The Braided Rug Go-Round
(Page 2 of 6)
November/December 1971
By Nancy Bubel
I don't hesitate to machine wash these rummage sale woolens before I begin to work with them, either. When they're going to be cut up for rugs, it doesn't matter if they shrink.
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Although rummage sales now keep me well supplied with all the raw material I need, I have bought rug braiding wool from mill end stores and factory outlets in the past. If there's one of these outlets near you, you may find it a good source of the interesting colors you need to spark up your rugs . . . especially if it offers "seconds" by the pound.
All you'll need in the way of tools and paraphernalia are scissors, thread, needles, bodkin (a heavy, blunt needle) and knife or seam ripper (Figure 1). An ordinary needle and thread are used for sewing strips of cloth together and a bodkin and strong thread for lacing the braids. I use Aunt Lydia's brand for the latter but larger, cheaper spools of very strong cotton thread can often be bought at mills. I wouldn't recommend nylon, though, since it will cut through the wool as the rug is used.
When you braid a rug, it's all there in your hands. The difference between a pleasing finished product and a shoddy one lies in craftsmanship . . . in that attention to detail and that oneness with the materials that produces the proper yank on the thread and the controlled pull on the braid. You'll get the feel of this as you proceed, so make your first rug a small one . . . you can always enlarge it later.
Start your rug by cutting up the clothes you've gathered. You'll salvage the most wool if you rip the seams open (save any pile coat linings for other things) and—if you have the patience to do the necessary extra piecing—you can even use the collars and other short sections. Recycle the scraps that are too small for anything else by burying them in the garden or compost pile.
Next, cut or tear the wool into strips. You'll have to cut the very heavy fabrics but you can turn the slightly dusty-linty job of tearing the rest over to the children . . . who'll do it with great gusto!
Cut the heavy woolens into strips two inches wide. This allows just enough leeway to turn the raw edges in. Use a three inch width for lighter weight fabrics that require more self-padding as they're folded together. There's nothing absolute about any of this, as you can see.
Now sooner or later these strips have got to be sewn together. If you do it all at once, though, you'll have such long ribbons to work with that you'll find your braiding turns into a fancy exercise in untangling. Sewing together only a few pieces at a time and rolling these shorter strips into "spools" (Figure 2) makes braiding much easier and is the method I recommend.
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