For centuries in parts of northern Europe, kitchen towels were plain cloths, essential in the kitchen, but never decorative. The show towel, with its colorful embroidery and fringe, was hung in front of the utilitarian towels to serve the dual purposes of decorating the kitchen and keeping homelier towels out of sight. In the United States, the show towel reached its height in popularity in the nineteenth century, especially in Pennsylvania German communities near me. When a friend showed me an antique show towel, I decided to weave my own.
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