Just A Fragment of Its Former Self

The English Wilton Company is currently reproducing a c. 1900  brussels carpet runner for a house museum in Medford, Oregon. It's been an exciting challenge, as all that remained of the original carpet was a small, triangular fragment, discovered during renovations.

After studying it for quite a while, I was able to determine the entirety of the pattern repeat using two major clues:

1. The medallions are identical on the extreme right and left of the field.

2. The pattern repeats every five medallions, and it does so by moving diagonally to the center and shifting down one medallion to restart.

I made a crude mock-up, and sent it to our art department, who then created this CAD, which depicts the full pattern. Note that the background contains several colors not immediately discernible until one digs deeply into the pile. Now, we will send this CAD and samples of the yarn colors to the curator, who will  assumedly approve them, and the weaving process shall begin.  We plan on having this on the floor before the end of 2014, and hopefully have installation photos for you here.  If you have a historic carpet that you would like reproduced, or even one you'd just like to know more about, please contact me here.

Running Away

We at English Wilton receive requests for historic hall and stair runners; at right is a beautiful c. 1900 pattern, fresh off the loom, and destined for a prominent house on New York's Long Island. Since we weave to order, we must run at least 25 yards of carpet; this is typically enough for two staircases and a connecting hallway or a large landing. (A quick rule-of-thumb: each stair uses half a yard for the rise and run). Our decades of experience have taught us to specify the optimal grade of wool and density to create the most intricate pattern while producing a runner that can withstand the additional wear endured on stairs. Most of our runners, which date from 1790 through the 1950s were intended to be 27" wide, although there are 36" patterns available.