Valley Yarns #206 Twill Party Towels

Valley Yarns Twill Party Towels

What Is Being Made

The Twill Party Towels are a pair of woven homeware towels designed by Julie Daniels. Each finished towel measures 17.5" x 28" after washing and hemming. This weaving project produces two coordinating towels in a single warp setup, making it an efficient design for creating matching sets of vibrant, colorful towels suitable for everyday use or as decorative pieces.

Weave Structure and Techniques

This project uses a twill weave structure, which creates a distinctive diagonal line pattern across the fabric. The design incorporates striped techniques through careful color placement in both the warp and weft yarns. The twill structure is created using an 8-shaft loom, which allows for the interlocking diagonal pattern characteristic of twill weaving. The color striping is achieved by threading multiple colors across the warp in a specific order, creating visual interest and the "vibrant color" aesthetic that represents the designer's intention for brighter days.

Stitches and Threading

The project uses a specific threading draft with heddle counts distributed across eight shafts as follows: Shaft 1 has 50 heddles, Shaft 2 has 70 heddles, Shaft 3 has 60 heddles, Shaft 4 has 60 heddles, Shaft 5 has 80 heddles, Shaft 6 has 66 heddles, Shaft 7 has 70 heddles, and Shaft 8 has 67 heddles. The warp is threaded in a continuous loop with careful color transitions, and floating selvedges are included on both sides for finished edges. The treadling sequence is used to throw three picks and beat as a single unit, creating the proper twill diagonal pattern throughout the fabric.

Materials: Yarn and Equipment

Warp Yarns: Valley Yarns 8/2 Cotton (100% unmercerized cotton, 3360 yards per pound) in five colors totaling 1,575 yards. The color palette includes #5792 Lime (480 yards), #2194 Turquoise Blue (420 yards), #5637 Pacific (240 yards), #6122 Very Berry (225 yards), and #1205 Banana (210 yards). This multi-colored warp creates the striped visual effect.

Weft Yarns: Valley Yarns 8/2 Cotton in two colors totaling 1,482 yards. The weft uses #6122 Very Berry (741 yards) and #1205 Banana (741 yards), which are alternated to create additional color variation in the finished towels.

Equipment Required: An 8-shaft loom with a minimum weaving width of 24 inches, one shuttle, and one bobbin. A 12-dent reed is used with 2 threads per dent, creating a sett of 24 ends per inch. The warp is wound to 3 yards in length with 525 total ends (including 2 floating selvedges), and the width in the reed is 21.88 inches.

Project Specifications

• Finished dimensions: 17.5" wide by 28" long (after washing and hemming)
• Yield: Two towels per warp
• Total warp length: 3 yards
• Total warp ends: 525 (including floating selvedges)
• Sett: 24 ends per inch
• Picks per inch: 30 ppi
• Width in reed: 21.88 inches

This downloadable PDF pattern from Valley Yarns provides complete instructions for winding the warp, dressing the loom, threading the heddles according to the provided draft, and weaving using the recommended treadling sequence. The design creates striking diagonal twill lines enhanced by the strategic color placement in both warp and weft, resulting in vibrant, functional towels with visual depth and texture.