are very labor intensive.

My favorite washcloth is handwoven linen from Switzerland, from the studio of a weaver who travels so the handspun linen weft might have come from another country. It feels great against the skin and it dries more quickly than commercial and thick washcloths.

For a similar look to your cloth, you could weave a cloth with supplemental weft floats and cut the floats after weaving. Multiple strands of finer yarn work well in weft here. The cutting part is not fun, IMO.  Bonnie Inouye

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 22:24

sandeleh (not verified)

Hi, Bonnie, thanks for your reply.  The loops on this cloth are not cut, it is more like terry cloth in a pattern of diamonds.  Anyway, I know I could do the loops on one side by using my 8-shaft loom and making a supplemental warp on 1 (or 4) of the shafts and using small rods to hold the loops open.  I think, tho, knowing myself pretty well, that I would soon tire of all that work and may as well just weave some cloths using a fine loopy boucle yarn for weft!   I was looking at Henry's Attic yarns and found a cotton yarn I thought might work. 

I have just purchased two cones of tow linen for weft on cotton warp towels.   These towels are from the Ashford Textures and Towels for the 4-shaft Loom.  I've been wanting to weave towels for a long time and since I've gotten my 8-shaft table loom ready to weave - finally! - I'm gonna learn to throw a boat shuttle by making some "kitchen" cotton towels and then warp up with 8/2 cotton and use the linen as weft.  I can hardly wait to get started!

Sande

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 23:07

tommye scanlin

 Hi Sande,

While not loops, I wove sauna towels last year for a friend using a huck lace.  Very absorbent.

Tommye

Sat, 11/21/2009 - 00:00

elisabethhill (not verified)

 Hi,

 

I can't really see the detail I need in the photo, but there is a great article/demo for weaving a pile spa cloth on Syne Mitchell's Weavezine.  Take a look.

Sat, 11/21/2009 - 09:14

sandeleh (not verified)

Tommye,  What material did you use?  Cotton?  Linen?  I have not woven huck (or any other lace) yet but I do have the Lace book.  So much to weave, so little time!

Elisabeth,  Syne's spa style cloth is made with weft loops over a knitting needle.  For some reason (just call me crazy) I thought it might be easier to put a 2nd warp on and make the loops on the warp threads where the shaft raises all of them at one step and I dont have to pick up the weft loop by loop with a crochet hook.  *Not* that I'm lazy, or course.  :)

I've pretty much decided that my most rational choice is a fine cotton loop boucle as weft on a smooth cotton warp.

Sande in Fresno, CA, USA

 

Sat, 11/21/2009 - 13:21

tommye scanlin

  I used an unmercerized natural color cotton.  Sett was 15 epi, I believe.

Tommye

Sat, 11/21/2009 - 20:39

Alison (not verified)

Sande,

Your idea with the second warp is really interesting.  I wonder if it would be difficult to beat it properly.  Has anyone tried this?

Sat, 11/21/2009 - 22:27

sandeleh (not verified)

Thank you, Tommye.  I'm sure I have plenty of cottons that would do the job.  Most are dyed, but who doesn't like a bit of color in their towels.  :)

 

Alison -  I am pretty sure that velvet was woven in a similar manner.  They used V-shaped rods and held in the looped pick with tabby picks.  4 or more of the rods were used in sucession and when the rod nearest to the weaver was ready to be used again at the fell, the loops were cut with a knife or razor in the V.  I'm not an expert on terrycloth, but I think that it ought to be able to weave one-sided terry using a similar method and omitting the cutting.  the loops would be held in place by tabby (or perhaps twill) picks and the wet finishing should shrink the cotton enough to hold the loops in firmly.

I may fool around with the idea more, but I do have the drawback of not having a 2nd warp beam, so will have to weight the 2nd warp by other means.  I suspect it will be a very narrow piece.  LOL

Sande in Fresno, CA, USA

 

Sun, 11/22/2009 - 21:02

sandeleh (not verified)

Tommye - Last night I found both my lace weave books:  Handwoven Laces and Best of Weavers: Huck Lace.  I read thru them lying in bed and got all excited about huck.  I'm thinking I'll warp and weave the Huck Sampler from the beginning of the Huck Lace book.  What fun!  and it should be quick and easy (narrow warp) even on a table loom.  I'm beginning to see one of the great advantages of a table loom - I have absolute control over which shafts I raise at any given time, so if I'm clever with the threading I can do more (albeit more slowly) than on a floor loom with limited treadles.

I need to go and rummage in the "studio" to see if I can find some light colored light-weight cotton for my sampler.  I'm pretty sure I have some light blue or maybe mint green.  I dont recall buying any natural or white.  Silly me!!

Sande in Fresno, CA, USA

Group Audience
Coffee Shop (Chat)