Finishing up the Black Table Runners

I finally started the last of the 2/22 black cottolin runners.  For the last runner the weft is 2/22 purple cottolin.  I also decided to change up the pattern, it is the inverse of the original pattern.  It is now a pattern of diamonds instead of X’s.

It wove up quite quickly and I was able to cut all the runners off and all that is left by the loom is some dust bunnies hiding in plain sight!

I’ve washed and given the runners their first press.  I’ve folded and pinned the hems ready for hand sewing but it has been very foggy lately so I need to wait for some sunshine to finish the runners.  I’ve taken some photos (with the pins in hem).  First runner is 2/22 beige and black cottolin, it is about 67 inches long and 18 inches wide.  The graphic punch of the X’s make for a lovely modern table runner.

The second runner is 2/16 gold ramie and 2/22 black cottolin, it is about 50 inches long and 20 inches wide.  It is the widest runner by 2 inches!  I had to take the photo with the lights on so the colour of the gold ramie isn’t quite right but in real life the colour is stunning.

The third and final runner is 2/22 purple and black cottolin, it is 53 inches long and 18 3/4 inches wide.  The diamonds are just as lovely to the X’s in my humble opinion.

The autumn crackle silk scarf is up on Etsy.  For Sale.

Final Garden Photo is seed heads for the Echinacea purpurea 'Green Twister' with a white crowned sparrow who just loves them.  Don't let the cuteness fool you he also likes to eat my blueberries!

Black Cottolin Table Runners on 8 Shafts

The warp for the table runners is 2/22 black cottolin is 6 yards and 12 inches long.  The plan is to weave 2 runners at about 50 inches and 1 runner at 70 inches.  For the weft of the first runner I used 2/22 cottolin in a beige linen colour and I wove that one to 70 inches with added hems of 4.5 inches.  The second runner is 2/16 gold ramie.

I just finished the gold ramie runner it was woven to 50 inches with added hems of 4.5 inches.  It wasn’t a pleasure to weave, the draw of the ramie in the end feed shuttle was sticky and hard.  Also there was a lot of knots in the cone of ramie so lots of starting and stopping to put in new pirns.  

There is only one runner left to weave, it should be 50 inches but looking at the back beam it feels like there is a lot of warp still left.  I found a lovely blue/green silk with flecks of brown that I thought would look spectacular with the black warp.

I tried it out and it just died against the black.  All the colour was washed away and it just looked grey and blah.  I was really hopeful about this weft, so I actually left it overnight to see if it would look better in the morning sun.  Nope. 

Next I tried a bright red and royal purple both 2/22 cottolin.  They both work but I felt that the red was a little aggressive and I wasn’t sure if it would be all that nice to live with on a dining room table.  So the purple is the winner.  I haven’t started the purple runner yet so no photos.

Someone asked if we leave the trial weft colours in the warp and that becomes waste or do you take them out.  We take them out, the audition weft aren’t even taken off the cones.

Final photos are of another botany walk at a local park, it is surprising how green and lush the forest is looking in early December.  

The walk took us along a stream and ended at the ocean looking over to the snow peaked coastal mountain range on the mainland of British Columbia.