Raanu of Karjala (Krokbragd) Wool Runner (AUG 2025)

Wednesday-Sunday, August 20-24, 2025
10a-4p ET
Instructor: Wynne Mattila
Location: Folk School Ceramics Studio (Skyline Commons Room 103)
Class fee: $350
Handout fee: $15
Materials: students purchase warp & weft independently, details provided after registration or upon request
Registration closes July 26 or when sold out

Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org

Krokbragd is a traditional Norwegian design translated as “crooked path.” In Finland, it is known as Raanu of Karjala. It is a boundweave, meaning a plain weave shot—used once in every three shots—ties the pattern yarns together for stability and contributes to the thickness of the rug. Krokbragd is a weft-faced weave that relies on color rotation and contrast to develop a pattern. It is threaded on three shafts. In this workshop, Wynne introduces participants to Krokbragd’s design possibilities and emphasizes good techniques to use in rug weaving. Wynne weaves her Krokbragd rugs with wool rug yarn on 8/5 wet spun linen warp sett at 5 epi in a 10 dent reed. The planned project is a runner 14 inches wide by 30 inches long. Handouts include information, illustrations, inspiration, weft options and end finishes for weaving Krokbragd rugs, as well as sources for linen warp and wool rug yarn. Participants provide their own wool rug yarn for weft and their own warp. One and one-half pounds of yarn will be used in the runner. Wool yarn may be purchased from the Folk School or ordered from sources in the handout. 

Floor looms need to be warped to the point the reed has been sleyed and the heddles have been threaded before the start of the workshop. Registrants will be invited to a pre-class info session via Zoom that will be scheduled a few weeks before the class begins to allow everyone to prepare materials and begin thinking about design choices. 

Skill level: Ability to wind a warp, read a draft, and warp a floor loom independently. Looms will be available for warping during the two days prior to the workshop, August 18-19.

Participants should bring to class:

Wool Rug Yarn for Weft: need 1/2 pound (8 ounces) per square foot. Total of approximately 1 and 1/2 pounds rug yarn needed for a 14 inch wide by 30 inch long project, 3 colors minimum, more preferred for design possibilities.

Handout

Temple (if you already own one) able to accommodate the width of the project—metal temple preferred *

Scrap knit fabric for the header—an old cotton t-shirt will work

Scrap wool rug yarn for the header

Stick shuttles (approx. 21” long), 1 or 2 per yarn color, depending on the design *

Needle nose pliers

Tapestry needle (large) 7cm., #13

Needle threader able to accommodate the thickness of wool yarn

8/5 Linen warp remaining on the spool

Calculator

Tape measure

Scissors

Graph paper and colored pencils

* The Folk School has some

Biography:

Wynne Mattila wove her first rug in 1985 at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and before it was finished, she knew she was a rug weaver for life.  Wynne’s goal is always to use color to its full potential to create a beautiful rug.  The great granddaughter of a Finnish Sami reindeer herdsman, many of her designs are influenced by place and the natural environment, and she works to create rugs which embody this beauty and spirit. Wynne grew up in the Copper Country of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She has been teaching rug weaving for more than 25 years, focusing on good weaving techniques and the creative use of color.

Two of her wool rugs, a Krokbragd and a Raanu, are in the 2013 eBook “Best of Handwoven: Top Ten Rugs on Four Shafts.” She wove a Raanu Rug, now the family heirloom, for a man born in Finland who left at an early age. Wynne said, “It was a joyous piece to weave and I’m honored that one of my pieces is the beginning of their inheritance.” In 2023 Wynne wove her first Krokbragd rug using cotton fabric strips. It won first place in the Fine Arts Exhibit’s Textiles/Fiber category at the Minnesota State Fair. Three of her Krokbragd rugs are pictured in Angie Parker’s recent book, Krokbragd – Contemporary Weaving with Color.