Waffle weave handtowels

I needed some new handtowels for the kitchen. I love waffle weave as it is so textured and when used for handtowels very absorbent. 

Here is the drawdown.

I used cottolin for the warp and weft. 

Warp: cottolin in three shades    weft : cottolin

There were 48 groups of 12 ends with one more repeat which was finished with 13 ends. 

Total number of warp ends = 576 plus 13 = 589

sett: 24 epi

on the loom

Unfortunately I damaged my shoulder and the towels remained on the loom for a couple of months.  At last I could go back to weaving and finished the towels. 

I love seeing the full length when it comes off the loom.

I tried to measure the handtowels on the loom so that each was 33 inches - which I calculated would be about 25 inches after washing.  I was not always as accurate. 

I designed different weft colour order to  make the three towels slightly different. 

There was quite a time gap when they were on the loom and I had not finished the warp.  I found that the tension for beating was not the same on the final towel. 

Here are the final measurements before and after washing.

                   before washing                  after washing

Towel 1      69 cm x 59 cm                    53.5 cm x 47 cm

Towel 2      64 cm x 59 cm                    58 cm x 47 cm

Towel 3      63 cm z 59 cm                     57 cm x 47 cm

I wove a hanging tab for the towels.  My husband wanted one of a single colour so that it stood out. 

cottolin band on Swedish band loom

Handtowels in the kitchen.

Three handtowels.

I had not woven  waffle weave for some time and I realised that I was beating harder for the first towel than the others.  This meant that it shrank more and the waffles are more pronounced. They are very absorbent. 

Now for a new project - some tea towels to go with them.

Susan J Foulkes

August 2026