Waffle Weave Kitchen Towel Fabric

By Carrie Miller

Waffle weave is created with a point-twill threading pattern. Floats around the outside edge of each square create depth. I wove this fabric on 4 shafts; the more shafts used, the deeper the cells will be. The waffle weave structure is commonly used for towels because the fabric is absorbent and airy. The Wolf Pup is the perfect width for weaving towels! Here, we used 8/2 unmercerized cotton for an absorbent fabric.

When the waffle weave fabric comes off of the loom and is washed, it will be transformed from flat to springy, sometimes even stretchy. In this example, I chose my colors carefully to emphasize the depth of each square. Planning the warp threading in a weave draft software allowed me to test colors and placement before threading the loom. There are several weaving draft software options available and you can also use Photoshop to test out color combinations.

Tell us about your experience with weave draft software. What program do you like? Please feel free to share your results on our Instagram or Facebook pages using the hashtag #schachtspindle.

Project Specs

Weave structure: point twill—make sure to use floating selvedges!

Finished size: 15" x 20" per towel

Warp length: 3 yds

Number of warp ends: 306, plus 2 floating selvedges

Width in reed: 17"

EPI: 18

What You'll Need

Materials

Warp and weft: 8/2 100% Cotton in Wine 62, Mustard 36, Dark Turk 58, and Grape 64.

Equipment

Wolf Pup LT floor loom
18 dent reed
two 11” boat shuttles or end-delivery shuttles

Directions

Warping

If you thread front to back, it works well to make 3 different warp chains—1 maroon, 1 blue, 1 tan. Thread the maroon first, then go back through and thread the blues and then the tans.
Sley the reed: 2 Wine, 1 Dark Turk, 2 Wine, 1 Mustard, repeat. Note begin and end with 1 extra wine warp thread for the floating selvedge.

Weaving

You will need two shuttles, 1 light and 1 dark. Following the weft color order as noted in the treadling. Weave plain weave for hem, about 1”. Then, weave 24” in waffle weave, ending with 1” plain weave. This warp allows for 3 towels.

Finishing

Remove the fabric from the loom and secure the ends. Wash the fabric in hot water and lay flat to dry. Steam press. Sew hems by turning a double hem and hand or machine stitching.

Notes

Carrie Miller is a textile artist living on the Front Range of Colorado. Her working process and material curiosity are the products of an untamed childhood. Growing up on a farm, Carrie was constantly exposed to new life, death and whatever could be accomplished in between. Her time was split between adventures in horseback riding, backwoods archaeology, and whole days hunkered down behind her sewing machine. The rhythm of this lifestyle is the source of Carrie’s enthusiasm for the challenge to find and make tools, learn new techniques and manifest a plan.

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