Unapologetically Enthusiastic
Andrew, an enthusiastic weaver, creates eight different tea towels on a Jack Loom using the same warp. These beautiful, lush teatowels (in Ashford 5/2 cotton) featured in The Wheel magazine, Issue 30. This is a great way to try out some variations on the same threading.
Happy weaving! 
By Andrew McCracken, Springwood, NSW, Australia
Without apology, I am a weaver. I love designing the weave. I am enthusiastic, when winding the warps and dressing the loom. I enjoy the moments when throwing the shuttle, even if I have to unweave to fix an error. The music is playing in my “man cave”, the dogs visit as they please. I am a weaver. I live in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, in Australia. The windows overlook the garden and into the National Park.
In a time “BR” (before retirement) my relaxation was with needle point, tapestries, cross stitch etc. With a demanding job, I could unwind in a world of thread.
Loom weaving had interested me. Over the years I had tried to find out about it. Then, serendipitously, just after I retired I saw the BBC series on Master Crafts, including a program on weaving. There are one-person looms that can fit inside a home! There is a process for weaving real fabric. With that knowledge I was able to go looking. I contacted the Handweavers and Spinners Guild of NSW, who were running beginner weaving lessons.
Thanks to my teacher for the week, Denise Stevens, that one-week course was the beginning of a journey. I don’t know where the journey is going. I have extended my original floor loom, and it is now a draw loom. Don’t mention the word “Jacquard”; my wife might be listening.
Table looms are useful as they are compact and easily put away when visitors come. They are great for teaching or taking to classes. I now teach the beginner weaving classes for our guild and we have a range of table looms for those classes, and for our members to hire.
But for me, though, there is nothing better than a floor (or treadle) loom. I have three of them.
The main advantages of the treadle loom are:
Speed. You don’t have to put your shuttle down while you lower one set of shafts and raise the next set. You can raise and lower your pattern shafts and beat the weft into place without having to let go of the shuttle. Faster, easier, rhythmic, makes for a more even beat and better selvedges.
Simplicity. You don’t have to memorise all the shaft numbers in a lifting pattern. You simply tie the shafts for that row of the pattern (say shafts 1,2,5 and 6) to a single treadle, and then step on that treadle whenever you need those shafts lifted. Fewer mistakes, and less mentally tiring.
Recently our group acquired a new Ashford Jack Loom. It was delivered to my home for assembly, and naturally I was going to test drive it. Did I mention I love to weave? OK, it is only a test drive, but why only put on a short warp? Eight metres seemed about right. I can weave several tea towels. I can change the tie up between towels to create different patterns. I can use different colours in the weft. We don’t want to have eight identical towels – that is no fun.
The loom arrived. A nice new loom! All varnished timber and nice shining metal. It took about eight hours to assemble. I didn’t hurry, I followed the instructions, and I was working alone. Easily a one-person job. It comes with everything to let you start weaving: raddle, cross sticks, a boat shuttle. Just add thread!
I used a simple threading (straight 8). For the non-weavers, this just means the first thread went into the first row of heddles and the second thread into the second row etc., and then repeated.
Here is the draft for just one of the towels I wove, the detailed drawdowns for all the other towels can be download here…
I chose to use Ashford’s newly released unmercerised cotton. I prefer to use unmercerised cotton for tea towels because it is more absorbent. I chose the 5/2 thickness thread over the 10/2. I like my towels thicker, because they can double their use in handling hot dishes. I am not the chef in our household. My darling wife does the cooking. I am occasionally allowed to help, and I think a nice thick hand woven towel is one of life’s secret pleasures indulged in by weavers.
So now I have eight new tea towels, all freshly hand woven, all different and all woven on the same warp.
Cotton Towel
You will need:
Loom: Eight shaft loom 60cm (24ins) or wider
Reed: 12dpi (48/10) sleyed 1,2,2,2,2,2,1,2,2,2,2,2
Warp yarn: Ashford Unmercerised Cotton 5/2 (Ne 5/2, 848m/927yds, 200gm) Natural Undyed #03 100gm (3½ozs)
Weft yarn: Ashford Unmercerised Cotton 5/2 (Ne 5/2, 848m/927yds, 200gm) Dazzling Blue #46 100gm (3½ozs)
Here’s how:
Number of ends: 482. I like wide towels – so I wanted 56cm (22ins) on the loom. 22epi times 22 inches = 484 threads. I am using a straight 8 threading so I want the number of warps to be divisible by 8 – rounded down to 480 warps. Add the 2 floating selvedges and I wound 482 warps.
Sett: I used a sett at 22epi, it was a bit too close. I would recommend 20 or even 18.
Width in reed: 56cm (22ins)
Finished size: 80 x 50cm (32 x 20ins)
Weave structure: Twill variation
Warping
Wind warp and thread as per the draft.
Weaving
Weave a few picks of tabby and then follow the draft.
Finishing
- Remove from the loom and machine zigzag each end.
- Wash gently and steam press.
- Fold the hem and stitch by hand or machine.
- Press again.
Andrew sells his weaving through a cooperative, has exhibited at the Braemar Gallery in Springwood and has won awards in several competitions.
For more information about The Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW, Australia, go to: www.spinweavensw.org
