Plain weave is the oldest and simplest structure on any loom, and a table mat is the perfect place to practise it. You finish with something genuinely useful, the cloth is small enough to complete over a couple of evenings, and the straight edges mean every wobble is visible — which is exactly what you want while you are learning. Weaving four mats on a single warp gives you repetition, and repetition is where the skill lives. By the third mat your selvedges will have tightened, your beat will be even, and you will have stopped thinking about your feet altogether.
A firm, absorbent cotton is what you are after. Soft knitting cottons look lovely on the cone but they flatten under a hot plate and fray at the hem, so choose something with a bit of body.
Use the same yarn for warp and weft on your first set. Contrasting colours are tempting, but matching yarn disguises uneven beating far better while you find your rhythm, and it shows off the texture of the weave rather than any stripes.
A generous table mat finishes at about 30 cm wide and 42 cm long, including a 3 cm hem at each short end. Cloth pulls in as you weave, so allow 2 cm of extra width in the reed, and remember that take-up will shorten the warp by roughly a tenth as it travels over the back beam.
For a rigid heddle loom at 10 ends per inch, the sums work out like this:
Write these numbers down before you warp. A tidy set of mats all the same size is far more satisfying than four that each grew differently because you were guessing at the length.
Hem stitching secures the first and last picks so the weft cannot pull out, and it is worked on the loom with the warp still under tension. It is much easier than it sounds and it is the single technique that makes a beginner's mat look properly finished.
Weave your 3 cm hem allowance, then stop with the last pick sitting about 1 cm from the reed. Thread a blunt tapestry needle with a length of weft yarn roughly four times the width of the mat. Bring the needle up through the warp at one selvedge and work across in groups of four ends: wrap the working thread around each group of four warps and catch the last two or three picks inside the loop. Snug each stitch gently — you want the groups to sit closed, not to gather the cloth. Work back across the other edge so both ends of that hem are secured, then carry on weaving. Repeat at the far end before you cut anything off the loom.
Settle into a steady rhythm: one pick in one shed, change, one pick back. Lay each weft in at a shallow angle rather than straight across — this is called bubbling, and it gives the yarn room to shrink back into the cloth instead of pulling the selvedges in. Beat with the same gentle pressure every time, letting the beater fall rather than forcing it. If your selvedges start drawing in, you are probably beating too hard or leaving too much angle in the weft.
Leave the first 3 cm and last 3 cm of each mat as plain cloth for the hems, and aim for a weft density that matches your sett — around 10 picks per inch with DK cotton. Check it every few centimetres by laying a ruler across the woven cloth. If the mat feels floppy, beat a little more firmly; if it feels boardy, ease off.
Cut the warp from the loom leaving 3 cm tails at each end. Zigzag the raw edges on a sewing machine or overlock them, then turn a double hem of about 1.5 cm twice, pin, and stitch close to the fold. Hand hemming with a fine needle gives the neatest result if you have the patience.
Wash the mats in cool water with a little gentle detergent — this fulls the cotton slightly and closes up any gaps in the weave. Rinse well, roll in a towel to remove excess water, and press firmly with a hot steam iron while the cloth is still damp. Trim any loose ends, and press the hems once more so they lie flat. Your mats will soften with every wash and will happily go through the machine at 30°C for years to come.
Weaving Den shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on hand weaving and textile craft for uk hobbyists for readers across the UK.
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