Rep Weave Placemats
Project #5
The Colors
Rouille #1316, Orange Brule #8265, and Rouge Vin #5115
Rep Weave Placemats
This project is an exploration of rep weave. It uses a dense sett, alternating warp colors, and alternating thick and thin weft yarns.
I love the burnt orange and gold, but you can substitute any three colors. The kit includes two tubes of weft color. While the projects for four and eight shaft looms look identical, the threading and treadling are different. You can weave placemats, table runners, or both.
Rigid Heddle
Four and Eight Shaft
Some details about this project…
This project works with Rep Weave. Rep Weave is actually a plain weave with a twist.
The warp is really dense and alternates (in places) between colors...every other thread one color, every other thread a different color.
It uses two wefts, one thick and one thin. These alternate.
Generally you do not see the weft, except at the selvedges. This pattern is for a loosely sett rep weave so the weft does peak out, but that is a very small part of the overall design. For this reason, the weft color is chosen to match the selvedge color.
For this pattern, the weft is Rouille.
The resulting fabric does not have a lot of drape. By changing the weight of your thick weft thread, you can weave heavier or lighter fabrics. With a really heavy weft, it is a great structure for weaving rugs.
Making Your Own Heavy Weft
This kit is set up so that you will be making your own heavy weft.
Samples were woven with eight strands of 8/2 cotton combined, as the heavy weft. You can wind these together or you can use 16/8 cotton which is 8 times the thickness.
As is, the kit provides enough yarn for eight yards of warp and weft.
Read about this weaving project.
This project explores rep weave inspired by the desert. We used a dense sett, alternating warp colors, and alternating thick and thin weft yarns to weave placemats, table runners, or both.
Learn more about this project here.
Interested in going deeper? You can purchase this project as a course, including videos, learning supplements, and patterns here.