Valley Yarns #297 Painted Sky Sunset Towels

Valley Yarns Painted Sky Sunset Towels

Project Overview

The Valley Yarns Painted Sky Sunset Towels are woven towels designed by Sue Anne Sullivan that create striking images of setting suns against colorfully painted skies. This weaving project produces four finished towels, each measuring 18" x 33.5", using a sophisticated twill weave structure on an 8-shaft loom. The design combines simple point twill threading with a straight draw treadling pattern and an unusual treadle tie-up to achieve the artistic sunset imagery.

Weaving Structure and Technique

This project employs a twill weave structure, a fundamental weaving technique that creates diagonal lines across the fabric by offsetting the interlacement of warp and weft threads. The towels utilize a point twill threading pattern, which creates symmetrical diagonal effects that reverse direction to form the characteristic diamond or pointed patterns typical of point twill designs. The straight draw treadling combined with the custom treadle tie-up produces the unique visual effect of sunset imagery without requiring complex threading changes.

Weavers will need an 8-shaft loom that is at least 22 inches wide to accommodate the warp width. The project requires 5 shuttles and 5 bobbins to manage the five different weft colors used throughout the weaving. A temple (optional but recommended) helps maintain consistent width and prevent edge distortion during the weaving process.

Materials: Yarn Specifications

The Painted Sky Sunset Towels are woven entirely with Valley Yarns 8/2 Cotton, a fine, unmercerized cotton yarn with a yardage of 3360 yards per pound, sold on approximately 1-pound cones. The use of unmercerized cotton creates a soft, absorbent towel suitable for everyday use.

Warp Yarn Colors and Quantities

• #3800 Currant – 2118 yards (primary warp color)
• #4146 Sunshine – 165 yards
• #6974 Greyed Lavender – 165 yards
• #6122 Very Berry – 165 yards
• #6995 Purple – 165 yards

The warp is wound to a total length of 5.5 yards with 507 ends, including 2 floating selvedges for finished edges. The floating selvedges use Currant yarn and are threaded separately to create clean, non-curling edges on the finished towels.

Weft Yarn Colors and Quantities

• #3800 Currant – 788 yards
• #4146 Sunshine – 351 yards
• #6974 Greyed Lavender – 351 yards
• #6122 Very Berry – 351 yards
• #6995 Purple – 351 yards

The weft yarn is introduced using five different colors across the project, with the dominant Currant color providing a grounding base while the accent colors (Sunshine, Greyed Lavender, Very Berry, and Purple) create the painted sky effect.

Loom Setup and Sett

The project is set at 24 epi (ends per inch), achieved by threading 2 ends in each dent of a 12-dent reed. This sett produces a finished ppi (picks per inch) of 22.5, creating a balanced twill fabric appropriate for towel weight and absorbency. The width in the reed is 21.1 inches, which allows for the finished width of 18 inches after loom take-up and finishing.

Floating selvedges are sleyed at 1 end per dent and weighted off the back beam separately from the main warp. The pattern recommends hanging a piece of thick yarn or string from the weights to drag on the floor, which prevents unraveling of the selvedge threads during the weaving process.

Weaving Process

After dressing the loom and tying on, weavers begin with several picks of plain weave using scrap yarn to close the spaces in the warp. Plain weave is created by alternating between two treadles (treadles 9 and 10 in this draft), providing a stable foundation before beginning the main twill pattern. The main weaving then follows the threading and treadling sequences outlined in