Rug making
From Freepedia
Rug-making is an ancient craft, and covers a variety of techniques.
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Braided
Braided rugs are made by sewing many little strips of cloth together into longer strips. The long strips are then braided together, sewn at the ends, coiled around in a circular or oval pattern, and sewn together at the edges to hold it in its circular pattern.
Hooking
Traditional rug hooking is not the same as latch-hooking, which uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.
Traditional Rug Hooking is a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, rug warp or monks cloth. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage.
Wool strips ranging in size from 3/32 to 10/32 of an inch in width are often used to create these rugs / wall hangings. These precision strips are usually cut using a mechanical cloth slitter, however, the strips can also be hand cut or torn. When using the hand torn technique the rugs are usually done in a primitive motif.
Designs for the rugs are often commercially produced and can be as complex as flowers or animals to as simple as geometrics.
"Grenfell Hooked Rugs"
Hand-hooked rugs have a unique quality that make any room extra warm and cozy. For over a century, Grenfell hooked rugs have garnished the homes of families around the world. Early-day Grenfell rugs are frequently snatched up by antique collectors, auctioned off, or donated to museums.
The beauty of a Grenfell rug is only surpassed by its antiquity, mystery and charm. Originated out of the need for warm floor covering, modern hooked rugs are intended for use as wall hangings.
Rug hooking was a tradition in the northern Newfoundland and Labrador area before Dr. Grenfell's arrival. A bent nail, with the head removed and a nick cut into the blunt end, was used to draw strips worn clothing, up to 200 loops per inch, through burlap sacks, or "brin" as it was locally called. The burlap was stretched and nailed onto a four-sided wooden frame.
The materials, mostly woolens, flannel, and fishing nets, were dyed using vegetable dyes, spruce twigs, copperas, lime and powder of various colours. Patterns, many designed by Dr. Grenfell himself, reflecting the lifestyles of the area were stencilled onto discarded x-ray film from the hospital. These patterns were then traced onto the burlap and given to local women to hook in their own homes. Those not fortunate enough to gain access to "preprinted" or "stamped mats" drew patterns on the surface of the brin using a charred stick from the fireplace.
As the beauty and demand for hooked rugs grew, the necessary materials became scarce. Silk stockings became a perfect substitute. Dr. Grenfell's campaign slogan, "When your stocking begins to run, let it run to Labrador", brought donations of discarded silk stockings from affluent socialites as far as the southern United States. These stockings were washed, torn into strips and dyed.
The true art of hooked rugs continues at Grenfell Handicrafts. The process remains virtually unchanged over the years although quality yarn is used in place of rags and silk stockings. The rugs are still hooked by local people in their own homes just as it was over 100 years ago.
Rag Rugs
Rag rugs were commonly made in households up to the middle of the 20th century by using odd scraps of fabric on a background of old sacking.
Needlepunch
Using either yarn or strips of cloth, you work with the punch tool from the back side of the pattern. The Monk’s cloth backing is tightly stretched on to a frame. Every time you punch the needle down through the backing, it makes a long thread on the right side of the rug. Then, as you lift the needle, it automatically makes it into a loop. These loops pack together to create a rug so solid that chewing dogs and clawing cats are its only enemy. As long as you use the tool correctly, it will automatically make all the loops the same length.
Sometimes referred to as "speed hooking", this method of rug hooking is loved for its ease and speed. One student described of as "instant gratification with wool."
Prodded
Proddy rugs are made, as the name implies, by prodding or poking strips of fabric through burlap or linen from the back side. Rag rugs made this way have many names; clippies, proddies, stobbies, pricked, and in Scotland they are called clootie mats. They were often made for more utilitarian use such as by the backdoor; their pile hiding dirt well.
Woven
See carpet. Woven rugs include both flat rugs (for example kilims) and pile rugs.
