Weaving Summer & Winter: Bitmap Towels

Part of Felicia’s Weaving Summer & Winter course at the School of SweetGeorgia, you can now find the new Bitmap Towels pattern. Four fun towels that explore different treadling variations for summer & winter, including singles, paired O’s, and dukagång. Using these four patterns, we experiment with colour mixing and blending with each block while working with a minimalist colour palette. They are a beautiful bright splash of handwoven colour to add a special touch to any home.

Handwoven summer & winter colourful kitchen towel

ABOUT SUMMER & WINTER

Summer & Winter is a supplementary weft block weave structure that is similar to overshot and crackle. This weave can be drafted without any exceptions, overlaps, incidentals, transition threads, or other irregularities. It’s a straightforward block, unit, and tied weave that becomes easy to understand as you dive into its theory.

Summer & Winter gets its name from the one side of the fabric, which features a dominantly dark pattern, while the underside shows the opposite, with the same design appearing on both sides of the cloth. Summer is light, Winter is dark. These designs are very versatile and the handwoven cloth for creating items such as pillows, towels, upholstery, and more.

Handwoven summer & winter colourful kitchen towel
Summer & Winter block weave structure on beautiful display in Felicia’s Bitmap Towels pattern

Before you dive into exploring block weave structures and the weaving of Felicia’s Bitmap Towels pattern, we suggest that you first have a foundational understanding of how to weave with multi-shaft looms. If you’re new to weaving, or need a refresher, we recommend you first work through the online courses: Multi-Shaft Weaving Basics, Weaving Twills on 4-Shafts, and The Intentional Weaver to help prepare.

BITMAP TOWELS PATTERN

The Bitmap Towels Pattern continues the exploration from the Weaving Summer & Winter on 4-Shafts course with Felicia Lo. The weaving drafts explore treadling variations for summer & winter, including singles, paired O’s, and dukagång.

This pattern is designed to weave four towels, each 32″ long on the loom. Each towel can be woven with a plain weave hem at the start and end of each towel, simply by using treadles a and b and weaving with the ground weft shuttle.

Handwoven summer & winter colourful kitchen towels
Towel variations in colourful Maurice Brassard 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton

With this summer & winter design, Felicia wanted to experiment with colour mixing and blending with each block while working with a minimalist colour palette. In these towels, we use a complementary colour combination (yellow and purple are complementary colours) with a neutral (white).

Note that Felicia’s Summer & Winter Sampler Pattern is also available at the School. At this pattern, we explore the same treadling variations for summer & winter. We’ve also put together Summer & Winter Sampler Yarn Kits at the shop.

Handwoven Summer & Winter sampler on a Schacht Baby Wolf floor loom
Felicia’s Summer & Winter Sampler Pattern included in the online course at the School of SweetGeorgia

LEARN MORE AT THE SCHOOL OF SWEETGEORGIA

SweetGeorgia Yarns wants to ensure you have everything you need for your crafting success, so be sure to check out our growing library of fibre-craft tutorials and workshops at www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com. Please also see our list of recommended Warping Equipment & Weaving Tools. You can also find more weaving posts at our SweetGeorgia blog.

Not yet a member of the school? We invite you to come and see what the School is all about! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to get a 14-day trial for just $1!

Handwoven summer & winter colourful kitchen towel
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Weaving Summer & Winter // Bitmap Towels

Four fun towel patterns that explore different treadling variations for summer & winter, including singles, paired O's, and dukagång. With these four patterns, we experiment with colour mixing and blending with each block while working with a minimalist colour palette.
Craft Weaving
Maker Felicia Lo
Designer Felicia Lo
Skill Level Intermediate
Weave Structure Summer & Winter

Equipment

  • 1 4-shaft loom with 6 treadles at least 26″ / 66 cm wide
  • 1 8-dent reed sleyed 2 per dent (or 12-dent reed sleyed 1-1-2)
  • 4 boat or stick shuttles
  • 1 reed hook

Materials

  • 2 tubes Maurice Brassard 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton in Blanchi 101 (White)
  • 1 tube Maurice Brassard 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton in Mauve foncé 4273 (Dark Purple)
  • 1 tube Maurice Brassard 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton in Mauve pâle 5120 (Light Purple)
  • 1 tube Maurice Brassard 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton in Jaune or 3161 (Gold)

Instructions

  • The Bitmap Towels pattern is featured in Felicia Lo's Weaving Summer & Winter on 4-Shafts course, available to School of SweetGeorgia members.
  • Wind a 5 yd / 4.6 m warp with the warp yarn using a warping board or mill. Using your preferred method, dress the loom following the threading draft, including a floating selvedge thread at each edge of the warp.
  • Tie or lash the warp ends onto the front apron rod.
  • Wind bobbins for the ground weft and pattern weft yards. Weave a plain weave header to spread the warp. Check carefully at this stage for any threading errors.
  • Follow the pattern instructions for weaving the "Singles" towel. Follow the treadling sequence in the weaving draft until the cloth measures approximately 33"/ 84.1 cm on the loom from the start of the pattern.
  • Weave 1" / 2.5 cm of plain weave for the towel hem using the ground weft shuttle and treadles a and b. Weave two plain weave picks of contrasting colour to indicate separation of towels.
  • Continue following the directions to weave each of the Dukagång, Paired O's, and DIY towel patterns. Remove the fabric from the loom.
  • Wet-finish the towels and roll in an absorbent towel to remove excess moisture. Cut the towels apart to separate them. Give the towels a hard press with an iron, then hang to dry completely.
  • Fold the edges twice and hem, enclosing the cut edge of the cloth. Enjoy!
    Handwoven summer & winter colourful kitchen towels

Notes

Note that this weaving draft is written for rising shed looms. If you have a sinking shed loom (like a counterbalance loom), simply tie up your treadles to the the empty spaces in the tie-up draft. If you have a countermarch loom, tie up the O’s to the lower lamms (to raise these threads) and the empty spaces to the upper lamms (to lower these threads).
Learn more at Felicia Lo’s Weaving Summer & Winter on 4-Shafts course at the School of SweetGeorgia.
  • Weave Structure: Summer & Winter
  • Warp Length: 5 yd / 4.6 m (includes 40″ / 101.6 cm for sampling, loom waste, take-up, and shrinkage) to weave 4 towels
  • Woven Length: 35″ / 88.9 cm for each towel = 140″ / 355.6 cm total length. 4 towels total.
 

The post Weaving Summer & Winter: Bitmap Towels appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.



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