Can Twills Woven on a Rigid-Heddle Loom Look Complex?

Melanie Smith likes to push the boundaries with her rigid-heddle loom. In this case, her goal was to design easy-to-weave twill patterns that look like they require four shafts, and we think she succeeded nicely. Enjoy this subscriber bonus project from Handwoven Winter 2024.—Handwoven editors

Natural Charm Dish Towels by Melanie Smith

I love dish towels and I adore twills, so you can imagine how excited I am when both come together! I could spend hours poring over all the beautiful designs four- and eight-shaft looms can offer, but at this point in my weaving life, I only have a 32-inch Ashford rigid-heddle loom. It is, however, armed with a double-heddle block, which expands the weaving possibilities tremendously.

I’ve seen many four-shaft patterns converted for weaving on a rigid-heddle loom with the help of a double heddle and a couple of heddle rods or pick-up sticks, but I admit I’m a little bit lazy and don’t want to be bothered with all that setup. What could I do with the three shafts I have readily available on my existing loom? Most of the three-shaft patterns I’d seen were a simple point or straight draw, but I wanted something more. I wanted the look of four shafts but on only three shafts.

I headed to treadl.com and started playing with the possibilities. Alternating the draft between point, straight, and rosepath threading led to some very interesting designs. Varying the treadling in the same manner led to some awesome results. I was amazed at how complicated I could get with only three shafts! For these towels, I used four of my favorite designs.

The twills in Melanie Smith‘s Natural Charm Dish Towels look complicated but use only two heddles (on a rigid-heddle loom) or three shafts (on a multi-shaft loom).

Project at a Glance and PDF Link

STRUCTURE
Twill.

EQUIPMENT
Rigid-heddle loom, 20" weaving width; two 12.5-dent heddles; 2 shuttles. Or 3-shaft loom, 20" weaving width; 10-dent reed; 2 shuttles.

YARNS
Warp: 8/2 cotton (100% cotton; 3,360 yd/lb; Maurice Brassard), #100 Naturel, 1,584 yd (rigid-heddle) or 1,700 yd (3-shaft).
Weft: 8/2 cotton (100% cotton; 3,360 yd/lb; American Maid Naturally Colored Cotton), Dark Brown and Dark Green, 780 yd each.