Some Old-Time Rugs Page 5

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The actual design has remained unchanged. For being religiously symbolic it is preserved by the tradition of the tribe. Moreover the Indian rug-workers are unconsciously artistic and susceptible to the technical influences of their rugs. Unless very much disturbed or misled by commercial demands, they do not use any design which is foreign to the character of their tools and materials. The de-sign developed through the Navajo method of rug-making, does not imitate natural form. It would not be in good taste to imitate the symbolic design of the Navajo, but there are many geometric forms which harmonize with the character of this useful rug, and being also abstract, .adjust themselves to its technique. The women of our country will be much more interested in using a decorative motif which has some association with their own surroundings than they would be in copying the motif of the most intuitive savage. For this reason, for most of us our own old-time rugs have an intimate attraction which the wonderful Oriental rug cannot have.

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Suggestions may be received from many sources but if they are to be honestly expressed they must be made practical by adaptation to the work in hand. In other words, any ornamental feature applied to a problem in handicraft must be intimately related to the special structure of each particular type. Decoration must develop as an integral part of technique. For example the most distinctive feature of the braided rug is developed from the manner in which the three strands of braid are arranged; for by braiding together two strands of a darker color with one of a very much lighter color a characteristic pattern develops when the braids are sewed together in circular rows. By emphasizing this feature in the design the rug gets a charm peculiarly its own and be-comes through a technical feature, a rug distinctive in appearance.

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

Introduction - A Word About Dyes - 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