V I A V E N E T O T A B L E R U N N E RP A T T E R N B Y C R I S T I N A S H I F F M A N

M A S O N D I X O N K N I T T I N G . C O M

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V I A V E N E T O T A B L E R U N N E RP A T T E R N B Y C R I S T I N A S H I F F M A NThe occasion: you need a housewarming present. The mission: a handknit table runner that would not look like somebody left a mohair shawl lying on the table.

In our personal collections of old issues of Workbasket (an American needlecraft magazine that had a glorious run from the Anglican Antimacassar ’30s to the Needlepoint ’90s), table runners and place mats abound, but they often have a doilyish vibe that seems inappropriate to modern lifestyles. We identified the problem—the Hobson’s choice of naked table or overdressed table—but didn’t have a clue to the solution. That’s when we lobbed the whole project over to Cristina Shiffman. Cristina refused to divulge her secret plan. She requested linen yarn and clammed up for what seemed like a long time.

This is the result of Cristina’s mad-scientist tinkering with the DNA of the table runner. That stitch that looks like weaving? It is weaving. You drop a stitch all the way down the runner, and then weave a contrasting yarn (we used linen, but coarse twine would be nice), potholder-loom style, back through the ladders of the dropped stitch. So simple, and such a nice break from, you know, knitting.

The irony of it all is that although this elegant, understated runner definitely does not look like a Victorian stole abandoned on the table, its flat, reversible pattern would make a stunning, unusual-but-not-weird scarf. And unusual-but-not-weird is always a good look.

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M E A S U R E M E N T SI N C H E S C M

S I Z E 49 × 12 124.5 × 30.5

Y A R N4 hanks Euroflax sport weight linen by Louet [3½ oz (100 g) hanks, each approx 270 yds (247 m)], 2 hanks aqua (Main color—MC), 1 hank each of brick (A) and mustard (B)

N E E D L E S & T O O L S · Size 2 (2.75 mm) straight and circular needles, 32 inches (80 cm), or size

needed to obtain gauge · Tapestry needle

G A U G E24 sts + 30 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) measured over pattern

D I F F I C U L T YAn easy, pretty stitch pattern and a field trip to weaving.

P A T T E R N

R U N N E RUsing MC, cast on 57 sts.

Row 1 (RS): p4, *k1 tbl, p7; repeat from * 5 times more; k1 tbl, p4.Row 2 (WS): k4, *p1 tbl, k7; repeat from * 5 times more; p1 tbl, k4.Row 3 (RS): p4, *k1 tbl, m1, p7; repeat from * 5 times more; k1 tbl, m1, p4—64 sts.Row 4 (WS): k4, *p2 tbl, k7; repeat from * 5 times more; p2 tbl, k4.Row 5 (RS): p4, *k2tog tbl, p7; repeat from * 5 times more; k2tog tbl, p4—57 sts.Row 6 (WS): Repeat Row 2.

Work Rows 1–6 until the piece measures 48 inches (120cm) from the cast-on edge, ending with Row 5.

Drop Stitch Row With WS facing, work Row 2, drop-ping the central stitch of each 7-stitch panel of reverse stockinette from the needle as you go—6 sts dropped. Bind off all stitches very loosely.

Pulling from top to bottom and from side to side of the piece, let the dropped stitches form runs to the cast-on edge. Weave in all MC ends.

G A R T E R S T I T C H E Y E L E T B O R D E RWith RS facing and using A, pick up and knit 188 stitches along one of the long sides of the piece from right to left.

Rows 1-3: Knit.Row 4 (RS): k2, *yo, k2tog; repeat from * to last two stitches; yo, k2.Rows 5 and 6: Knit.

Bind off all stitches loosely.

Work Garter Stitch Eyelet Border in the same way along the second long side.

To work the Border along the short sides, using A, pick up and knit 64 stitches starting from the short edge of

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one long side border you just knit, across the short side of the runner, and over the short edge of the other long side border, and follow the instructions above. Weave in all A ends.

W O V E N S T R I P E SBefore weaving color B into the “warp” formed by the dropped stitches, block the piece thoroughly by wetting it, squeezing out as much water as possible, and laying it flat to dry, pulling the piece gently from the long sides to straighten the “warp.”

For each stripe, thread a blunt tapestry needle with a 5¼ yd (5 m) strand of color B (4 times as long as the runner). Lay the piece flat on a work surface so that one of the long sides is nearest you. (The bars formed by

the dropped stitches are perpendicular to you and look like the warp threads in a piece of weaving.) Working from right to left, run the needle over and under the warp formed by the dropped stitches, pulling the thread through at intervals to straighten the weft you are mak-ing as you weave. When you reach the end, anchor the thread by running it through the seam formed on the wrong side where the border meets the main body of the runner. Turn the runner 180 degrees so that the line just made is at the top of the warp and weave a second line just below it from right to left making certain to run the needle under the warp where you went over on the first pass and vice versa. Anchor at the edge as before. Turn the piece 180 degrees again and weave a third line above the second running the thread as you did for the first line. Weave in the ends.

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V I S I T M A S O N D I X O N K N I T T I N G . C O MF O R M O R E P A T T E R N S , Y A R N A N D K N I T T I N G A D V E N T U R E S !

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