Shadow Weave Towels

I was commissioned to make towels for a very special someone, and I had a blast planning, picking colors, and weaving it.  Here's the story:

I was really liked a project in the Jan/Feb issue of Handwoven - Floating Shadows Towels.  So I gave it a try!

Details:
8/2 unmercerized cotton in 2 colors: Lipstick and Charcoal, 20/2 cotton in black for the hem areas. (I never took pictures of the hem...)
Loom: my 4 shaft 36" Leclerc Nilus.

Each towel had a different treading sequence, making four distinct towels:

From the beginning, I had troubles with these towels. I wasn't happy with sett: being 20 epi, I ended up having to beat hard to get the desired ppi. Then I began having trouble with loose warps at the edges. Grr. But I forged on, and finished! After taking them off the loom, they were quite wrinkled, and though a firm double pressing helped (I even tried a wet towel on top), they're still a little kinky. But have no fear: they will still dry dishes fabulously!

I was fascinated throughout weaving how the shadow weave made little optical illusions. It was a lot of fun to watch them unfold!  I'm sure to try more shadow weave in the future!

These are on their way to their new home.  On to the next set of towels!