Hemming a rag rug may be easier than you think. I have used my classic Bernina sewing machine to hem rag rugs; but now, I hem many of them by hand. It’s easier and faster than I once thought. I plan the rug’s hem into the weaving, using half-width fabric strips for the hem area, and end it off with 1 cm of a warp thread heading. After cutting off the rug, I secure and trim the warp ends. There’s only one thing left to do. Hem the rug! (Start with Tools Day: Rag Rug Finishing Videoif you haven’t seen it yet.)
Hem is woven with fabric strips, doubled, cut 1 cm wide. This rug has a 6 cm hem, plus the warp thread heading, that will be folded under and stitched.
Tools and supplies
Steam iron
Long straight pins
Rug warp to match the rug (mine is Bockens 12/6 cotton seine twine)
Blunt tapestry needle
Kitchen mat is embellished with woven thin stripes that give the impression of rickrack. It makes me think of rickrack-trimmed dresses my mother made for me when I was a little girl. (See Simplest Rag Rug Stripe to learn how the rickrack stripes are made.)
Do you know how easy it is to finish the ends of a rag rug that you plan to hem? You cannot trust a sewing machine to do the job. Neither a zig-zag stitch nor a serged edge adequately catches all the ends, as they do for other handwoven items. Hand-tied knots will ensure that your rug endures the test of time.
Rag rug is cut off the Glimåkra Standard loom. A warp thread header (1 cm) is woven at both ends of the rug, and about 5 cm of scrap header (scrap fabric strips) is woven outside of that. The scrap header helps keep the rug from unravelling when it is removed from the loom.
The following video details the few simple steps needed to prepare your rag rug for hemming.
What if you start weaving a project and realize your smallesttemple is too big? And that your smallest temple is the smallest one they make. I am aware that most people do not use a temple for something this narrow, 16.7 cm/6.5 in. width in the reed, but this is a rag rug. A miniature rosepath rag rug. And draw-inis inevitable, which leads to weaving headaches like broken selvedgewarpends. A temple helps prevent all that.
Smallest Glimåkra temple is two inches wider than my weaving width.
I have seen makeshift temples that I could try, but my genius husband has a better idea. Why not cut down my little temple to the size I need? So he takes the tiny temple out to his workshop in the garage and turns it into a teeny tiny temple! (He does this knowing full well that I will need to replace the temple being cut.)
Measure twice; cut once. Steve marks his cutting lines on the original temple parts.Happy with the first cut, Steve is now ready to let the second piece meet the saw blade.Once cut apart, we wonder if a temple this tiny will work? Will there be enough length for the pieces to pivot as needed? There’s one way to find out…
Perfect! It works! And holes for the locking pin line up, too!
Teeny tiny temple does its job. Yay!Start of a miniature rosepath rag rug.
Have you ever drawn blood while winding a bobbin or quill? I have. First you feel the heat, and then, ouch! …the thread makes a little slice. Linen can do that. And wool can give you a little burn. True, my electric bobbin winder is fast, but I have experienced similar ouchies with my good ol’ Swedish hand-turned bobbin winder, too. That’s why I keep a woodcarver’s leather thumb guard at my bobbin winder station. I use it every time. For linen, wool, cotton, everything.
Winding linen with the electric bobbin winder. Leather woodcarvers thumb guard keeps my thumb safe and sound, yet allows maximum mobility.
I first tried a leather golfing glove and found it too bulky; and then I tried a leather quilter’s thumb, but it was too thin and soon wore out. When Steve saw my predicament, he ordered some small leather thumb guards for me–the kind that woodcarvers use. Perfect! Convenient, sturdy, and no more ouchies. (We get the thumb guards HERE. You can also find them on Amazon.com. I have no affiliate links.)
Thumb guard is so comfortable that sometimes I forget to remove it; I’ll find it on my thumb later when I’m at the loom weaving.
Sunshine coming through the windows is marvelous for weaving. But my eyes need extra light to see small details. This is noticeably true with errors that I mend on the loom and off the loom. I turn on extra lighting at other times, too–when threading fine threads, sleying the reed with fine or dark threads, counting picks per inch on woven cloth, and checking the treadling pattern in a fine weave, for example. And sometimes I turn on extra lighting for no other reason than it’s a cloudy day.
Tools:
OttLite Task Lamp with Swivel Base
Handheld lighted magnifier
Pin marks the spot where I broke a thin weft thread, 30/2 cotton, with the temple.Repair area is flooded with light from my portable OttLite.Illuminated stitches are easily seen. A replacement length of weft is needle-woven in.Series of errant floats are discovered after this fabric is removed from the loom. At 30 ends per inch, my eyes strain to see where to weave the needle.Needing more than the bright OttLite, I add magnification. Pairing the OttLite with the handheld lighted magnifier does the trick!Lighted magnifier, reflecting the OttLite just overhead, balances perfectly on a small sewing basket. Now I can actually see the threads I am fixing.
To further reduce eye strain, I am considering other lighting options. Have you had success with task lighting? I’d love to hear about it. Share your experience and recommendations in the comments.
My Lighting Wish List:
Full spectrum floor lamp
Adjustable-arm magnifying task light to clamp on table or loom
