Weaving Runner 1.

So, I had this idea for doing mats and I started making this to try out my idea.

The idea was to try using this form of knotting: [link] to perhaps make easy harakeke mats without having to terminate the ends in the normal way, which would definately might break down too quickly with the rough treatment of being a floor mat (and I wanted to try something new.. lol).

As it was, my plan wasn't as simple as I thought it would be, for example: rope =/= harakeke fibres. So the end bits look real rough and although they mostly sit flat and did the function I wanted them too (making ends that would be harder to break down in a hurry), they're not nearly as pretty and uniform patterned as I had wanted them to be.

Perhaps, next time I should:
1., try this knotting project with wool/thread first to get a better practice of how to use the knotting style (as I've never actually done it before),
2., weave a couple of inches with the leaf parts first before doing the knot parts so that the knotting is level and more ordered, and,
3., have a better detailed plan before I start.

That all said, what I did was weave and knot the two ends and then weave them together and although it's not perfect (if you look with a critical eye and see the diamond shape in the middle is a bit crooked) I think it actually looks fairly elegant.

I had wanted to make a mat.. but I continuously over estimate how far the harakeke leaves go as far as width and length of finished weaved product, this is about 12 cm wide at the ends (about 4.5 inches) and 60 cm across (23.5 inches) - not including the plaited tassels.

So a mat was made into a "runner", which I'm not sure of the proper name for it, is like a doily or surface protector for the top of long things like bookcases and sideboards and the like.

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Also, thank you to who made the tutorials on knotting that I tried out on the ends of my runner, you rock