A length of carpet in widths suited to corridors and stair runs.
All flooring, whether made by hand or machine, used to be woven on narrow looms of approx. 70 cm in width, which were then seamed to make larger carpeting. On on its own or with a border these becomes a central runner for stairs and corridors of 90–100 cm wide. For any rug or carpet to be a runner it needs to be essential free fitting with borders of the floor covering beneath – stone, wood or carpet – showing.
The stair runner came back into fashion at the end of the 20thC, and small-scale weavers now make beautiful heavy duty flat weave carpeting of 70, 80, 90, 100 and 120 cm wide in patterns especially designed for stairs and corridors, end of beds and hallways.
Any overly wide width of carpet or soft flooring, sisal, jute, seagrass or heavy textile can of course be cut down to become a runner, the side edges finished with a whipping stitch or a linen border.