Cream Damask Handwoven Wool Runner

It is made in India, knot by knot, at a density high enough that the damask motifs keep their curves rather than turning into steps: a cream handwoven runner, cotton in the foundation, wool and cotton across the face of it, bamboo viscose drawn through the pattern.

01The origin of the pattern

The piece runs 80 × 300 cm (2'7" × 9'10") end to end. Damask came into rugs from woven silk, which is why the motifs interlock rather than sit in rows — one form grows out of the last and the repeat is hard to find without looking for it.

02Color that shifts through the day

In cream on cream the pattern is a matter of texture more than color, and it appears and disappears as you move along the length of it. The bamboo viscose is what makes that happen: it returns light where the wool absorbs it. Hand weaving at this density is slow, and the slowness is visible in the curves.

03How it feels underfoot

Cotton takes the strain in the foundation while the wool and cotton surface takes the wear, and the viscose does no structural work at all — it is there for the sheen. Three meters at 80 cm across is a corridor measurement, and cream in a corridor has to be chosen with open eyes, because a pale ground puts on show exactly what a dark one buries. Professional cleaning. Handwoven in India, knotted at a high density. Cotton foundation; wool and cotton in the face of the rug. Bamboo viscose worked through the damask motifs for sheen. Interlocking damask drawing, cream on cream. The pattern reads by texture and shifts as you walk past it. Corridor length, running 80 × 300 cm (2'7" × 9'10") end to end. Cream will show traffic sooner than a dark ground would. Professional cleaning. Matched with a curtain or a cushion in the same damask it stops looking like a runner and starts looking like part of the architecture.