A Word About Dyes Page 4

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All old cotton and woolen materials which have seen long service from wear, and which have faded as much as they possibly can fade, are most desirable from the artistic standpoint for handicrafters; but the supply of these is apt to give out when rugs are made for sale. Consequently goods must be bought to take their place. Some of our old-time rugs are to be made of commercial cottons, some of hand dyed cotton and others of old materials. Thus the handicrafter will get a new experience from making each kind.

In Colonial times when rugs were made entirely for home service, they were made of the only kind of materials then available, which were hand-woven woolens and cottons. I have heard some criticism on using new material for our rug-making. Some people seem to think that it is artistically unsound to re-weave materials which have already been woven. They do not object, however, to the use of old homespuns by the Colonial rug-makers; they say that was an economic necessity. If rugs are to be made for sale now, it is just as much an economic necessity to buy commercially woven and commercially dyed materials to make them with if there's nothing else to use.

See our Crocheted Rag Rug Kits that we have for sale!

If the objection comes wholly from an artistic standpoint I think it should be applied as a more general criticism to our modern and less artistic ways of living. The Colonial handicrafters raised sheep, spun and wove both cotton and wool. Our amateur handicrafters living and working under more modern and more commercial conditions cannot be as fundamental in this respect as their ancestors. On this account it does not seem to me as if they must give up humbler kinds of craft which might be a profit and a pleasure to them. If this were true then the only sound standpoint of rug making is that of the Oriental and of the native American Indian since their rugs are the only ones hand-woven directly from a thread.

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The Craft Of Handmade Rugs - View The Rest Of The Book

Introduction - Some Old Time Rugs  - The Braided Rug  - The Scalloped Doormat Or Tongue Rug
The Knitted Rug - The Crocheted Rug - The Hooked Rug In Cotton And Wool - The Needle-Woven Rug
The Colonial Rag Rug - Some Applications - Newer Methods Of Stencil Making - The Tufted Counterpane
Old Time Lights - The Batik Or Wax Resist Process