The Braided Rug

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The braided rug is one of the most serviceable and effective of the needle rugs. It is so simple in technique that any careful needlewoman can make it. And consequently it is the one most frequently seen in the farmhouses in New England and Middle States. Sometimes indeed a complete floor covering is formed by using braided squares fitted together. These coverings are heavier and warmer than rag carpets. They wear longer, too, and lie flatter, keeping down to the floor at the corners and showing no disposition to kick up in the annoying way that rag rugs do.

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

Braided rugs can be made entirely at home and with otherwise waste material if the worker chooses. The really old ones were made of cotton rags or cotton and woolen mixed; in fact, of anything old or new which came in handy. For the spacious attics of our great-grandmothers furnished inspiration and material enough at any time that one was needed, and the work is so simple that many a one has been braided during the long winter evenings by the meager light of its con-temporary, the tallow dip.

But in these days of no attics and few store-rooms the worker in the cities at least has no treasures of cast-off things to resort to. The basements of the large department stores are the substitute, and these filled with their odds and ends of remnants and marked down bargains it must be admitted take the place fairly well, though they are not as fascinating as the old-time attics. They have many advantages which are not to be despised: for one thing, goods may be bought in any desired quantity, large or small, and the worker of discriminating taste may select just that which is most suitable to carry out the design which has been planned, for there are many kinds of cotton fabrics that are soft and attractive in coloring and printed with fairly reliable dyes.

Of these the blues of all shades and makes are the most satisfactory. Of other colors the cottons known as the Washington prints made by several Rhode Island mills are dependable. These are a revival of some of the quaint, old-time patterns and they are principally used for making quilted bedspreads.

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

Introduction - Some Old Time Rugs  - A Word About Dyes - 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