Valley Yarns #108 Bumberet Towels

Valley Yarns Bumberet Towels: Weaving Pattern Summary

Product Overview

The Bumberet Towels are a downloadable weaving pattern designed by Ruby Leslie for Valley Yarns. This homeware project creates a set of kitchen towels featuring a lively and fun pattern with colorful chevron stripes. The design allows weavers to put on a long warp and change the weft color on each towel, making it ideal for creating a coordinated kitchen set with visual variety.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces finished towels measuring 15" x 28.5" after hemming, washing, and drying. The design is suitable for creating multiple towels from a single long warp setup, with each individual towel requiring approximately 382 yards of weft yarn. The Bumberet design creates chevron stripe patterns that are both decorative and functional for everyday kitchen use.

Weaving Structure and Techniques

The Bumberet pattern uses a 4 shaft loom weaving structure, requiring a loom at least 20 inches wide. The primary technique employed is stripe weaving, achieved through strategic color changes in both the warp and weft yarns. The warp features a bilaterally symmetric color sequence, meaning the color pattern mirrors itself from the center outward.

A notable technique tip included in the pattern allows weavers to wind a 6-yard warp that is half as wide, then cut it at the halfway point to tie onto the front cloth rod. This efficient approach maximizes yardage usage. The warp color sequence consists of blocks of 3 ends each, except for the first and last blocks which contain 4 ends. The warp is set at 24 epi (ends per inch), which can be achieved using either a 3/dent in an 8-dent reed or 2/dent in a 12-dent reed.

Stitches and Weave Details

The pattern is based on a Bumberet weave structure, which creates the characteristic chevron stripe effect. The weave is worked on 4 shafts, allowing for the interlocking pattern that produces the dimensional stripe appearance. The pattern utilizes a warp length of 3 yards with 413 ends (including 2 floating selvages) and a width in reed of 17 inches.

Materials: Yarn and Equipment

Warp Yarns: The pattern calls for Brassard 8/2 Cottolin, a blend of 60% Organic Cotton and 40% Linen (3360 yards per pound). The warp uses multiple colors in the following quantities:

• C1244 Olive: 504 yards
• C0094 Vieux Bleu: 198 yards
• C0963 Royal: 180 yards
• C8265 Orange Brule: 171 yards
• C1770 Bourgogne: 90 yards
• C4269 Limette Pale: 54 yards
• C1316 Rouille: 36 yards

Weft Yarns: Also Brassard 8/2 Cottolin, with 382 yards required per towel. Sample towels in the pattern were woven using Royal, Vieux Bleu, and Olive as weft colors, though weavers can choose their own color combinations.

Equipment Required: A 4 shaft loom at least 20 inches wide, an 8-dent or 12-dent reed (depending on the denting method chosen), and standard weaving tools for warping, beaming, and finishing. The finished towels benefit from washing and drying to achieve their final dimensions and texture.

Design Features

The bilateral symmetry of the warp color sequence is a key design feature that allows for efficient warping and creates balanced visual interest. The combination of multiple warp colors with variable weft colors produces dynamic chevron patterns that make each towel in the set visually distinct while maintaining design cohesion. The use of a cotton-linen blend yarn provides durability and absorbency suitable for kitchen towel applications.