Weave a Cheery Plaid with Touches of Lace for your Tabletop

Cathy Wilcox‘s table runner was inspired by a set of open-weave curtains. Enjoy this subscriber bonus project from Handwoven Spring 2025.—Handwoven editors

Wild Rose Runner by Cathy Wilcox

Inspired by the colors and open-weave technique in Mary Berry’s Lacy Kitchen Curtains from the November/December 2018 issue of Handwoven, I decided to weave a runner that incorporates lace on both ends of a plain-weave center. I converted Mary’s rigid-heddle design for my multi-shaft loom and adjusted the size of the warp for my project.

I warped my loom and started weaving. But while wrapping the bundles of Brooks bouquet, I found that my usual end-feed shuttles were too long and unwieldy to dip into and out of the sheds smoothly. I switched over to an 11-inch boat shuttle, which worked much better for me. I quickly fell into a rhythm and found I was able to weave the pattern rows almost as easily as the plain weave.

The result is an elegant and practical runner that is easy to love.

The Wild Rose Runner, designed by Cathy Wilcox, brightens up a table.

Project at a Glance and PDF Link

STRUCTURE
Plain weave and Brooks bouquet.

EQUIPMENT
4-shaft loom, 16" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 3 shuttles.

YARNS
Warp: 5/2 pearl cotton (2,100 yd/lb; UKI; Halcyon Yarn), #79 Natural, 150 yd; #107 Melon and #128 Quince, 160 yd each.
Weft: 5/2 pearl cotton, #79 Natural, 180 yd; #107 Melon and #128 Quince, 116 yd each.