Good Jul Table Runner
We had the good pleasure of acquiring some weavings from Sweden. Amongst them was this beautiful red tablecloth woven in cotton and linen. It is stunning! But this design is surprisingly simple, can be woven on four shafts, and can be expanded or contracted to fit any project or loom.
Yarn
- 8/2 cotton (red #2080) for warp (860 yards, 4.1 ounces)
- 16/1 linen (red #1007) for main weft (750 yards, 3.6 ounces)
- 5/2 mercerized cotton (gold) for pattern weft, (under 200 yards, 1.5 ounces)
Warp
- 2.5 yards long
- 342 ends
- 8/2 cotton (Red)
- 20 epi, 17 inches in the reed
Threading
Thread the following eight times (40 threads per repeat), and repeat the first half one more time at the end for symmetry. Use a floating selvedge thread on either end.
Sley your reed at 20 epi (2 per dent in a 10 dent reed).
Tie up
Tie up your heddles so that the filled in squares rise. Although, the pattern is fully reversible, so if you end up weaving it upside down, all will be well in the end.
Weaving
Start by weaving plain weave (treadles 1 and 2) with 16/1 linen (Red) for your hem and border area (about 10 inches).
Weave at 20 picks per inch, even though your weft is smaller.
Add a second shuttle with a mercerized 5/2 cotton (Gold) for the pattern and treadle the large and small design blocks with plain weave in between each pattern pick.
Large design block: 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Small design block: 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4
If your pattern isn’t weaving square, just weave more or less repeats of your pattern (especially helpful if you are experimenting with yarns).
You can break up the pattern with more plain weave and then three small design blocks with plain weave between. To get that cute dotted line, just use one pick of the gold pattern weft in the plain weave section.
Weave 2 yards total, making it symmetrical (if you want!).
Wet finish, hem, and enjoy!
Download a .wif file to play with the draft on your computer
Other Yarn Options
The original tablecloth used two strands of 16/2 cotton together as one for the warp. This creates an interesting texture, and can be fun to try if you don't mind winding twice as much warp.
The original pattern weft was a combination of an unknown yarn - it looks like a soft spun linen along with a second strand of 16/1 linen in a slightly different color. This gives the pattern more depth of color and is really beautiful. We don't have the yarns that were used originally, but you could look in your stash and see if you have two yarns that might work. Look for something large (like 5/2 cotton) along with something lustrous, but small.
You can also take this pattern and completely change the yarn types around. You could also use fine wools to create a scarf, larger wools or a combination of cotton and wool to make a blanket or throw. Use your imagination! Experiment! Enjoy!
Happy Weaving, All!
