The original purpose of these placemats was to create a "country style" placemat for my 100-year-old dining room that could also absorb an entire cup of coffee. We have cats, and spills are a way of life. I have also found that an entire glass of milk spilled by a two-year-old is easily absorbed by these placemats, which are machine-washable.
The other purpose was to find a material that was cheap and could be washed and dried in a machine. Cotton carpet warp was the perfect yarn. It can be had for cheap, is washable, and comes in a good variety of colors. The pattern is a variant of "log cabin," which suited my purposes exactly. I have also made matching napkins, from a finer cotton thread. Have fun making this!
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| | | | | | | 3 | 3 | | | | | | || * | * | | |
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| | | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | 2 | | || | | * | * |
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| | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | 1 | || * | | * | |
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plain weave ----> || | | | x |
@ = floating selvedge ||---------------|
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pattern -----> || | | | x |
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Width in reed: 15 3/4 inches.
Total warp ends: 190 doubled ends, including floating selvedges (380 actual ends).
Warp length: 6 1/4 yards (includes 27 inches wastage).
Takeup and shrinkage: 20 percent width and length.
Yarn: 8/4 cotton carpet warp. It usually comes about 800 yards per 8 oz. tube
(1600 yards per pound). I used 5 tubes of a light color and 2 tubes of a dark color.
Use a dark color for the warp, light color for the weft. (I used tan/wood-like color for the warp and a Wedgewood blue for the weft.)
Read the warping draft from left to right, warping from left to right if you sit at the front of the loom (reverse it, of course, if you warp the other way, as I do). The tie-ups include two treadles of 1/3 and 2/4 to produce a plain weave (or tabby) for beginning and ending between placemats.
Angle the weft in the shed as this weave has a lot of draw-in. Beat with a closed shed and firmly.
At the beginning and end of each mat, weave with a single strand for two picks. Leave a long tail, which you will use to hemstitch each mat. Hemstitch on the loom, under tension, using a large tapestry needle (a blunt needle). Weave with plain weave for 2 inches, then start on the pattern for another mat. You will remove this plain weave later -- see finishing instructions, below).
