The Making of a Table Runner

This is my 4th table runner. All so far have been, or are being made to be, gifts. Maybe in 2007 I will make one for me, time will tell :o)

To see how I measure the warp ends (warp threads), go to the Fibre Arts label and see the posts I made about this step for the last table runner.

This is the back of my loom, before I wind the warp on. I dress the loom front to back, though it can also be done back to front.

Now a picture after I wound the warp onto the back. You can see it goes over the back beam and wraps around the warp beam, with cardboard wrapping around the warp beam between each round of the warp threads to keep the threads from tangling. I took this picture after some of the warp ends have been tied on the front and some haven't been yet, that is why some of the warp you see is tight and some is drooping a bit.

Same as above, but from a different angle. You can see the "heddles", the wires with eyelets that the warp threads go through. Each "harness" has heddles, and each harness is raised and lowered by using the "treadles" (foot peddles) according to the pattern used. This particular loom is a 4 harness loom.

Now, a front view. The warp threads here have not yet been tied on. After taking this picture, I wound it on to the warp beam a bit more to shorten these front strands a bit more, then went to work on it.

Here I have some but not all of the warp threads tied onto the front of the loom. You can see some still hanging loose.


Once all the warp threads (warp ends) are tied on to the front, they have to be adjusted to get all of them the same tension on the loom. You feel all the groups of threads, tighten the loose ones then feel them again, then tighten the loose ones, then feel them all again, then tighten.. well, you get the picture. It's a lot of fiddling around, and sounds simple while not being easy, and eventually it's done.

Here I took a picture behind the reed/beater so you could see the heddles from the front of the loom.

Once the loom is "dressed", it's time to weave with header cord to bring together the warp threads to where you can start to weave. With a close look here you will see what I mean.

And now, with all that done, the loom is advanced and it is now ready for the weaving to begin.... just as soon as I wind the weft onto the bobbins.

The most frequently asked question people ask me is "how long does it take to make something like this?" or "How long did it take to make this?" I decided to get a better answer to this question that my usual "I don't know. I never timed myself". This time I am timing myself. I didn't take into account here the time involved looking at the pattern book to decide what pattern to use. I also didn't count the time to go buy the cones of threads I'm using. I'm just timing from the start of actual production. So far it is as follows:
**Measure the warp (405 ends @ 97 inches each): 1 hour + 48 minutes
**Tying the warp onto the loom and weaving the header cord: 5 hours + 35 minutes.
****Total time this far: 7 hours + 23 minutes.