Diamonds and Bars Twill Rug

Weavers, in general, are resourceful. If we see a project we love but can’t use, we figure out a way to make it into something we can. Drafts for dish towels are turned into baby blankets, and scarf patterns are modified into runners. For her Diamonds and Bars Twill Rug in the March/April 2019 issue of Handwoven, Patricia Crane took a saddle blanket designed and woven by Clotilde Barrett and turned it into a rug that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone—no horse required. Here’s what Patricia had to say about her design:

Patricia Crane’s Diamonds and Bars Twill Rug can trace its roots to a saddle blanket woven by Clotilde Barrett.

Designer Patricia Crane’s Statement

Recently, a friend gifted me her multicolored stash of rug wool. After weaving three striped rugs in plain weave, I decided it was time to branch out. Looking for inspiration, I came across an article for a saddle blanket by Clotilde Barrett in the July 1976 issue of The Weaver’s Journal.

Barrett was born in Belgium in 1932 and moved to the United States in 1955. After coming here, she studied art, maintained a pottery studio, and received an MA degree from Northwestern University in 1967. In 1976, she started a quarterly journal for weavers, The Weaver’s Journal, and published it for eight years. The saddle blanket pattern was published in the first issue of the magazine. While there was enough information in the original article to get started, plus a photo of the end result, it still took a lot of trial and error to finally get this project right!

A weaving friend recognized the pattern right away. “Oh,” she said, “That’s the saddle blanket pattern from Mary Meigs Atwater!” The blanket can also be found in Atwater’s book The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Hand-Weaving, so it appears this pattern has some American roots.

This pattern uses a point-twill threading and a twill tie-up. It is woven with three alternating colors of weft (light, medium, dark). The weft packs down to form a sturdy, yet supple fabric. For added durability, I tripled the warp ends for the floating selvedges.

Happy Weaving! Christina

Project at a Glance

PROJECT TYPE: 4-shaft.

STRUCTURE: Boundweave.

EQUIPMENT: 4-shaft loom, 22" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 3 rag shuttles; temple (optional).

YARNS: 4-ply wool rug warp (560 yd/lb; Halcyon Yarn); 2-ply rug yarn (80% wool/20% nylon 900 yd/lb; Collingwood; WEBS).

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