Yes, handwoven cotton towels are worth it, if you want a towel you notice. The ones we carry are made by Sera Helsinki in Ethiopia, from hand-spun cotton woven on traditional handlooms. The handmade thread is what gives them their soft texture and their absorbency. A hand towel is 19 by 30 inches and costs $52. A bath towel is 39 by 70 inches and costs $117. They will not make your bathroom look like a hotel. That is rather the point.
Below is what they are, who makes them, which one goes where, and whether $52 is a reasonable thing to spend on something you dry your hands with.
In this guide
- What is a handwoven cotton towel?
- Who makes Sera Helsinki towels?
- Which towel should you buy?
- Is $52 a lot for a hand towel?
- Frequently asked questions
- Shop Sera Helsinki towels
What is a handwoven cotton towel?
It is a towel where two of the usual machine steps are done by people instead. First the cotton is spun into thread by hand. Then that thread is woven on a handloom. Sera Helsinki does both in Ethiopia, and the hand-spun thread is the part that matters most: it is slightly irregular, which is why the cloth has the soft, lived-in hand you feel the first time you pick one up.
Two other details are worth knowing. The colours use AZO-free, REACH-certified dyes, REACH being the European Union's chemicals regulation. And the towels are certified by the World Fair Trade Organization, which checks its members against its fair trade standards.
None of this shows up in a photo. It shows up in the hand, and in the small irregularities a machine would iron out.
Who makes Sera Helsinki towels?
Sera Helsinki was founded in 2016 in Ethiopia by Anna Suoheimo. The company describes itself as Scandinavian design combined with Ethiopian craftsmanship traditions, with a fully transparent production chain. It started with rugs, made with a small group of women in Addis Ababa, and its stated aim is to include people with disabilities at every level of the business. You can read the longer version in their own words.
The Finnish half shows up in the names. Musta means black. Savu means smoke. Myrsky is a storm, Tihku a drizzle, Usva a mist. It is a very Finnish idea to name a bathroom towel after weather, and we have come to like it.
Just arrived
Savu Hand Towel, Grey with Black Border
Smoke grey, edged in black. The newest towel on the shelf.
$52 CAD
Shop now
Which towel should you buy?
Start with size, then pick the weather. Every hand towel is 19 by 30 inches, which Sera Helsinki sizes for the kitchen or the bath. Every bath towel is 39 by 70 inches, generous enough for the bath or the beach. Within each size, the price is the same whichever pattern you choose, so the decision is only about the room.
| Towel | Size | Price | Where we would put it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tihku, Ivory | 19" x 30" | $52 | A white bathroom that needs warming up |
| Myrsky, Oatmeal | 19" x 30" | $52 | Kitchens with wood, stone or brass |
| Musta, Black | 19" x 30" | $52 | A powder room, or anywhere a pale towel would show the day |
| Savu, Grey with Black Border | 19" x 30" | $52 | Grey tile, black fixtures |
| Tihku Bath, Ivory | 39" x 70" | $117 | The main bath, paired with Tihku hand towels |
| Savu Bath, Oatmeal with Sandstone Edge | 39" x 70" | $117 | Warm-toned bathrooms, or the cottage |
Our rule in the shop is simple: buy the bath towel in the plainest colour you like, and let the hand towels do the talking. A row of mismatched hand towels on hooks looks collected. A matching set of six looks like a delivery.
If you are dressing a kitchen, Myrsky in oatmeal is the one we reach for. It forgives coffee. If your bathroom is all white, Tihku in ivory adds texture without adding another colour. And Musta, the solid black, is the Sera Helsinki towel our customers have bought most this autumn.
Is $52 a lot for a hand towel?
For a hand towel, yes. For a piece of cloth that has been spun and woven by hand, then dyed to a European chemical standard and made under fair trade certification, it is not much at all. We wrote at length about why handmade home goods cost more, and towels are the clearest example we stock. The labour is in the thread before it is ever in the weave.
The other way to think about it is use. A hand towel is touched more times a day than almost anything else in a house. It is one of the cheapest ways we know to put something handmade into daily life, and it costs about the same as dinner for one.
It also makes a very good gift. It is useful, it is not a candle, and nobody already owns this one. It is on our list of things we would give at a housewarming for the same reason.
Bath towel
Tihku Bath Towel, Ivory
39 by 70 inches. The plain one, so the hand towels can do the talking.
$117 CAD
Shop now
Frequently asked questions
Are handwoven cotton towels absorbent?
Yes. Sera Helsinki credits the hand-spun thread with both the soft texture and the absorbency of its towels. The cloth is pure, hand-spun cotton.
Where are Sera Helsinki towels made?
In Ethiopia. The cotton is spun by hand and woven on traditional handlooms there. The company was founded in Ethiopia in 2016 and pairs Scandinavian design with Ethiopian craft.
What is the difference between the hand towel and the bath towel?
Size. The hand towel is 19 by 30 inches and works in the kitchen or the bathroom. The bath towel is 39 by 70 inches, big enough for the bath or the beach. Hand towels are $52 and bath towels are $117, whatever the pattern.
Can I use a hand towel as a kitchen towel?
Yes. Sera Helsinki sizes the hand towel for both. We would pick a darker or warmer tone for the kitchen, such as Myrsky in oatmeal or Musta in black.
Do you carry Sera Helsinki towels in the shop?
Yes. You can see them at 2090 Dundas Street West in Roncesvalles, where it is easier to choose a colour in person. We keep only a few of each pattern, so if you want a matching pair, ask us.
Shop Sera Helsinki towels
We carry Sera Helsinki hand towels and bath towels in ivory, oatmeal, sandstone, grey and black, online and in the shop. Featured here: the Savu Hand Towel, Grey with Black Border ($52), the Tihku Hand Towel, Ivory ($52), the Myrsky Hand Towel, Oatmeal ($52), the Musta Hand Towel, Black ($52), the Tihku Bath Towel, Ivory ($117) and the Savu Bath Towel, Oatmeal with Sandstone Edge ($117).
See every towel we have. Pick the weather you like.
