Waffle weave towels in red

I wove some waffle weave dishcloths a while back and found them a fun weave, so I decided to make some kitchen towels. The pattern called for blocks of color, but sometimes I think patterns in magazines are deliberately designed to try to force the weaver to buy a LOT of yarn. I am more interested in the weave structure than the colors, so I wove these in my favorite color: red.

Waffle weave is a loose weave structure. I discovered that, when hand hemming these towels, I had to stitch into the weft, not the warp, as the warp would pull out. Also, this weave structure shrinks a LOT when washed. The beginning size was approximately 30"x17", unhemmed.

After running the hemmed towels through the laundry, they measured approximately 23"x16" (the pattern indicated 24"x16.5", so very close). They have a lot of drape, too, probably because I did not beat hard enough to achieve 20 ppi that the pattern indicated.

Pattern: Playing with Blocks: Waffle-weave Towels, by Jodi Ybarra, as printed in the Holiday 2020 issue of Easy Weaving with Little Looms
Modifications: Used single yarn for weft while weaving the hems
Weave structure: Waffle weave
Loom: Ashford 24" rigid heddle
Warp: Valley Yarns 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton, in red (3611), doubled
Weft: Valley Yarns 8/2 Unmercerized Cotton, in red (3611), doubled
EPI/PPI: 12.5/10ish
Ends: 256
Off loom size, unhemmed: 30"x17"
Finished size, hemmed: 23"x16"

Before washing, the waffle looked good, but afterwards, a strip of non-waffle appeared in the middle of the towels. I must have done something (consistantly) wrong there, maybe caused by a loose warp thread.

All in all, though, I'm pretty pleased with the result, have plans to weave more. However, I think I favor 8/4 cotton over 8/2 doubled.

Weavers like to participate in tea towel exchanges and compete (nicely) to outdo each other. My towels will never qualify as fancy-schmancy, but they are very functional.