How it’s woven
Towels, throws, table linen and rugs, woven by hand at the Weavery in Barrydale.
Everything here starts as cotton grown and spun in South Africa, and becomes cloth on a hand loom at the Weavery. A beach towel takes more than 1,400 throws of the shuttle.
Each section shows one kind of piece being made, and the people who make it. If you scanned the tag on something you bought from us, you are already in the right place.
From cotton to cloth
It starts with the warp: more than 1,300 threads run the length of our wide loom, and getting them onto it is a job for the whole team. Each thread is then knotted by hand to keep the tension even, the most tedious task we have.
Winding the bobbins is the first step that uses electricity, and we can do it by hand if we must. Then the weaving: the flying shuttle crosses more than seventy times for every 10 cm of cloth while the weaver works the treadles with their feet.
Towels
Woven by
Small towels are woven by Jackie, Temmy, Perci, Matty and Lizzy, the large ones mostly by Shannon, Lusinda and Miriam. Vuyo, Surellen and Miriam weave our medium towels. Each coloured line in a stripe needs its own bobbin, and every 30 cm or so the weaver stops to wind the finished cloth onto the roller by hand.
Off the loom, a towel is cut, sewn, pre-shrunk with a hot wash and a tumble-dry, ironed and checked before it is packed.
Table linen
Woven by
Napkins and table cloths are woven by Jackie, Temmy, Perci and Matty on our large looms; the largest is 186 cm wide inside its frame. Placemats and runners are Surellen and Vuyo’s, made on our small loom, and the Thick Weave ones are Mingo’s.
A placemat is the fiddliest piece to finish. It is cut, sewn with a zigzag stitch, and the threads at each end are unpicked by hand, stitch by stitch, to make the fringe.
Throws and blankets
Throws come off the same large looms as the table cloths, woven by Jackie, Temmy and Perci. The Thick Weave blankets and knee blankets are Tivane’s and Temmy’s. Tivane has been weaving with us since the business began in 2007.
Shop blankets and throwsBaby
Woven by
Our soft, handwoven baby blankets are woven by Lusinda, Shannon and Lizzy. Our cot covers are in the hands of Temmy and Tivane, while our hooded towels are woven by Lusinda, Shannon and Lizzy. Thoughtfully woven in Barrydale, each piece is made to be part of everyday family life.
Shop babyCushion covers
Our cushion covers are woven from the same locally grown cotton as the towels and throws, then cut and sewn into shape by our seamstresses. The Country and Contemporary covers are woven by Miriam, Vuyo and Surellen.
Shop cushion coversShawls and scarves
Woven by
Scarves and shawls are woven by Lusinda, Mingo and Miriam, with Lizzy and Shannon on some of the shawls. On our scarf loom Lusinda works with a hand shuttle, and she moves faster with it than most weavers do with a flying shuttle.
Shop shawls and scarvesMats and rugs
Woven by
- Chilton
- Clement
Our mats and rugs start as the edges of cotton fabric cut off on industrial looms, which we sort by hand into balls of similar colour and texture. We never choose the colours, so no two batches look quite alike.
They are woven with a hand shuttle on a polyester warp, then knotted, trimmed by hand and shaken out, without a watt of electricity. Mingo, Chilton and Clement weave them.
The weavers
The people who weave, sew, check and pack every piece. Their stories are on Our Story.
Handwoven in Barrydale
Barrydale Hand Weavers creates high-quality, ethically made handwoven textiles in Barrydale, South Africa. Driven by a desire to slow down, the business preserves the ancient craft of hand weaving while training and empowering local craftspeople on traditional hand looms, supporting fellow South Africans through meaningful employment and skills development. Every product starts with high-quality, unbleached or naturally dyed cotton that is locally sourced and spun in South Africa, then transformed into durable, beautiful items for homes, bathrooms, and outdoor use. The range includes versatile handwoven towels (large bath towels, medium hand towels, small face cloths, and hooded kids’ towels), thick-weave bath mats and rugs, table linen, throws and blankets, picnic blankets, cushion covers, shawls, and scarves. These thoughtfully crafted pieces combine timeless design with practical functionality: soft, absorbent, easy to wash, and built to last, while celebrating natural materials and the human hands behind the cloth. By focusing on product, process, and people, Barrydale Hand Weavers offers authentic, locally sourced South African homeware that brings both quality and comfort into daily life.
Everything on this page was woven at the Weavery in Barrydale.
Shop all