White (now slightly off white with age) rectangular table runner embroidered with three sections of colorful designs at each edge. All three sets of designs use the colors light blue, orange, yellow, red, green and purple and their patterns are made by a cross stitch. The design closest to the edge is a patter of squares in various color combinations and is about one and a quarter inch wide. About one and a quarter inch above this design is a desgin with large flowers that are tulip-shaped, this design is about one and a quarter inch wide as well. About one and a half to two inches above this design is another narrower design that is about three quarters of an inch wide and features multi-colored daisy like flowers and an orange vine. On the opposite side is are two bands of geometric designs (each about one and quarter inches wide) and a flowered desgin closer to the edge--it is not the same as the other side and the designs are only at either end, there is no embroidery in the middle. Each end also has a series of interweaving tassels.

This particular table runner is likely made out of cotton or linen and is probably hand-embroidered. The patterns of the table runner employ what is known as a cross stitch.

Cross-stitch is the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world. Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like household linens, tablecloths, dishcloths, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered, such as a border). Although there are many cross-stitchers who still employ it in this fashion, it is now increasingly popular to work the pattern on pieces of fabric and hang them on the wall for decoration. Multicoloured, shaded, painting-like patterns as we know them today are a fairly modern development, deriving from similar shaded patterns of Berlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century.

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