This easy pattern is quickly adapted to placemats, pillows or any variety of ideas.
This is a one sided design, so keep that in mind as you plan your projects.
Materials:
Rigid heddle loom with a minimum weaving width of 8’’
We suggest the Kromski 10” Presto or 8” Harp.
One 8-dent heddle
One pick-up stick
Two Stick Shuttles
Warp and Weft Yarn:
Background Yarn: Red yarn
Handarbeitsgarn „Julia” 100%acrylic 330m/100g – 100g
Yarn for Christmas star pattern: White yarn
100% Merino Wool – 230m/100g – 25g
Weave structure:
Plain weave and pattern weave
SETTS:
Warp: 8 epi
Weft: 9 ppi
Dimensions:
Width in the heddle: 16cm (6’’)
Woven length 135cm (53’’)
Finished size (after wet finishing):
Width x Length:
14cm x 125cm plus 12cm fringe
5.5’’ x 49’’ plus 4.7’’ fringe
- Warping
Wind a warp 160cm – 63’’ and 26 threads wide, following the color order in the Chart 1 above. Note that the numbers in the table represent individual single strands, not pairs of threads. The 3 threads of white straps are tied to red straps as you can see in Photo 1.
Unlike the other threads these are routed from the warping peg (by using the direct-peg method – to see how to do it visit https://youtu.be/DQ3KAIEjPYE?t=48).
2. Wind a shuttle with the background red yarn and another with white yarn. Leave 15cm (6’’) for fringe, spread the warp with yarn wastes.
3. Leaving a weft tail 4 times the width of the warp for the hemstitch, weave 5 picks of plain weave with the background red yarn. Use the tail to hemstitch bundles of 2 using the tail (Hemstich method you’ll find here). Continue plain weaving with the background yarn for 6-7cm (2,5’’).
4. Start to weave with two yarns: the red and the white yarn (one pick of one color, next in the other), then continue 4 picks of red yarn. Put a heddle into neutral. Use pick-up stick to place chosen treads up or down. Each time you start a pick, you must also pick down the first and last warp threads on the edges of project. Then, when you return the shuttle to the right you pick up these threads. In this way you will attach the yarn of the pattern (white yarn) to the edges. The star pattern will be double thickness so that it will stand out. Weave one pick of red between each set of white pattern picks.
Use the Chart 2 below to make the star pattern or see all of the process on Kromski YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/e0xCa8dFCKw
5. Weave 25 plain-weave picks with the background red yarn.
6. Repeat steps 4. and 5. ten times.
7. End with 4-5 extra picks of the red yarn leaving long tail for hemstitching. Make hemstitch as at the beginning.
8. Remove the runner from the loom and wash gentle in warm water using special detergent for wool. Gently squeeze and hang to dry. Trim fringe. Press with a warm iron.
If you want to try the pillow shown in the video, simply add additional stars. Keep the number of the border threads on either side the same as the runner above.
