Waffle Weave (3)

The waffle weave towels went through the washing machine okay. There was a lot of shrinkage. Length went from 42 to 36 inches, width from 14 to 11.5 inches but it is not truly a shrinkage, more that the threads are tracing 3D  paths. I did not want to hem them as it would be too bulky. Each end had 3 rows of tabby to which I applied a raw edge hem, then zigzag stitched down each edge on the tabby section. I am intending to use these and it will be interesting to see what repeated machine washes do to them. They are very soft and absorbent.

Returning to the lining of Uchishiki 1, I wrote to Ichiroya asking about the lining  fibre and have had a reply from them. They think it cannot be linen because linen is rarely used in Japan. They suggest it could be cotton or ramie but more likely raw silk.  And I could distinguish between these by applying a burn test. AARRRGGGGHHH!!!   After I had recovered form that suggestion, I  applyied the burn test to some cotton fabric - it went up in flames, then to some silk - which charred. Then to the lining edge - which went up in flames!! So according to Ichiroya, it is not silk. It could be either ramie or cotton. He suggested looking at the material under a microscope. If the fibre is short-staple, it is cotton, if long, it is ramie. I looked at a piece of cotton and then a piece of linen and the linen staple is much longer which is correct according to Wikipedia.  The lining staple seems long but it is difficult to tell. The 'threads' are not spun but laid down in parallel bundles with the warp threads having many fewer individual threads than the weft.  The feel of the fabric is quite soft unlike linen which is harsh and I assume ramie would be the same. but I can't be sure. My microscope is only Magnification x20. I have written back to Ichiroya but won't get a reply now until Monday.