Valley Yarns #178 Boundweave Rug

Valley Yarns Boundweave Rug

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Boundweave Rug (Draft #178) is a handwoven floor rug designed by Wendy Bestor. This homeware project creates a cozy, durable rug suitable for use on cold floors. The finished dimensions are 23 inches by 32.5 inches, making it an appropriately sized accent rug for entryways, bedside areas, or other spaces in the home. The design features a striped pattern created through the boundweave structure, with coordinated color combinations in the weft yarns.

Weaving Technique and Structure

Boundweave is the primary weaving structure used for this project. This technique is specifically engineered to create rugs that lie flat and remain stable during use. The designer, Wendy Bestor, developed this particular rug so that the floats on the bottom of the fabric are as long as the floats on the top, which helps prevent curling and ensures the rug maintains its shape. While the bottom design differs from the top design, the rug is reversible and can be flipped over if desired.

The weaving process requires three throws of the shuttle to create one complete pick of the design. Fourteen of these picks equal one inch of woven length, which equates to 42 shuttle throws per inch of finished fabric. This means the project is described as quick to warp but slow to weave, though the final result justifies the time investment.

Equipment Requirements

• 4-shaft loom with a minimum weaving width of 26 inches
• 4 shuttles and 4 bobbins (one bobbin for each color)
• Temple (optional, but useful for maintaining consistent width)
• 12-dent reed for achieving the proper sett

Yarns and Materials

Warp Yarn: Valley Yarns 8/5 Linen Rug Warp, which is 100% linen. The project requires 310 yards of warp yarn. This yarn is supplied in 8.8 ounce tubes containing 264 yards, making it ideal for rug foundations due to linen's strength and durability.

Weft Yarns: Valley Yarns Collingwood Rug Wool is used for the visible design. This yarn is composed of 80% wool and 20% nylon, providing both warmth and durability. The yarn is supplied at 900 yards per pound. The color palette includes:

• Lichen: 1,112 yards (primary color)
• Forest: 121 yards (accent color)
• Brick: 108 yards (accent color)
• Mustard Seed: 68 yards (accent color)

Loom Setup and Threading

The warp is wound to a length of 2 yards with 155 ends total, including 4 ends designated as floating selvedges (2 at each edge). These floating selvedges are slayed two together at each edge to create finished side edges. The sett is 6 ends per inch (epi), achieved by threading 1-0 in a 12-dent reed, resulting in a width in the reed of 25.5 inches.

Threading follows a specific pattern distributed across four shafts, with heddle counts as follows: Shaft 1 receives 26 heddles, Shaft 4 receives 50 heddles, Shaft 3 receives 50 heddles, Shaft 2 receives 25 heddles, and Shaft 1 receives an additional set. The threading diagram provided in the pattern guides the exact placement of each warp end.

Weaving Process

Before beginning the boundweave pattern, the warp is spread with scrap yarn and several picks of scrap yarn are woven in plain weave using treadles 4 and 5. This protective layer prevents the weft from shifting during the initial stages of weaving. Four bobbins are wound, one for each color of Collingwood Rug Wool, to facilitate the multi-color striped design.

The boundweave structure requires careful attention to shuttle throws, as each design pick consists of three throws of the shuttle. The tie-up and treadling sequence is provided in the pattern to guide the weaver through the correct sequence of shaft combinations needed to create the intended striped design.

Project Characteristics

This is a downloadable PDF pattern distributed by Valley Yarns through WEBS. The pattern is intended for personal use only and includes complete drafting information, threading diagrams,