Rugs for Doll-House
1. Make the loom by taking a slate and knocking out the slate so as to leave the frame intact. Hammer a row of small nails half an inch apart along the two narrow sides. Then make the warp by stringing strong cord back and forth across the nails. Tie first around one corner nail; carry to and around the two nails opposite, then back and around the next two, and so back and forth till it is all strung. The rows of cord should be parallel.
2. Instead of a slate, looms of various sizes may be roughly made of four narrow pieces of wood measured, sawed, and nailed together at the corners. A curtain slat could be so used, or wooden boxes will furnish raw material for such. A loom 4 × 6 inches is a good size for a beginner.
For woof, use coarse worsted or ribbon to begin with, or colored cheesecloth torn into narrow strips.
Use the fingers at first, later a bodkin, weaving under one cord of the warp and over one, back and forth, till a tiny rug is made. Fasten ends by weaving in and out a short distance into body of rug. At first make rug all of one color, or a rag-carpet effect can be obtained by tying into a long string worsteds of various colors. If a plain color is used a border can be made by running in a strand or so of a different color.
Let the child employ his artistic and creative abilities in making designs for the rug with paints or crayons. Draw an oblong of one color with stripes across the ends, one, two or three in number, at different distances apart. Variety can be secured by taking up two threads at a time or running under one and over two, etc. Warn the child not to draw the threads too closely or the rug will have the shape of an hour-glass when finished.
A washcloth can be made thus by weaving it of narrow pieces of cheesecloth.
Take the rug or cloth off the loom by raising carefully over the nails.
3. Another simple kind of loom is made by taking a piece of cardboard measuring 6 × 8 inches. Draw a row of eight dots half an inch apart. Opposite these, and six inches away, draw another row. With strong cord sew through these a set of straight stitches, six inches long and half an inch apart. This makes the warp. Run the worsted woof under and over these cords as in any weaving, and tear the cardboard away when finished.