Adapting Pattern: Changing from 4/8 to 2/8
I write a lot of towel patterns. For most of them I use 2/8 cotton (for my US friends, that is the same as 8/2). I love using 2/8 doubled, and in case you are wondering why, here’s a blog post that tells it all! But what if you prefer 4/8? Or what if, as in a recent pattern and class, the pattern gives you the option of using either?
Here are some simple guidelines about switching back and forth.
Switching from 4/8 to 2/8 Doubled
This is straightforward! If the pattern calls for 10 slots of 4/8, warp 10 slots and 10 holes of 2/8 doubled.
💡 Why? Because 10 slots of 4/8 = 20 ends total (one from each slot moves into a hole). So, by warping both slots and holes with 2/8, you’re keeping the full 20 ends.
Switching from 2/8 to 4/8
This takes a little more planning—especially if there are color changes in the warp.
✔ If all color blocks have an even number of ends, switching to 4/8 is easy! Just replace each slot and hole in the pattern with a single slot (since each slot in 4/8 = 2 ends).
✔ If you have odd-numbered color changes, things get trickier. You’ll need to:
Cut and tie color changes at the warping peg (I’ll explain this in a moment).
OR
Rearrange ends after winding the warp
Look at the picture below. It uses 2/8 cotton warping the slots and the holes. The top row are slots and the bottom row are holes.
If I wanted to switch to 4/8, here’s how I’d adjust:
Warp (1 slot black, 1 slot green) five times.
Warp 2 slots grey.
Let’s look at this next example. Looking at the list, we can see that we have multiple colour changes and many of them are odd numbers.
As mentioned above, I have 2 choices, I can cut and tie at the colour changes, OR I can rearrange ends after winding.
Let’s look at cutting and tying.
Step 1: Warp 3 slots with Mauve Fonce. Cut the Mauve Fonce at the peg (this leaves a single end in the 3rd slot)
Step 2: Thread the end of the Naturel through the same slot as the single end of Mauve Fonce and and tie the 2 ends together at the peg.
Step 3: Pull the Naturel through the next slot and cut at the peg (leaving a single end of Naturel in this slot)
Step 4: Thread the end of the Mauve Fonce through the same slot as the single end of Naturel and and tie the 2 ends together at the peg.
Continue in this manner until the section is completed. It’s all pretty tedious (but very doable).
Alternatively, you can calculate the total number of ends for each colour and warp in a way that eliminates cutting & tying but does require rearranging of threads after winding.
For this example:
Mauve Fonce = 20 ends (10 slots)
Naturel = 11 ends (5.5 slots)
Warp:
*2 slots Mauve Fonce,
1 slot Naturel,
3 slots Mauve Fonce,
1 slot Naturel, repeat from * once more
then warp 2 more slots Naturel.
After winding you will need to rearrange the ends, and toss the extra Naturel off the back of the loom. Again, doable, but challenging.
In the picture to the right you can see the crossed threads behind the reed. As you wind forward, you will need to use your fingers to gently move the threads over so they are running more straight from the reed to the back beam.
Can I mix 4/8 and 2/8? Yes, absolutely! In fact, this picture is using 4/8 for the Black and 2/8 for the White. Just remember that for the 2/8 you are warping slots and holes while with the 4/8 you are warping the slots only! It might be useful to create your own warping chart and tape it to your reed. For complex warping patterns I often write the pattern on painter’s tape and tape it to the loom. I will do the same when weaving.
In my Classic Elegance class, I used Hempathy (4/8 weight) with odd-numbered ends. Instead of cutting and tying at the peg, I rearranged ends in the heddle, which meant a bit of extra fiber manipulation during weaving.
Yes, using 2/8 would have been far easier! But the resulting towel in Hempathy or Zooey is worth it.
Want to try this towel for yourself? You can get it here. As mentioned, it is designed for heavier-weight material, but now you can easily convert it to 2/8!
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