My rag rugs start with leftovers. It is a great place to begin. By leftovers, I mean fabric strips that are left from previous projects. Unlike many traditional rag rugs that are made from recycled fabrics, I use all new cotton yardage for my rag rugs. I only buy more fabric when my supply starts to run low, or when I need a specific color that I don’t have in my supply. That’s the difference between a stash and a supply. A stash is for keeping and admiring. A supply is for using up with a purpose. A stash grows without limits. A supply is replenished in relation to the need.
Planning session for a new rosepath rag rug. After gathering a selection of fabrics, I snip fragments to tape to my working chart.After several plain weave stripes, the rosepath pattern is taking shape on the loom.
I have to be careful about treating my things, my time, and my ideas as my stash. For me to keep and admire. It’s better to be a giver. The generous have an endless supply. They never wonder about having “enough.” Generosity is a virtue. Those who are enriched by God can always be generous, since he is faithful to replenish the supply.
Does this color enhance or detract? Is there enough contrast between background and pattern? Is five centimeters of plain weave between pattern sections too long, or too short? I ask myself questions as I weave a new design. I consider all the technical aspects, as well. Warp tension, treadling finesse, and shuttle shuffling. Attention to detail matters.
Design elements are planned before weaving, and then adjusted as weaving progresses on the loom.
Details begin in the planning stage with design, choice of materials, and colors. While weaving rosepath rag rugs, consistency counts. I aim for a consistently firm beat and good, tight selvedges. All of these elements contribute to quality. And as I grow in my weaving skills, overall quality improves.
Rosepath rag rugs require extra attention at the selvedges.Yellow dash is made with a single weftpick. The single fabric strip is cut long enough to securely tuck the ends back into the shed.
A person’s character is defined by their motivations. It’s not what you do, but why you do it. It is not enough to look good. I can buy a cheap rug that looks good. But if I could examine how it was made, I might find the shortcuts that diminished its quality. Our inward motivations are revealed in our outward behaviors. The cheap rug fades and comes apart all too quickly. By examining our own motives we build quality of character. The result is not only lovely, but durable, too.
Patterned rag rugs always use at least two shuttles. I often have four or five filled ski shuttles at the loom. A low profile ski shuttle is an excellent choice for weaving patterned rag rugs. Why?
It fits pleasantly in the hand.
It holds a large amount of fabric weft without being bulky.
The low profile fits easily through the narrower shed of a tight warp that is common for rug weaving. (Beware of ski shuttles that are taller, and may not fit as easily through a tight shed.)
It is slender enough to send it out of the shed to go over or under outer warp ends, when needed.
Weaving width determines which ski shuttle length to use. The shorter shuttle works with any weaving width. The longer shuttle works only for wider weaving widths (30″ or more) and for spaces with plenty of clearance at the sides of the loom. The low profile of the shuttles is seen in relation to the height of the reed in the beater.
How to Wind a Ski Shuttle
1 — Hold ski shuttle vertically. Start with one tapered end of the fabric strip coming across the top of the ski shuttle. Hold the tapered end with your thumb while you start winding the fabric strip onto the shuttle with your other hand.
2 — Continue wrapping the fabric strip around the length of the shuttle, straightening the fabric as you go.
3 — Finish winding when you have a tail of fabric remaining.
It is not enough to be pretty; a good rag rug must also be sturdy. Four crucial steps give a rag rug the solid foundation it needs to get off to a great start, and to be ready for the strong beat required to make a rug that lasts.
How to Begin a Rag Rug
1 Space
leave enough warp to tie and finish ends after the rug is cut from the loom
Assuming there is a sample at the beginning of the warp, leave space after the sample. Leave about 4″ (10 cm) of empty warp. Then, using two warping slats, place one slat in each plain weaveshed. The slats act as a spacer, and as a firm backstop for beating in the waste rags. (Leave about 8″ / 20 cm of space between each rug, from header to header.)
Empty warp is followed by a pair of warping slats, scrap weft, warp yarn header, and beginning of hem. Measurements are marked on twill tape for reference while weaving.
Use warp yarn to weave a 3/8″ (1 cm) weft-faced header. Arrange the weft in small arcs across the width of the shed. Treadle the next shed and beat in the weft.
With temple in place, the header is woven with 12/6 cotton, the warp yarn. Forming small waves in the weft places more weft in the shed, which helps prevent draw-in.
4 Hem
thinner rag weave, to be turned under and stitched
Cut fabric into narrow strips, 1/4″ (.5 cm) wide. Weave hem to desired length, with enough to fold under itself for finishing.
–Repeat the four steps in reverse order at the end of the rug.–
Ready for the body of the rug! A good, strong beat will not disturb this layered foundation.
It takes courage to live by faith. Courage is the backbone against which life circumstances can push. Faith is knowing God has a higher purpose for the circumstances we find ourselves in. A rag rug with this firm starting point will not only look good, but be ready for a purpose. And so will we.
Double binding on one and rosepath on the other. Both looms are weaving rag rugs. Detailed plans, multiple shuttles, fancy footwork. Piles of cotton fabric, and miles of cut fabric strips. I know what to expect when all these elements combine, but it still fascinates me to see the “roses” bloom on the rosepath and the two layers synchronize in the double binding!
Blue and pink “roses” emerge as the result of a planned treadling sequence.Piles of fabric on the cutting table. A picture of rag rugs being imagined.
Rosepath has demanding requirements–for threading, treadling, shuttle shuffling, and selvedges. Double binding on eight shafts has its own challenges–which shuttle goes first? But when I am at the loom weaving rag rugs I feel like singing. All of the efforts seem like bonuses to me. Everything comes together in a wonderful fashion. There, perched on my loom bench, I am doing what I love to do!
Double binding rag rug has two layers woven at the same time. The bottom side of the weaving has reversed colors, with the blue batik fabric on the side borders, and the green and red batik fabric in the center panel.
Wisdom is closer than we think. It’s within reach. Hidden for us, not from us, our heavenly Father offers this gift and challenge called wisdom. The delight of rosepath only happens through the threading and treadling demands. Within the challenge of two-shuttle weaving lies the secret to double binding’s appeal. The thoughtful, truth-seeking approach to life may feel like work. But it’s those very efforts that bring us to the delight and surprise of wisdom’s jewels.
