MWFA Voted Best Tea Towel
The 2022 MWFA Voted Best Tea Towel encompasses all the Bests! The tea towel is in Overshot (Best Structure) using 2/8 cotton (Best Hand). As there was a tie for Best Color, we offer multiple variations in this draft using Black and Natural, or combinations of Denim, Orange, Grey and Natural. Best Size was 19” x 30” (Large) and Best Finishing was hand hemmed.
The picture below is the winning towels, from left to right: Best Hand, Best Structure and Best Colors.
Project Notes:
This draft has been created to incorporate numerous Bests.
Prepare the one color warp using the number of ends shared below which adds the 17 end pattern from the beginning of repeat to the end to have a balanced pattern on your towels. Each towel requires about 1 yard of warp. If you are making a larger tea towel, you may want to calculate 1.25 yards per towel.
There are multiple color options provided below based on a tie between two towels in the throw down; one using a natural warp and the other a grey warp. Pattern Color Option #2 provides a variation of using a grey warp instead of natural with a black band so that the other 4 options can be woven from the same warp. A 4.5 yard warp allows you to weave Options #2 to #5 from one grey warp, with extra warp.
Finished Dimensions:
Large: 18” x 30” (Best Size)
Standard: 16” x 28”
Yarns:
Warp and Plain Weave Weft -- 2/8 cotton
Tabby Weft -- 2/16 cotton
Pattern Weft -- 2/8 cotton
Yarn Source and Colours:
Maurice Brassard -- Black ( 83), Natural (100), Denim (5132), Orange Brule (8265), Gris Fonce (271), Gris Pale (415).
E.P.I.: 24
Width in Reed:
Large: 19”
Standard: 17”
Weaving Length:
Large: 30” plus 1” hems (32”)
Standard: 28” plus 1” hems (30”)
Total Warp Ends:
Large: 497 ends ( 8 repeats of 60 ends plus 17 ends to balance pattern) plus 2 floating selvages.
Standard: 437 ends (7 repeats of 60 ends plus 17 ends to balance pattern) plus 2 floating selvages.
Pattern Color Options:
#1 -- Warp and Plain Weave Weft -- Natural, Pattern and Tabby Weft -- Black
#2 – Warp and Plain Weave Weft – Gris Pale, Pattern and Tabby Weft -- Black
#3 -- Warp -- Gris Pale, Plain Weave Weft -- Gris Fonce or Gris Pale, Pattern and Tabby Weft -- Denim
#4 -- Warp -- Gris Pale, Plain Weave Weft -- Gris Fonce, Pattern Weft -- Denim, Tabby Weft - Gris Fonce
#5 -- Warp and Plain Weave Weft -- Gris Pale or Gris Fonce, Pattern Weft -- Denim, Tabby Weft -- Orange Brule
See drafts (below) from Handweaving.net for color combinations.
Draft: Below from A Handweavers Pattern Book (green) by Marguerite Davison, page 146, ‘Mary Ann Ostrander’. Draft is for counterbalance loom. Repeat draft below the times noted above for the width of a tea towel you wish to weave.
Weaving:
Weave minimum of 1/2" in plain weave for hem.
Overshot was woven throughout the entire tea towel, using a contrasting color for bands at each end of the towel and the warp color for the body of the towel.
A variation is to weave plain weave for the body of the towel with Overshot as color bands. For this, Plain Weave Weft has been included in Pattern Color Options. For this option, weave hem plus 2 1/2" in plain weave using Plain Weave Weft color, then weave Overshot band in Pattern Weft color for one or two repeats of treadling pattern, then return to plain weave for the body. Measure length of woven overshot band and then calculate length of plain weave body to weave before weaving final Overshot band and plain weave border and hem.
When weaving Overshot, a Tabby Weft is used between each Pattern Weft to secure the threads. 2/16 cotton was used for Tabby and 2/8 cotton for Pattern Weft so Overshot borders aren’t thicker or bulkier than the rest of towel.
Throw two shots of contrasting Weft color to separate towels.
Tie-Up Option: Have your Tabby/Plain Weave treadles (shown as 1 & 2) on each side of your Overshot tie-up (shown as 3 to 6), so tie-up as treadle 1 and 6. This simplifies the weaving process in knowing the Tabby treadle always matches the side the Pattern thread is being shot from.
Finishing: Machine zig zag on each edge of contrasting weft shot separating towels. Cut each towel apart. Fold and iron hems. Hand (Best Finish) or machine hem. Machine wash and dry.
Below are tea towels I wove to test the draft using some of the Pattern Color Options noted above, and some others. So many options.
— Brenda T
4/8 Orange Pattern, Denim Tabby Wefts
Black Pattern and Grey Tabby Wefts
Grey Pattern and Black Tabby Wefts
Pattern Color Option #3
Pattern Color Option #5
Below are many of the tea towels that were entered into the challenge.
