Here are some thoughts about waffle weave, which happens to be one of my favorites. There's just something charming about the way it shrinks and bubbles and makes little pockets and, well, waffles!
My local weave structures study group is doing waffle weave just now (Yeah, and it's all my fault. Someone asked if anyone else had anything they wanted to do and I said I liked waffle weave and the next thing I knew . . . ).
Anyhow, I thought I would try to be a little organized about the whole thing.
So here's my table of contents!
1. What the heck can waffle weave be used for?
2. Of Setts and Shrinkage
3. Going wild with color (or not)
4. Yikes! I almost forgot to talk about yarns!
5. Resources (as of April 2021 anyhow)
6. Especially for Rigid Heddlers!
1. What the heck can waffle weave be used for?
- towels of any kind or size (fingertip towels to beach towels to kitchen towels to spa towels), plus washcloths, spa cloths, dishcloths
- placemats and table runners (you might want to pick a shallow draft and/or thinner yarns so your glassware doesn't dip into the waffle and take a dive)
- hotpads, microwave pads (cotton only), casserole cozies, basket liners (to cushion breads, rolls, muffins, fresh fruit)
- blankets, throws, pillow covers
- scarves, shawls, wraps. ruanas
- yardage for garments - shirts (remember cozy thermal shirts - yeah, waffle weave), bathrobes, jackets
- rugs!
2. Of Setts and Shrinkage
When you wet finish it - it shrinks.
(this photo is hemp (2ply neutral and 3ply color) in a little 3 shaft-ish waffle weave done on a rigid heddle loom)
It shrinks a lot. In both directions.
Lunatic Fringe 10/2 cotton @ 28 epi (24 epi for the plain weave) - all 8 shaft drafts on the exact same warp, with the same washer and dryer treatment (and many years of use) - from biggest to smallest -
plain weave, twill, waffle with tie down (like Strickler #512), and full waffle (like Strickler #511)
Of course what it loses in length and width it gains in depth/thickness (cozy blankets)(thirsty towels).
These are not folded over! This is the actual edge-on view of these towels! Cool, eh?
Madelyn van der Hoogt suggests using a twill spacing on the sett. Check out some waffle weave patterns and take advice from those designers. And then sample and wet finish your sample (wash as you intend the finished project to be washed) - especially do the sample if the finished size is really important - because your yarn might be different, or your "beat" in weaving might be different.
Next month I'll post any discoveries that my study group finds.
3. Going wild with color (or not)
- This structure is lovely with stripes to bring out the edges and the pockets (see Teaching with Towels for some color ideas). And here's a 7shaft sample I wove in a Janet Dawson class with her draft and her own color design. I love the way the white highlights the peaks and the brown deepens the valleys on the stripes.
- In a color gamp (the Lunatic Fringe kit has 2 - 8shaft waffle weave patterns in the instruction packet - https://lunaticfringeyarns.com/product/dinner-kit/ ) the full waffle (first photo) and the waffle with little tie downs in the middle of the waffle (second photo)
And here's a closeup of those tie downs - those little dots in the center mean that the waffle pocket doesn't get quite as deep so it doesn't shrink quite as much.
- And just with a lovely soothing solid color - seen here on a Sue Willingham cotton bath towel (7shaft?). (She sells these (and more) at https://willingham-weavery.square.site if you're interested).
4. Yikes! I almost forgot to talk about yarns!
Cotton, cottolin, linen, hemp, tencel, wool, fabric strips, and probably anything else that's appropriate to your project! (no acrylics or nylons or other manufactured yarns in the kitchen please - they might melt!)
In Handwoven Magazine Jan/Feb 2013, Laura Fry has a brief comparison of Lamb's Pride Worsted from Brown Sheep Company and Pony Worsted from Henry's Attic (both wools) and how they perform in waffle weave after fulling the cloth. Short but really interesting.
And the different fibers probably all shrink at different rates - we'll find out!
5. Resources (as of April 2021 anyhow) - sorry, these are in no particular order at this time.
- Weaver's Craft Issue 29 - Jean Scorgie - this issue is all waffle weave all the time - the draft, the sett, the yarns, and interesting variations. Projects for 4, 5, 6, and 8 shafts and fun color ideas. http://weaverscraft.com/back_issues.html
- The Best of Weaver's: Fabrics that go Bump - ed. Madelyn van der Hoogt - 17 pages of waffle weave, the draft, the sett, the yarns. Projects for 4 to 8 to 16 shafts! Some lovely simple drafts and it goes up to blocks and networking if your brain is adventurous (and you have the shafts and treadles to go there)! https://www.eugenetextilecenter.com/best-of-weavers-fabrics-that-go-bump
- A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns - Carol Strickler - 5 pages of waffle and waffle-ish variations including one with off-set cells (#515), and a checkerboard with plain weave (#519), and even one based on a Rosepath threading (#103).
- The Handweaver's Pattern Directory (4-shaft) - Anne Dixon - 1 page with info including ideas for extending the size of the "pocket" plus 3 draft ideas.
- Simple Weaves - Birgitta Bengtsson Bjork and Tina Ignell - 5 waffle weave projects, 4 shaft to 8 shaft, towels to bathrobe to rug, linen to cottolin to wool!
- Best of Handwoven: Projects in Waffle Weave e-book https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/best-of-handwoven-projects-in-waffle-weave
- There are also patterns in Best of Handwoven: Top Ten Dish Towels on Four Shafts e-book https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/best-of-handwoven-top-ten-dish-towels and Best of Handwoven: Top Ten Placemats on 8 shafts e-book https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/best-of-handwoven-top-ten-placemats-on-eight-shafts (it's interesting to note that the waffle weave patterns make the cover both times!)
- Handwoven Magazine Mar/Apr 2002 4 shaft towel set, Jan/Feb 2020 Waffle Weave Bath Mitts, May/Jun 2012 - 3 patterns with interesting variations, and more.
- Handwoven Magazine - do an index search! Here's the 2012-2020 link, but all the years are indexed in other links. Yeah, waffle is way down in the alphabet, so scroll away (or get lost in any rabbit hole you like). https://assets.ctfassets.net/i02azkqjustf/vShurbCJcv4sML0VYvq4L/ad751e042890224f6558f2d996bc9e4b/Handwoven_Index_2012_through_2020.pdf
- Teaching with Towels - Rosalie Neilson - 4 shaft and 8 shaft draft (waffle with plain weave stripes in 8 shaft version), exploration of color interactions in waffle weave. Kinda fun! https://assets.ctfassets.net/i02azkqjustf/2erVQpGjQmfZ9ze6kA2lhc/339157f4658356019fed3b417f9e7f74/Neilson-towels.pdf
- https://durhamweaver64.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-is-on-my-loom-hand-towels.html
- Waffle Weave Baby Blanket https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/waffle-weave-baby-blanket or get the pattern free https://handwovenmagazine.com/new-free-ebook-woven-baby-blankets/
- A free kitchen towel pattern from Schacht https://www.schachtspindle.com/waffle-weave-kitchen-towel-fabric/
- And an article with the basics http://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/mw_01_06-3.pdf
- Cotton Clouds kits and/or patterns! https://cottonclouds.com/search?page=1&q=Waffle+weave&type=product
- Lunatic Fringe kits and/or patterns! https://lunaticfringeyarns.com/?s=waffle+weave
- gist yarn - free 4shaft pattern or $$ kit with yarn and pattern https://www.gistyarn.com/products/waffle-weave-lap-blanket-free-pattern-pdf-download
6. Especially for Rigid Heddlers!
- OK, so I have a blog post about it with a photo tutorial! https://farmnana.blogspot.com/2012/05/rigid-heddle-waffle-weave.html
- Looks like there's a waffle project in the Best of Handwoven: Rigid-Heddle Technique and Pattern e-book #3 https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/best-of-hw-rigid-heddle-technique-and-pattern-ebook-3 Well it's the same one I used on my waffle project on the blog! (from Handwoven May/June 2010). And here's that same waffle weave in a set of table runners https://handwovenmagazine.com/free-table-runner-patterns-from-weaving-today/
- Handwoven Presents: Top Ten Rigid-Heddle Table and Kitchen Linens https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/handwoven-presents-top-ten-rigid-heddle-table-and-kitchen-linens - has the Nautical Waves Towel by Jodi Ybarra. And you can get a kit for this one from Cotton Clouds (the yarns you need to make them and the pattern instructions too) https://cottonclouds.com/products/nautical-waves-towels
- And while we're here, Cotton Clouds has kits and/or patterns for many of the Handwoven Magazine patterns as well as Liz Gipson patterns and Jodi Ybarra too - do a search for rigid heddle patterns and voilá! https://cottonclouds.com/search?type=product&q=rigid+heddle+patterns or do a search for waffle weave (some of the rigid heddle patterns didn't make it to the rigid heddle search including some specifically for Cricket looms!) https://cottonclouds.com/search?page=1&q=Waffle+weave&type=product And I've made these color block ones - they're quite nice (my stepdaughter loves them) https://cottonclouds.com/products/playing-with-blocks-waffle-weave-towels?_pos=11&_sid=af4177112&_ss=r - the pattern is also in Handwoven May/Jun 2015
- Handwoven Magazine has some patterns/articles - May/Jun 2010 "Waffle Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom? Oh yes you can!" is the one I used way back when.
- gist yarn - free pattern or $$ kit with yarn and pattern https://www.gistyarn.com/products/rigid-heddle-waffle-weave-blanket-free-pattern-pdf-download
