Danish Medallions on Rigid Heddle

This is a tutorial on how to make Danish medallions in your weaving.  This is a hand-manipulated technique that you can achieve on a rigid heddle loom or any other two-shaft loom.  You will need a crochet hook of appropriate size for your fiber and perhaps to start, a nice a contrasting color from the main body of your weaving to form the borders of your medallions.  You will also need two shuttles or shuttle sticks.  You will have to do some manipulations with your contrasting color shuttle, so it would be handy to have a small shuttle stick or bobbin for this color.  (You can also create a small shuttle stick out of cardboard if you only have large shuttles at your disposal.) So, go ahead and weave the header for your project or weave to the point where you would like to see some medallions. 

1.  Once you have reached the place where you would like your medallions to reside, switch from your main body color to your contrasting color and weave one pick.  (Shown in the photograph- my main body color is grey, my contrast color is a tan.) This is going to form the bottom of your medallion.  Make sure you secure the tail of your contrast color and leave your shuttle attached.  Set it aside and pick up your main color shuttle or shuttle stick.


2. Continue to weave in your main body color.  In my example, I have my one pick of tan and then I switched back to grey.  I have chosen to do a 6x6 medallion, meaning I will have six picks of my main body color that is enclosed in a medallion that is six warp threads wide.  You can choose different combinations to achieve different affects.  

3.  Make sure you change the shed after your last pick of your main color.  (I sometimes forget to do this.) Set your main color shuttle aside. Then, with your shed still open, take your contrasting color shuttle and weave in through the number of warp threads that you wish to include in your medallion. (To maintain a tidy selvage, make sure that your contrasting color passes over the top of your resting main color thread.) In my example, I wanted six warp threads in my medallion.  As you an see in the picture, that means I have three warp threads on top of my contrasting color and three on bottom.  Pull your shuttle out of the shed after the sixth warp thread (or whatever number of warp threads in your medallion) and pull your thread so that there is a small, loose loop left outside the edge of your weaving.  

4.  Place your shuttle temporarily out of the way.  Pick up your crochet hook and, from the top of your weaving, insert it down and under the contrasting color pick you made previously AND after the warp thread that is the last in your medallion.  In my example, I inserted the hook under the tan yarn and AFTER my sixth warp thread.  Push your crochet hook up so that you can see the hook above the fell line. 

5.  Hook your contrasting color weft thread that is hanging out above your hook, nice and loose, where you left it.  Using your crochet hook, pull this thread under your weaving and up and out where you first inserted your crochet hook, which in my case is under the first contrast color pick and after the sixth warp thread.  Pull up on your hook so that a loop forms, as shown in the photograph.  You want the loop to be large enough for your shuttle to fit through it.  

5.  From the direction of your weaving, pass the contrasting color shuttle through your loop.  Using my example, I am weaving from right to left, so I passed my shuttle through the loop from the right side through to the left side.  Pull everything to your desired tautness.  Pulling it tighter makes a more pronounced medallion with larger holes in the weaving.  Leaving things looser creates a more subtle texture.




6. Repeat the process to the end of your weaving (or wherever you would like your medallions to stop. 

7.  In my example, I wanted the medallions to be across my entire project.  (I worked out ahead of time what size medallion would allow me to achieve this without being left with a less-than-full-sized medallion at the end of my row.  Word to the wise, plan your medallion sizes according to the number of warp strings in your project.) For the last medallion, I snuck my crochet hook up through the fifth and sixth warp threads in the medallion instead of after the sixth warp thread.  This way, I could create the loop, even at the end on my selvage.  

8.  If you wish to stack medallions, after you have completed your first row of medallions, change sheds, and pass the contrasting color shuttle through, end to end, to create a new bottom medallion border.  Then, change your shed again, and pass your main body color through for the number of picks you wish to include in your medallions.  Proceed as shown above to create a new row of medallions.

You can have a lot of fun with these medallions and they are surprisingly simple for how complicated they can look.  Try using a larger weft thread for your medallion borders, play with your medallion sizes, stack them all over your weaving or just keep it simple for a nice border.  Playing with colors can be fun, too.  Go crazy!  It is a really nice hand-manipulated weaving technique that can add some spice to an otherwise plain weave.