Tablecloths & Table Runners

Three minutes before the first guests ring the doorbell: you wipe crumbs off the wooden table, lay a linen runner across it, and place a candle on top. The apartment is the same as it was five minutes ago — and yet it looks as if you've been preparing for this moment all day. This is the magic of woven table linen: it transforms a table into an invitation.

Once you have a good linen runner in your drawer, you'll reach for it more often than you think. Not just on holidays — but also for Sunday pasta, Wednesday evenings with your neighbor, or breakfast when guests have stayed overnight.

The Shapes

• Tablecloths — the grand solution, when the table is to be completely covered. In 150 × 150 cm for round tables, 150 × 240 cm for long tables.
• Table runners — the subtle solution, when the wood grain should remain visible. Usually 40–50 cm wide, 140–200 cm long.
• Placemats — individual for each setting, instead of a whole tablecloth. See Placemats & Napkins.

Two Weavers, Two Styles

Ekelund Master Weavers has been weaving Scandinavian classics in Sweden since 1692 — jacquard in half-linen, with patterns ranging from elk and pine branches to geometric figures. The tablecloths are heavier than usual and can withstand the entire winter hustle and bustle of the family.

Le Jacquard Français from the Vosges region embodies French craftsmanship: damask, more finely woven, with patterns that look like they came straight from a textile museum. Here, even large tables are catered to — the classic white damask tablecloth that comes out for Christmas, birthdays, and New Year's Eve, and then waits in the drawer for the next celebration.

A storage tip: Linen and half-linen prefer to be stored rolled, not folded. Folds press into the fibers and over the years become visible lines that even ironing can't completely remove. A table runner rolled around a paper tube — and in ten years, it will still look like new.