Kitchen Towels

     If you read this blog, you've probably picked up on the fact I got a new little loom recently and am enjoying it immensely.  (I reviewed the Cricket Loom recently if you would like more information on the charming apparatus.)  I am very excited to explore the relationship between warp and weft, the way colors can play off of each other is really amazing.  I never had such an appreciation for plaid, but now I see the patterns as awesome constructions between columns and rows.  Its like magic!  I am awaiting some reference materials to broaden my knowledge of looms and weaving, but until then, I am just having fun.  I made these two kitchen towels playing around with three different colors in KnitPicks Dishie yarns.  I used three colors for the warp strings in varying widths of stripes.  Then, the towel featured on top only used two weft colors (the pink and the blue).  It was amazing to see how well the white warp string still played a roll in the overall look of the towel.  The top towel had equal sized stripes as I moved up the weave.  The towel on the bottom was where I decided to try varying the stripe size in the weaving as well as the warp.
      When I warped my loom, I had enough yarn for three towels.  I cut the towels off after two.  I was having a little trouble with my weaving being a little crooked after the first towel.  I need a better way to beat back the yarn when starting a new project directly after a completed one on the same warp string.  I think perhaps inserting a ruler in the shaft may work.  It would provide a flat, straight piece for beat the start of a new project back to and then be easy to remove before I cranked the threads.  
      The picture I have here is pre-washing.  They shrunk quite a bit in the wash.  They also got very wrinkly.  So now they are more dish cloths than kitchen towels.  I suppose I could have taken greater care in washing them...I just threw them in with some clothes and dried them after...but I didn't want to make kitchen towels that needed special care.  It seems like a good policy not to require handwashing where kitchen towels are concerned.  I think if I tackle a kitchen towel again, I will try to make my weave a little tighter, but overall, I was pleased with the look of these towels pre-wash.  I'll tack on a post wash picture on the end of this post, just for a before and after and so you can have a good giggle.  Now I just need to get back to my thousands of knitting projects laying around the house that are "almost done."  It's scary how long it takes to finish up a project that's almost done.

Summary:  I am still learning, but this Cricket Loom is fun and very forgiving.  On this project, I explored the relationship between the colors of the warp and weft.  I also learned the hemstitch, which is important if you cut the fringe very short.