Huck Towel Embroidered Design – Waves with “Lace Edge”
Graphed Pattern and instructions for the Wave with “Lace” Edge design can be found by clicking here.
Embroidered Huck Towels harken back to the days when women transformed common everyday objects into pieces of art with needle and thread.
Kitchen towels were stitched with pride – and usually put away for use only on “special occasions.”
Stitching huck toweling designs (also called Swedish Weaving) is very simple – embroidery floss or crochet cotton is drawn under raised threads occurring on the fabric.
Huck Towels
Cotton Huck Toweling has these raised threads. One side has vertical raised threads – the opposite side has horizontal raised threads. The above design was stitched through vertical threads.
Arizona Mountains Huck Towel Design – Final
Mildred Krieg (copyright 1936)
There are designs and instructions available commercially. Mildred Krieg’s 1930’s booklets are considered by many to be the original reference. These books can still be found on ebay and Etsy.
However, just picking up needle and thread and beginning to stitch the threads can create beautiful original designs.
Original Arizona Mountains Design
The Arizona Mountains design resulted from a two step process. The original design fell a bit short of the desired effect. Infilling additional rows of thread created the desired effect.
I pulled Huck Toweling from The Stash, but it is available at most fabric stores. It seems to run about $5.00 per yard – and 3/4 yard (27″) is just about right for one kitchen towel.
The Embarrassing Embroidery Thread Stash
The Stash also provided the embroidery thread. I used three strands, but if a stronger color statement is desired, four or six strands will work.
The Embarrassing Embroidery Thread Stash has been amassing itself for more than 4 decades! But, it is usually successful at providing most any color for most any project!
Simple Huck Design
Because of the ease and the low cost of attempting a project, Huck Embroidery is a great first try stitching project. My children stitched many towels for Grandma presents when they were quite young.
The diagram shows a simple Huck Design and illustrates how the colored threads simply pass underneath the raised vertical thread of the Huck Toweling fabric.
Waves and Lace Edge Design Detail
While Huck Embroidery in a single thread color is beautiful, part of the fun of Huck Towel Embroidery is the interplay of the tread colors. As illustrated in the Waves with Lace Edge Design Detail, color gradations look very different in the longer vertical stitches than in the shorter horizontal ones.
One aspect of these Huck Embroidered Towels that will vary from those created by our foremothers – they will be used. Not just on special occasions – but for everyday – and often!
These towels will not be stored in a drawer to be saved for a special occasion. They will be used to dry dishes – to wipe up spills – and hung on the oven handle to dry – maybe they will help make everyday a special occasion!
Huck Embroidered Towels
The Destashification Project 
Just lovely, and to think you will actually use them in the kitchen! I am impressed by your needle beautiful work.
Cool!
Oh, how I remember making some of these in Jr. High sewing class back in the 50’s! I loved the look and a few years ago ran across an Aunt Martha’s Huck Weaving Pattern book # 3610 and quickly purchased it with high hopes – only to find that I couldn’t locate any huck towelling. (In those olden days before the internet!) The pattern book migrated to the back of the closet only to be dug out now that you have refreshed my memory. I’m sure I can find all that I need now – thanks for reminding me! Yours are lovely – and I agree – they should be out and on display – and used often!
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I have Aunt Martha’s Huck Weaving Pattern book #3610. Did Huck Weaving as teenager and made dresser scarves. Would like to know where to get the huck material now that so many craft stores are out of business and places like WalMart does not carry. Also, is Monk material the same as Huck material. Would love to make an afghan for something to do during the upcoming cold winter. Thank you and looking forward to a reply.
Whoever Aunt Martha is, she sure created a variety of patterns! I did not know she also did Huck Weaving Patterns.
The Huck Toweling Fabric is available from a few places. JoAnn’s has it for about $5 a yard, but the 15″ wide toweling they carry has unfinished selvedges.
The 15″ wide toweling I found online with the search terms “huck toweling” ranges from $3 to $5 per yard, most indicated the selvedges are finished. There are a number of online options for purchasing an entire bolt of huck toweling for approximately $150! That would be a lot of Huck Towels!
Monk’s cloth, which is a looser basketweave-looking fabric is also available at JoAnn’s. It is approximately 60″ wide and is often used for afghans/blankets. There are several books/leaflets available with Swedish Weaving Patterns specifically designed for Monk’s Cloth.
I hope you are able to find the fabrics.
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Is it possible to get a copy of the wave and lace pattern in its entirety from end to end.
The Wave and Lace pattern is included here: . A Huck Towels vary in width, Huck Patterns typically are just one or two repeats.
If additional repeats are required, multiple patterns can be printed and connected.
Emjoy!
How do I purchase the book with these towel designs shown on this page? I really want them.
The Waves with Lace Pattern is found on this Destashification Post:
In case the link is not operational the pattern is the June 8, 2012 post entitled: Huck Towel Graph.
The Mildred Krieg books are no longer being published. Fortunately, like all “good things stitching” they are available on ebay and etsy!
Would like a flamingo pattern for hand towels in my bath room.
I learned to do this when I was about 10 and continued till I was about 20 and had children.
I’m now 65 and would like to try it again. Lol
I think I remember seeing a flamingo pattern. I will see if I can find a photo.
I do this and really enjoy it. Sometimes I make up my own design.
I started Swedish waving in my teens. One of my aunts taught me. I am 76 now and about 15 years ago found some patterns for it and have been stitching ever since. I now do a 45″ long table runner with the stitching on each end and then crochet lace for the ends. LOVE it !!!!! Thank you for posting the pattern. Most people don’t so I just have to be satisfied with drooling. Finding pattern books is not easy. I have several grand daughters that I will be teaching this lost and beautiful art to. Thanks again Donna