Woven Wedding Table Runner
Designed and woven by Anne Sammons
The woven block of color in the Log Cabin pattern depicts the love that provides a fluid, yet strong foundation for partnership. My project entitled Woven Wedding originated as a wedding gift to my son and his fiancée, in the hopes that they will experience this kind of love in their new lives together.
Project Specs
Finished size: 7" wide x 44" long excluding 5" fringe
Weave structure: plain weave in log cabin color patterning
Number of warp ends: 72
Warp length: 2 yards
Width in reed: 9"
EPI: 8
PPI: 8
Variations
- Try sportweight yarn in an 8 dent heddle for a lighterweight cloth.
- Weave wider fabric by adding more repeats of the 18-end blocks. Each repeat will add 2-1/4" to the width in reed and about 1-3/4" to the finished fabric.
- Increase or decrease the number of picks within each repeat. I wove another runner alternating 5-row repeats and 10-row repeats; the log cabin pattern had squares and rectangles.
- For a color gamp look, use 4 different colors for color B. Each 18-end block in the warp uses one of these colors. Then use one of the colors for each repeat of the weft sequence.
What You'll Need
-
130 yards each in 2 colors of dk-weight yarn. The colors should should work well together with enough contrast to see the pattern develop. It's hard to detect the Log Cabin pattern when the yarns are too close in color or value.
I used 2 skeins of our Illinois-grown wool yarn to create the runner. The dominant color (A) was our 3-ply Gray Rambouillet/Columbia cross yarn, available in our website shop. The complementary color (B) was a 3-ply merino dyed with marigolds. Check our online shop for other colors and wool breeds.
-
scrap yarn for bundling warp ends
-
rigid heddle loom with at least a 10" weaving width—I used my 15" Cricket
- 8 dent reed
- two stick shuttles
Materials
Equipment
Directions
Warping
Log cabin alternates warp and weft colors in a particular pattern. Here we'll measure the warp when we thread it through the slots and around the warping peg, then when we thread the holes, we'll rearrange the colors in that pattern.
Set up the loom for direct warping, with the warping peg 2 yards away from the back apron rod. Tie both yarn colors around the back apron rod and place the yarn supplies behind the loom. Mark the beginning and ending slots with scrap yarn, centering the warp in the reed.
Start warping with color A: pass a loop of yarn through the first slot and bring it to the warping peg. Warp the next slot with color B. Alternate colors until you've threaded 9 slots (18 ends), ending with color A. With scrap yarn, tie these 18 ends together near the warping peg.
Repeat step 2 three more times, so that you have 4 bundles of 18 ends (72 ends total). Because the bundles always begin and end with color A, you should see 2 slots threaded with A wherever the bundles meet.
Remove the yarn from the warping peg and cut, leaving the bundle ties in place. Tie all the ends together in a loose overhand knot.
Wind onto the warp beam, inserting warp separators between each layer of ends. Leave about 12" of yarn in front of the rigid heddle, keeping the bundle ties in place.
Rearrange the warp colors into log cabin blocks, working one bundle at a time, starting at the right selvedge and working to the left. Watch my video, listed in Resources, if you want to see how I do this step.
Move the first 4 ends of color B (at the right) out of the slots and into the holes. Fill the empty slots with the first 5 ends of color A. You've now used up half the bundle of 18 ends: 5 slots filled with color A and the 4 holes between them holding color B.
Move the last 5 ends of color A out of the slots and into the holes. Fill the empty slots with the last 5 ends of color B. Because these repeats always begin and end with color A, you'll see a slot and then a hole in the middle with the same color.
Check the patterning: if you pull up all the hole threads, you should have 4 ends of color B (at the right) and 5 ends of color A (at the left). In the slots, you should have 5 ends of color A and 4 ends of color B.
Work across the warp to the left one bundle at a time. The warp begins with 4 ends of B in the holes and ends with 5 ends of A in the holes.
Tie on to the front apron cord and weave a header with scrap yarn.
Weaving
If you want to hemstitch, leave a tail four times the weaving width. Weave about 1/2" and then hemstitch with the tail.
Weft picks follow the same pattern as the warp blocks: alternate colors A and B, always beginning and ending with color A, for 5 picks. You'll always have 2 picks of color A next to each other where blocks meet. Twist the weft colors at the selvedges for a smooth finish.
Repeat the sequence of 5 picks for 50", or until the weaving reaches your desired length. Hemstitch at the end if you wish.
Cut the weaving off the loom. Knot the warp ends to protect the weft if you didn't hemstitch.
Finishing
Remove the excess water and allow to air dry.
- Trim the fringe to the length you desire.
- Admire your beautiful Woven Wedding table runner! (You can also wear it as a scarf in cold months.)
Video
Notes
Resources
Liao, Deland. “Log Cabin Table Runner.” The Wheel no. 26, 2014.
Watch me warp and weave this pattern at
