Hemp Rya Rug Tapestry

I’ve recently moved my weaving studio again – this time to Chichester, UK. The studio is now located in my new home and my loom now has its own lovely garden room, complete with Keri the cat. I am planning my next rya tapestry for my new home.

The new house is over 3 floors (lots of stairs to climb to keep me in shape) There is a tall wall that is over 10 feet in height as you go up the staircase. I thought that this would be a perfect location for a rya rug. I am planning the tapestry for this wall to be done in 2 long, narrow panels, each approx. 30 inches in width. One panel will be about 10 feet in length and the second one will be slightly shorter – 9 feet in length.

I have a supply of colourful hemp yarns that would be suitable for making rugs or a hemp tapestry.
Here is an initial sketch of the design that I am thinking of. The inspiration for this is a simple multi-colorred warp and weft, intersecting and flowing from one panel to the other. The rya knots will be a mixture of single and 3 ply hemp yarns. The background will be woven using single ply black hemp rya knots.

Of course, this design may change once I begin to weave, as my projects tend to do, once I am at the loom.

The warp is a 3 ply natural hemp, sett at 10 epi.
5 rows of tabby are woven between each row of rya knots, using the same natural 3 ply hemp as the warp.

Hemp Rya Rug on Loom

Hemp Rya on Loom – 2

Aurora Hemp Rya

How to make a rya rug on the loom.
0:00 Rya rugs have been woven in Finland and Scandinavia since 1500’s
0:50 Rya rug warp and weft are hemp yarn
1:40 Cut the Rya pile into lengths
3:50 Tying the rya knots
9:00 Weave rows of tabby between the rya knot rows.

And a close-up video of how the rya knots are tied.

ORIGINAL FILE DATE: JUN 30, 2011