When I was a kid, summer vacation meant a trip to the Jersey shore. To this day, I can’t smell sunscreen, salt water, or even funnel cake without being temporarily transported to the Ocean City boardwalk. I feel the same way when I look at Jenny Sennott’s A Day at the Beach Towels from Handwoven May/June 2018. The colors are perfectly beachy and would look very much at home in any of the beach houses we stayed in while in Ocean City. Here's what Jenny has to say about her towels and their inspiration._ Happy weaving! Christina_
Jenny Sennott’s A Day at the Beach Towels.
Designer Jenny Sennott’s Statement
Even though I am happy being a landlocked Midwestern girl, I love visiting my mother in south Florida. No visit is complete without a trip to the ocean, where the colors and textures of the landscape, sky, and plants are so different from those in Missouri. I always return home with the Florida beach palette shimmering in my memory. This pair of kitchen towels is inspired by those “beachy” colors: the sand, sky, waves, jellyfish, seashells, and seaweed that I relish on my beach walks all spring to mind when I look at these towels.
For warp, I used Halcyon Yarn’s lovely Block Island Blend Fine yarn. Its luster, crisp hand, and subdued heathery colors make it the ideal yarn for my beach-inspired towels. I used double strands of the contrast colors for a little extra emphasis. I chose Earth Guild’s 4/2 matte cotton as my weft. Its soft cushiness pairs perfectly with the Block Island Blend for everyday towels that don’t need ironing.
If you are new to using pick-up sticks, I recommend weaving Towel 1 first, which uses only one pick-up stick, and then progressing to Towel 2, which requires two pick-up sticks. A bonus of both towel patterns is that the back sides are different from the front sides but are also pleasing. After some deliberation, I decided to hem my towels faceup, as I wove them. You, of course, are free to hem yours as you wish. Weaver’s choice.
Project at a Glance
PROJECT TYPE: Rigid-heddle.
STRUCTURE: Plain weave with warp floats.
EQUIPMENT: Rigid-heddle loom, 19" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 1 shuttle; 2 pick-up sticks.
YARNS: Block Island Blend (1,575 yd/lb; 35% hemp/35% cotton/30% rayon; Halcyon Yarns); 4/2 matte cotton (1,600 yd/lb; Earth Guild).