Weaving a Wedding Gift: A Green and Pink Tartan Table Runner
When a young lady who we have known since she was 4 invited us to her wedding I knew I wanted to weave her something that she could keep, use and which would align with her chosen wedding colour - an olive green. The colour was running through the invitations, the bridesmaid dresses and in fact the whole day and that was my brief, a single colour to build a design around.
Starting with Olive
Olive green is a wonderful colour to weave with but it can be demanding too. It is not a bright easy shade, sitting between moss and khaki, and it can swallow anything too pale or too muted next to it. I wanted the table runner to read as a proper Tartan so the colour that went alongside the Olive had to hold its own.
In order to choose the colours to weave alongside the Olive green I decided to do a couple of sample weaves. These were shown to the mother of the bride who chose the two pink shades. One pink was a soft, dusty pink and the other a much brighter magenta.
Designing the Tartan
My yarn of choice was a fine 2/17nm merino lambswool. The main reason for this was because it is the weaving yarn that I used most often and one which I have a large range of colours to choose from.
A Tartan fabric has a sequence and proportion of coloured threads that make up the pattern which are repeated in both the warp and the weft. For this piece I designed the sett around a dominant block of dark olive green, broken by narrower bands of the dusty pink with the magenta used more sparingly as a sharp accent line.
Because a true Tartan is woven, not printed, the pattern in the weft has to line up with a pattern in the warp. Where a pink weft thread crosses an olive warp thread, you get a blended slightly heathered colour rather than a flat block which is where the depth of the Tartan comes from. Where pink crosses pink, or magenta crosses magenta, the colour intensifies and it is this interplay which gives the finished cloth its characteristic diagonal lines and depth.
Measuring the Warp
The intended length of the table runner was to be 1.8m but with any floor loom weave there is always a degree of waste which is the same regardless of the length of the woven piece. I therefore decided to have a warp of around 5m long which would enable me to weave a scarf and a snood in the same Tartan, thus spreading this waste over three items.
The merino lambswool warp was prepared using my warping mill as shown here.
On the Loom
Once the warp threads were on the loom the weaving could begin. A 2/2 twill is used for a Tartan which gives the diagonal weft floats. The 2/2 twill weave is a fundamental textile pattern with its diagonal line in the weave, created by weaving over two warp threads and under two warp threads, then offsetting this repeating pattern by one warp thread for each weft row. It is a balanced weave, meaning the pattern uses the same amount of warp and weft yarns. This structure results in durability.
Watching the design grow was really exciting because it was only after I had woven about 30cm or so could I begin to see the pattern develop.
Weaving a piece as a special gift for someone's home always carries a little more weight than usual and I took care to focus on ensuring that my weaving was consistent in creating a balanced weave.
Finishing the Fabric
This step is one that I really look forward to. The fine merino lambswool that I weave with is very fragile. It is coated in spinning oils which increases its strength stopping it from breaking when it is spun. These oils need to be removed by washing the fabric in warm soapy water. This process of washing the fabric is transformative, it turns an open weave and a rather rough feeling cloth into the most beautifully soft fabric. This process is called fulling.
Creating the Table Runner
Once the fabric had been washed, dried and pressed I hand sewed the final runner. I sewed three layers, placing a thin quilting wadding in the centre with a 100% cotton fabric on the underside. All the edges were neatly sewn by hand.
The Finished Table Runner
What I love most about this piece is that it carries the wedding day into everyday life. Long after the flowers have gone and the dress packed away, the olive green will still be there, on a table, at breakfast, at dinner, at a next family gathering with a bit of joyful pink thrown in.
Gifting a Handwoven Wedding Gift
Whether you are marking the start of a new home or the beginning of a shared life my collection of wedding and housewarming gifts are all woven on a traditional floor loom in Salisbury, Wiltshire creating one of a kind luxury gifts.
From elegant table runners and fine tea towels to handwoven napkin rings, table mats and wall hangings, each piece is designed to be both functional and deeply personal, a gift that will be used and treasured, not stored away. Every order arrives beautifully presented.
A Tartan Scarf and Snood were woven in the same design
The remaining warp was woven to create a single handwoven scarf and a snood which can be seen here. The scarf is generously sized for looping, draping, or wrapping in cooler weather. The check repeats along the full length, so the pattern lines up whichever way the scarf is folded.
The snood is to be worn around the neck, it sits close and covers well without needing to be tied or tucked - simply drop it over the head and you will look stylish and ready to go. Perfect for layering on frosty mornings, evening walks or adding a vibrant pop of colour to everyday outfits.
Most of my weaving creates luxury accessories and you can find the full range of handwoven accessories including triangle scarves, shawls, scarves and snoods for delivery within the UK, to Canada and USA here: Shop handwoven scarves, snoods, shawls.
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