I once said
that you can never have too many towels, and so, I’ve made another one. A nice
little project when there’s been no time or energy to work on something more
complicated.
There are
quite a few pictures and extant examples of linen towels with indigo blue
borders woven in, from the 14th century forwards. As you see from
the examples below, they were beautiful things, often with intricate patterns.
From
the very little reading I’ve done on them, they originated in Egypt, and then Italian weavers (primarily in Perugia) took it up,
changing the patterns to fit European and Christian taste better. You can buy
reproductions, but we don’t have the funds for that, and we certainly don’t
portray a family who’d be able to afford an imported luxury item like that back
then either.
They seem
to often have been used as napkins, worn by servants when waiting at table, and
attending at births. To find links to more pictures, go here.
The Luttrell Family at Dinner, c. 1325-35
(Isn't the lady on the left wearing the most beautiful dress?)
This one looks almost as simple as mine.
This one is
the budget option. I imagine that, perhaps, someone who’d seen the fancy ones
might have woven a simpler kind on the blue striped theme. I made it from an
old linen kitchen towel with a herringbone weave. A diamond twill seam to have
been the most common weave used in towels, but herringbone did also exist. Mine is clearly much shorter than the ones in the paintings, and to be honest, I don't know if this kind of towels ever came this far north. Trade was extensive though, so it's not impossible. Edit: I've read today (27 August 2013) that the inventory of Håkan, a Swedish priest just taking over a parsonage in 1310, mentions two fine, blue striped towels - I have documentation :) End of edit.
I cut away
the blue stripes going lengthways, and hemmed the towel – I also hemmed the
short sides anew, as they were stitched on machine before.
We now have a fancy towel for nicer occasions.
The strips
I cut away will be saved to someday end up in a quilt.
Waste not, want not :)
