I am following the pattern except for using cotton instead of cotolin, and, of course, I am using different colors.

I wound the warp and dressed the loom--first time using my Schacht raddle, which worked really well--and so far (almost halfway through the first towel), so good. I am afraid I will start having tension issues at some point because the beaming of the warp didn’t go as smoothly as I would like. That said, after I got the loom dressed and the tie-up finished, I didn’t need to do any adjustments at all. All of my sheds are flat on the bottom. That’s a first.

6-26-22
I finished the second towel last night, and so far, no tension problems, and that makes me very happy. I would love to be able to get 2 more towels with no tension problems, but I don’t think that is likely. If/when I run into tension issues, I will make the best of it for as long as I can, then cut the warp off the loom if/when it gets too wonky to deal with. This project was intended from the start to be a gift, so 2 towels are sufficient, 3 would be cool, 4 would be gravy.

6-28-22
I am almost finished with the 3rd towels, and still no major or even minor tension problems. I’m shocked, but incredibly please. It’s probably too much to ask of the weaving gods that the 4th towel will be trouble free, but fingers crossed.

7-3-22
I have started the 4th towel, and still no major or even minor tension issued. I’m shocked, honestly. Every time I advance the warp, I expect problem to develop, but everything is still copacetic. If this continues, I might have enough warp to get a 5th towel, undersized, but usable. I often play around with the end of the warp, trying different treadlings, different colors of weft yarn, etc. I use those odds and ends in my kitchen for various tasks.

7-5-22
I finished all the weaving and cut the towels off the loom. I never did have any of the anticipated tension difficulties. I guess my crank-and-yank worked.

For the first 4 towels, I followed the suggestions in the pattern. For the 5th towel, I played around a bit. I did the hem and first stripe in gray following the pattern. Then I did the next stripe (red) using a 1-2-3-4-3-2 treadling, then I did another gray stripe (2 MW repeats). The main body was 20 inches in red in the 1-2-3-4-3-2 treadling, and I finished the towel making it symmetrical with the beginning--gray, red, gray. Next up--clearing off my sewing table and getting the towels ready to hem.

This is the first time I have woven a hem using sewing thread. I normally just use the same thread as my weft, although I did once use 16/2 cotton for the hem and 8/2 for the weft. I really don’t find the hems on my towels to be terribly bulky when they were woven in the same weft thread as the rest of the towel. I’ll try to remember to include my thoughts on using sewing thread for the hems after I have hemmed the towels.

7-10-22
I just finished hemming the towels. As far as using sewing thread for the hem, I think it makes the hems a little less bulky, but I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.

Towel measurements before wet finishing. I am surprised at how consistent in size these towels are, especially considering that when I beamed the warp for this project, I expected to have difficulty with the tension, but ended up with the tension being just fine from start to finish. Anyway, here are the measurements before wet finishing:
Gray towel with border #1--28½ inches long, 18¾ inches wide
Red towel with border #2--29” long, 18¾“ wide
Gray towel w/o border --29” long, 18¾” wide
Red towel w/o border-- 28¾“ long, 18¾” wide
Towel #5, end of warp--27¾“ long, 18 ⅞” wide

Edited to add measurements after wet finishing:
Gray towel with border #1--27 inches long, 17 inches wide
Red towel with border #2--27¼“ long, 17½” wide
Gray towel w/o border --27½“ long, 17½” wide
Red towel w/o border-- 27” long, 17½“ wide
Towel #5, end of warp--26¼” long, 17½“ wide

7-11-22
I wet finished and hard pressed the towels, and OMG I am so pleased with these. I found only one treadling error, and there are a few places where I beat too hard--I am still working on getting a consistent beat--but overall they look fanstasic. The reed marks all washed out, and overall my beat was good, meaning I have the kind of fabric I wanted. Also, the selvedges are really nice; not Jane Stafford quality, but still excellent.

I love weaving Ms and Ws