The Ground, the Knot, and Color Blending

Warp and ground

Warp 13 inches wide at 8 ends per inch (lesson 1). Lankava’s ryijy patterns reinforce the outermost two warp ends and leave the very outside end out of the heddles as a floating selvedge, so the edge stays firm ¹. On a floor loom you knot straight onto the warp, so no separate backing is needed ².

The ground is plain weave. Weave it in a soft wool, DK or sport weight rather than rug wool, so the ryijy stays supple ². Sätergläntan’s rya class also weaves grounds in bird’s-eye or diamond twill, and notes that a single weft makes a softer cloth and a doubled weft a matte one ³.

Start with the hem allowance: Lankava weaves 2 cm of single and 6 cm of doubled plain weave before the first knot row ¹.

Tie the knot

The ryijy knot is the Smyrna, Ghiordes, or Turkish knot ⁴, tied over two warp ends ³:

1. Lay a bundle of strands across two adjacent warp ends.
2. Wrap the left end of the bundle around the left warp from the front, and the right end around the right warp.
3. Bring both tails out to the front between the two warps.
4. Pull down firmly so the knot sits snug against the ground.

Work across the row, two ends at a time. Lankava ties edge knots over more ends than the rest ¹. Then weave the ground picks before the next row.

Rows and spacing

Between knot rows, weave plain weave. Sources range from 4 picks to 10: Lankava weaves 6 ¹, the Ulvila ryijy of 1853 has 10, with rows 7 mm apart ⁵, and the Norwegian Voss rye knots after every 8th pick ⁶. Use 6 to 8 picks for rows about half an inch apart, and keep the count the same every row so the pile lies evenly. Work from the bottom up ⁷.

The edges pull in as you knot. After each row, check the width against a ruler and ease the edge ends out before beating the next ground picks.

Cut the pile

Pile in the sources runs from 15 mm on the 1853 ryijy ⁵ to 1 to 1 1/2 inches on later ones ⁷ and 6 to 8 cm on Voss ryes ⁶. For a wall hanging, about 1 1/4 inches reads well. Two ways to make it even:

• Over a gauge. Wrap the yarn around a flat stick, tie each knot from the loops, and cut along the top ⁷. Flossa bars, two thin metal strips joined at a handle, let you wrap a whole row and slice it after weaving a few ground picks ⁸.
• Pre-cut bundles. Cut strands to twice the pile length and sort them into labeled piles by color ^{6 1}.

Pre-cut bundles make blending easier, since you assemble each knot from loose strands.

Blend colors

Ryijy color is mixed in the knot. Use 3 to 4 strands per knot for standard spacing, 2 to 3 for close rows ². Lankava builds each knot from 5 or 6 different yarns, in different shades and even a linen thread, and changes the bundle row by row to grade the color ¹. Wiitala learned in Finland to choose colors that blend and to vary yarn lengths to change the height of the surface ⁹.

To shade red into gold across four rows: RRR, RRG, RGG, GGG. Lay out the bundles for several rows ahead on the bench in order.

Try it

Knot a 3-inch test band on the warp before starting the design: four rows, the gauge you plan, and your blending sequence. Cut it off at the end, or leave it under the hem; it tells you the real row spacing and how much yarn a row takes.