Make Colorful Canvas Carpets

(Page 4 of 4)

June/July 2006
By Lisa Curry Mair 
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Adapted from Floorcloth Magic: How to Paint Canvas Rugs for Decorative Home Use by Lisa Curry Mair. To order, see Mothers Bookshelf, Page 121. Mair has been designing, painting and selling floorcloths since the early 1990s. She operates her business, Canvasworks (www.canvas worksfloorcloths.com), from a restored 18th-century carriage house in Vermont.

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The History of Floorcloths

Floorcloths have been used in homes throughout the United States for hundreds of years. European settlers who came to America were intent on decorating their new dwellings to remind them of their homes across the ocean.

Because resources were limited, they used their ingenuity to make floor coverings when carpets were unavailable. Worn sails from ships supplied them with canvas; hand-cut stencils and freehand painting provided pattern and color. The designs were sealed with varnish and became known as oyl clothes, or oil cloths. In 1796, records indicate, George Washington purchased a floorcloth for his Mount Vernon home.

Until the end of the 18th century, floorcloths for wealthy homes were generally ordered and shipped from England. But by the beginning of the 19th century, professional house and ship painters were creating them in the United States. The advent of linoleum in 1860 eventually led to the decreased use of floorcloths in America.

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Comments

  • Heaven Scent Farms 6/19/2009 4:42:00 PM

    Tina,
    There is an image gallery. Click on that and your mitered corner is in there. My pictures didn't show either but I was able to see them in the gallery.

  • Tina 6/17/2009 1:12:54 PM

    I am not able to view the photo's that accompany the floor cloth article. I would like to see the details on making the mitered corners for the hem. Any suggestions? Thanks, Tina

  • jbailey 6/24/2007 3:36:51 PM

    nice site, want to learn more about it. jbailey

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