Tropical Waters Top

Change the colors to suit your preference, or consider using Tencel rather than cotton (but be sure to protect those cut edges!).

About this Project

When designer Rebecca Fox began weaving this fabric, probably intending it for kitchen towels, she played with the treadling until she came up with a very pretty sequence. The fabric has a nice pebbly texture, with the weft dominating and offering only little peeks at the warp. Rebecca immediately thought about sewing it into a sleeveless summer top, but a perpetual fear of sewing left the fabric sitting on a shelf for a long time. After finally mustering her resolve, she found a pattern meant for relatively narrow handwoven fabric that would work well, which helped alleviate some of her fears. Rebecca suggests that other hesitant sewists allow extra yardage in case of boo-boos or scissor mishaps—the suggested 6-yard warp in this project will give you that extra insurance policy. Be brave and sew with your handwoven material. Then, when people give compliments, you can truly say, “Thanks, I made all of it myself!”

Contents

• Project Instructions PDF

Structure
Basketweave variation.

Equipment
4-shaft loom, 20" weaving width; 10-dent reed; 1 shuttle.

Yarns
Warp: 8/2 cotton (3,360 yd/lb; UKI Supreme), #68 Duck, 1,338 yd; #03 Mint Green, 894 yd.

Weft: 8/2 cotton, #56 Light Turk, 3,200 yd.

Note: #03 Mint Green has been discontinued. Try #04 Plum Green for a warmer tone or #05 Nile Green for a cooler look.

Dimensions
Width in the reed: 18 ⁶⁄₁₂".
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 163".
Finished size: (after wet-finishing) fabric, 15" × 153"; top, 47" chest circumference and 28" length.