New Ideas for Work and Play: What a Girl Can Make and Do

by Lina Beard; Adelia B. Beard

Sew the pieces together
in this way.

Cut your rags in strips one-half an inch wide unless the material is very thin or loosely woven, in which case make them wider; very heavy cloth should be even narrower than the half-inch. Cotton rags should be one inch wide. As the rags are pinched together when woven it is the thickness that counts, and the object is to keep them of an even bulk so that the rug may not have an uneven, lumpy surface. Perhaps you will be told by the weaver not to sew your rags too securely, for they cannot be jerked apart readily when it is necessary to break off one color to begin weaving the next; but do not act on such advice. You must sew the strips together with care so that the ends may not stand out and give a ragged look to the finished rug. The accompanying diagram shows the best manner of joining the pieces. You see that one piece is laid over the end of the other, then both are folded lengthwise and sewed securely in the fold. This gives smooth joints and an even surface.

Wind your different colors into balls, having, as a rule, one pound in each, and put them in a bag to send to the loom.

Cotton and Wool Rugs

For piazza rugs, or for summer cottage use, cotton may be mixed with the wool; indeed, some hold that it is unnecessary to have all-wool for any purpose, though the writer thinks differently. The temptation is great, however, to use the pretty bits of gingham and lawn left from summer gowns, and they do give a certain, if not lasting, brilliancy to the rug. That much of the cotton is apt to fade and grow shiny with use is of little consequence when the rugs are not subjected to hard and constant use. Rugs of this class should be as bright and gay as possible; the combination of even the crudest colors looks well on a vine-shaded piazza and in the gayly decked summer cottage.

All-cotton Rugs

For bedroom and bathroom all-cotton rugs are exceedingly pretty and appropriate, and when they are made of fast-colored material they may be washed with ease and kept always fresh and clean.

The Centre may have Dashes of Color through it.