Did someone say waffles?

I've always been fond of waffle weave structures in textiles. I've knit lots of socks in a waffle-like pattern. When Annette showed me a handwoven scarf with a pick up pattern that looked like waffle weave, I had to make it. Her scarf used Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, and I had some in stash, in a beautiful deep purple called "blackcurrant," left over from a sweater project. We were discussing this at Caitlin's house, and Caitlin piped up that she had some in stash, too, and I was welcome to have it. WHA??? Okay! Her leftover yarn is in a color called "verdigris," a dusty teal that is right up my alley:

Annette sent me the stitch pattern, which is an 8-row pattern using pick up. Thanks to my pick up class with Liz Gipson at last year's MDSW, I was completely prepared to whip up this project on the little loom (my 15" Cricket) while waiting to start a more challenging project on the big loom (25" Flip). I warped the loom in purple and used the verdigris as weft. One thing that really makes this pattern say "WAFFLE" is that it has both warp and weft floats:

I was aiming for 60" in length, and my final measurement was 58.5" - pretty close. My guide was 72" long, the scarf was 64" off the loom ("loom state cloth"), and 58.5" long after finishing.

One thing still confuses me. I planned to lose 20% to takeup and shrinkage, and I actually lost 18.75% which is less so I should have more scarf - but I still have less length than planned. I still think there may be something about how I am pinning or not pinning the guide while I weave?

The final fabric is a bit looser and more open than I had hoped. I should have beaten a bit more tightly. I will try that next time. Maybe if I had beaten more, there would have been less space for shrinkage, and I would have ended up with more length. I'm planning to work this same scarf again, but in reverse - green warp with purple weft - so I'll get a chance to test this theory. This scarf used about 42 grams in the warp (including waste) and 31 grams in the weft.

Even the reverse side is interesting (but not as waffle-y) - look at the fabric to the right:

I worked twisted ends, which are quite handsome.

This was a quick, fun project!

The image at the top, by the way, is a valentine I gave to my teenage son who has his own waffle iron. The inside says "I love you a waffle lot."