This gives ten shades in these two tints, and when we add the variations which seem to come of themselves in dyeing, variations which are by no means subject to rule, we shall see that with these two, and black and white, we are very well equipped.
The more irregular the clouding, the better the results. The yarn may be made into large double knots, or small single ones, or into more or less tightly wound balls or bundles, and each will have its own special and peculiar effect. Perhaps it is well to say that in clouding upon white the colours should be kept as light as is consistent with the tenacity of tint.
After clouding, still another process in cotton mixtures is possible, and this is in “doubling and twisting,” which has the effect of darkening or lightening any tint at will, as well as of giving a mottled instead of a plain surface.
Having secured variety by these various expedients, the next step is to make harmonious and well-balanced combinations, and this is quite as important, or even more so, as mere variety.
There is one very simple and useful rule in colour arrangements, and this is to make one tint largely predominant. If it is to be a blue rug, or a pink, or a white one, use other colours only to emphasize the predominant one, as, for instance, a blue rug may be emphasized by a border of red and black; or a red rug by a border of black and white, or black and yellow.
The border should always be stronger—that is darker or deeper in colour—than the centre, even when the same colour is used throughout, as in a light red rug, with dark, almost claret-red ends, or a medium blue rug with very dark blue ends.
White, however, can often be used in borders of rather dark rugs in alternation with black or any dark colour, because its total absence of tint makes it strong and distinct, and gives it force in marking a limit.
One successful combination of colours will suggest others, and the weaver who has taken pains to provide herself with a variety of shades, and will follow the rules of proportion, will be at no loss in laying out the plan of her weavings.
The examples for fifteen weavings given in the paper on wool rugs are equally available in cotton. I will, however, add a few variations especially adapted for cotton rugs:
No. 1. Colours blue and white. Border six inches of plain dark blue. Six inches of alternate half-inch stripes of dark blue and white. Four to five feet of clouded blue, border repeated, with four inches of warp fringe as a finish.