Lemon Tea and Honey Part Two

It seems that I’ve leapt ahead and started weaving scarves without ever showing you the finish of the linen drall runners ~just goes to show that having a cold can really throw you off your game!

I wanted to do something completely different with drall and so I put some stripes in the warp. This seemed like a great time to try out plaid, and I had these lovely bits of linen just sitting there, since they were different from the white linen I hoped to also get an added a textural element. I like to think of the colours as blonde, bronze and brown….who doesn’t love alliteration!

I wove the hem border using Block A and the dark brown linen.

I decided to weave the Block that produced the stripes in the dark brown ( Block B/C) and then alternate the blonde and bronze (Block A) throughout the runner; although it isn’t as graphic as weaving with a solid colour warp and weft, I’m pleased with it.

I did notice while I was weaving that even though the weft linen was from the same manufacturer, the blonde linen seems to have more twist than the other two and I was hopeful that this wouldn’t cause a problem. After wet finishing and hemming I saw that the blonde stripe has taken up just a tad differently, so this is a great time to show how I block my linen runners! I think it’s really important to be precise when you set the shape of a runner as yarn has memory and a good initial pressing will help the runner spring back into shape after future washing.

I use a piece of commercial fabric as a straight edge template, and the first thing I do is use a ruler and pin one of the hem edges in place.

Finding the closest straight line in the fabric I spray the runner with a little water and push it toward the  straight line and pin it in place; I continue working up one selvedge side before starting the other.

As I start the second selvedge I continue to spray the runner with water and I lightly push the runner from the center to the desired width and pin it in place.

As I work up side number two, I periodically check with the ruler to make sure that I’m keeping the plaid lines in the runner straight.

I have pinned both sides to the fabric and you can see that the center of the runner is just a little uneven. Using the ruler I gently push the hem into place and pin it securely.

Here is the runner all pinned in place and misted with water. I’ll let the runner relax overnight and then tomorrow I’ll steam press it while it’s still pinned in place. This should ensure that the piece is an even rectangle with the edges and the center the same length and width.
Only one more runner to hem....thankfully!