Daylily Mats

Have you ever looked at long leaves and wondered if you could weave with them? Melissa Schubert did, resulting in these beautiful mats with a cotton warp and daylily leaf weft.

The daylily is an amazingly low-maintenance perennial. It’s virtually disease-free, pest-free, and drought resistant; it’s also not picky about soil quality. The daylily was brought to North America by early settlers and can be invasive if left unchecked. However, every part of the plant is edible, and the leaves can be used for weaving. So, let’s do our part and bring those leaves to our looms!

Download the pdf for project and leaf preparation instructions.

PROJECT TYPE: 2- or 4- shaft

STRUCTURE: Plain weave.

EQUIPMENT: 2 or 4-shaft loom, 17" weaving width; 10-dent reed; 1 shuttle.

YARNS: Warp: 8/2 cottolin (60% organic cotton, 40% linen; 3,360 yd/lb; Maurice Brassard), C100 Naturel lavé, 264 yd. Weft: Daylily leaves from one large plant or as needed. 8/2 cottolin, C100 Naturel lavé, 8 yd.