Aegean Turkish Towel — Blush Pink | KORISSA

A handwoven cotton towel in a soft blush pink — woven in a flat, open weave with a subtle horizontal stripe texture created by alternating thread densities across the width of the cloth, and finished at one end with a row of fine cotton fringe. The color is a warm, dusty rose — neither pale nor saturated, but the particular shade of pink that reads as both feminine and neutral, at home in a bathroom, a bedroom, or a beach bag. 

The Peshtemal — A Textile with a Thousand-Year History

The flat-woven cotton towel — known as a peshtemal or fouta — has been woven in the hammams and bathhouses of Anatolia for over a thousand years. It is a fundamentally different object from the Western terry cloth towel: where terry cloth is thick, looped, and slow to dry, the peshtemal is flat-woven, lightweight, and fast-drying. It absorbs water efficiently on contact, releases it quickly in the air, and becomes softer and more absorbent with every wash. It is a towel that improves with use — one of the few objects in a home that genuinely gets better the more you use it.

The horizontal stripe texture of the Aegean is not a printed pattern — it is created by the weave itself, by the alternation of thread densities that produces a subtle ribbed effect across the surface of the cloth. In the blush pink colorway, this texture reads as a gentle variation in tone rather than a graphic stripe — a surface that catches light differently at different angles, giving the towel a quiet visual depth that a plain-woven cloth does not have.

The fringe at the end is the traditional finish of the peshtemal — the warp threads of the loom left free and gathered into fine tassels. It is not a decorative addition; it is the natural conclusion of the weaving process, the point where the loom ends and the cloth begins its life as an object. On the Aegean, the fringe is fine and even — each tassel a continuation of the warp thread, soft against the skin and elegant in the hand.

How It Improves Your Daily Life

A flat-woven cotton towel is lighter and thinner than a terry cloth towel, which means it takes up less space in a drawer, a bag, or a bathroom. It dries faster after use — hung over a towel rail or a chair back, it is dry within an hour in normal conditions, which means it does not develop the damp smell that thick towels accumulate when they stay wet for hours. It is large enough to wrap around the body after a bath or shower, to use as a beach towel, or to drape over a chair as a throw.

The blush pink color is versatile in a way that brighter colors are not — it works with white, cream, grey, terracotta, and natural wood without competing with any of them. It reads as warm without being loud, as considered without being neutral. A bathroom with a blush pink towel on the rail looks like a bathroom that has been thought about.

Why Flat-Woven Cotton?

The flat weave used in the peshtemal tradition allows the full quality of the cotton fiber to express itself: there is no looping, no cutting, no processing that shortens the fiber or reduces its natural properties. The result is a cloth that is soft from the first use and becomes softer with every wash, that absorbs water efficiently and releases it quickly, and that lasts for years without pilling, thinning, or losing its shape.

Cotton is a natural, biodegradable fiber. At end of life, a cotton towel can be composted or repurposed — it does not contribute to microplastic pollution in the way that synthetic towels do.

Fair Trade Artisan-Made

Designed and curated by KORISSA, handwoven by Fair Trade artisans. Fair wages, safe working conditions, community investment. The horizontal stripe texture and fringe finish are worked on traditional looms by hand — slight variations in stripe spacing, fringe length, and overall dimensions are inherent to the handweaving process. No two towels are identical.

How to Use & Style It

• Bath towel — wrap after shower or bath; dries faster than terry cloth
• Beach towel — lightweight, sand-resistant, packs flat into a bag
• Throw — drape over a sofa, armchair, or bed end for warmth and texture
• Table runner — lay flat along a dining table for a relaxed, textured surface
• Picnic blanket — lightweight and large enough for two
• Pairs naturally with white ceramic, natural wood, linen, and terracotta

Details & Care

• Single towel | Flat-woven cotton | Horizontal stripe texture | Fine cotton fringe at one end | Color: Blush pink / dusty rose
• Material: 100% Cotton | Fair Trade | Zero Waste | Biodegradable
• Care: Machine wash cold on gentle cycle. Tumble dry low or hang to dry. Do not bleach. Iron on low if needed. Becomes softer and more absorbent with each wash.