Unusual rag rugs of the 20th Century

By now you know these web pages are dedicated to preserving traditional rug making methods, but we do get inquiries about non-traditional rugs. Some of these are historical novelties-- rugs made with materials at hand which can seem very quaint today. Others are "fad" rugs, most often associated with a marketing scheme, either for a gadget or a certain type of material. While these aren't traditional rugs, some of them are pretty fun, and interesting. I'm presenting them here by decade groups, and while the dating isn't absolute, it will give you some idea of the trends of the times.

FADS OF THE 20'S, 30'S AND 40'S
INNER-TUBE RUGS Before the days of tubeless automobile tires, inner tubes were patched, re-patched and finally given up. When they were discarded, they became fair game for a really tough entry mat. The inner tubes were cut into strips 2 to 3 inches wide (avoiding the patched places if possible) and woven flat. Then at every other crossing of the weave, a brass grommet was inserted to make the mat hold its shape. These made substantial, and even intimidating entry mats.

SEWN FELT RUGS In the early part of the 20th century, "ladies" always wore hats and the milliner was a standard stop for the well turned out matron. Of course the felts that hats were made from were marvelous thick wools, and made excellent rug materials. They could be cut into shapes and made into the traditional patched rugs (penny rugs), but in the 1920's and 30's the traditional patterns were not considered stylish. So instead the millinery felts were cut into floral shapes or geometrics and sewn (by machine or by hand to a felt base). They were also used as a sewn shag. Bits of millinery felts from this period were used in a sewn shag rug that is in the collection of the Smithsonian, where the felts were dyed to subtle shades and the rug is a portrait of a woman's face.

SEWING MACHINE YARN AND RAG RUGS During this period, the transition was made from treadle machines to electric sewing machines, and various gadgets were marketed to make "carpets" from yarns or rags using the sewing machine. They all operated on the same principle. Guidelines were drawn on a base material (canvas or burlap) about an inch apart. Yarn or rags were wound around the rug making tool or attachment. The wound rags were fed under the presser foot, and stitched down, following the guidelines. The result was a shaggy rug with a lot of loops. Most often, the loops were clipped to imitate fancier carpets. Indeed this was the ancestor of the ubiquitous shag carpeting of the 60's and 70's. (The same effect can be achieved today with a "crochet fork", made for "hairpin lace". The width of the fork determines the length of the shag.)

PIECED CROCHET RUGS Thanks in large part to Lily Rug Yarns, there was quite a fad during this time for pieced crocheted rugs. These rug patterns were typically crocheted in rounds or squares, then joined to form a design of a floral theme or quilt theme. These rug patterns were quite common, and can still be found regularly at flea markets, used book stores or internet auctions. The old rug yarns were "bulky" 100% cotton, and there is no equivalent in modern rug yarns. To use the old patterns with modern material you will need to use 3 strands of "Sugar and Cream" or "Peaches and Cream" crochet cotton. Use the 3 strands as if they were a single strand to reproduce the old rugs. Most of these old pieced designs will also work with fabric strip, cut ¾ inch wide, especially the ones that rely on a back-and-forth pattern instead of a radial pattern.

RUGS FROM USED STOCKINGS Stockings from this period evolved from silk to nylon. "Seamless" stockings were still in the future, but that didn't keep the "thrifty housewife" of the time from using worn out stockings for rugs. These old stocking rugs are still to be found in use since the materials were quite durable. (There is one of these stocking rugs in our family that has been in use for most of 70 years.) The stockings were cut from the top to the toe, in a spiral, creating a strip about 1 inch wide. Most often they were crocheted or knitted into rugs, occasionally braided. Because stockings act like yarn, with resilience, any yarn rug pattern can be used.

FADS OF THE 40'S AND 50'S
The 40's and 50's were the heydey of crocheting. From laces, sweaters and afghans to rugs, crochet was the thing. It was a time when crochet was accorded the same respect as knitting, and other textile arts. Crocheted rugs were made, both with yarns and with "rag" strip in any number of the popular stitch patterns, including granny squares, scallop stitch (wavy designs), pieced afghan stitch and "plain" crochet (single crochet and double crochet). There were a couple of notable variations: the bobbin stitch rugs and the loop stitch rugs. Both of these two can be made either with yarns or with rag strip (cut ¾ to 1 inch wide).

BOBBIN/BOBBLE/ROLL/CYLINDER STITCH RUGS This is an old stitch which has gone by a number of different names over the years. It is a variant of a single crochet stitch, and makes a knobbly rug. This is clearly a stitch that takes some practice to get the feel. I have been reminded of these bobbin stitch rugs with recent reflexology gadgets-- those wooden bead things that you're supposed to rub your feet on to make them feel better. Well, the bobble stitch isn't quite as hard as the wooden beads, but it has the same feel. (Look, I know somebody out there is going to start making reflexology rag rugs now. Why not? Just don't use these rugs where you put your feet down first thing after getting out of bed.)

Anyway, this is how you do a bobbin stitch. Crochet a base chain the desired length, plus 4 chain stitches. Wind the rag strip around the hook LOOSELY 8 times (you can vary the number of times and size the bobbins accordingly). Wind the strip in a spiral down the hook, just like winding a bobbin. Insert the hook into the 5th chain from the hook. Gently pull the loop up through the windings on the hook, and complete the single crochet (pull another loop (the length of the windings) and then yarn over and pull through the two loops remaining on the hook. You don't want to pull that last loop so tight that it crams the wrappings down… that's where you need to develop a feel for the stitch. Anyway the pattern continues with 8 wraps, pull a loop through the wraps and complete the single crochet stitch in the next chain. At the end of the row, chain 4 and turn. Then repeat with one bobbin stitch lining up with each one in the previous row (work through the top two strands of the previous stitches). End the rug with a plain row of single crochet.

CROCHETED LOOP STITCH RUGS I remember the first time I saw a loop stitch. Twin set sweaters were all the style at the time, and a neighbor made the jacket of her twin set with a loop stitch. I didn't know whether to laugh or pretend I was that sophisticated too. The loop stitch is one of those stitches that really has a hard time finding a good application, but it was quite the rage for yarn rugs in the 40's and 50's, so it wasn't surprising that it also got used for rag rugs of the same period.

It is also a variation of a single crochet stitch, and is made by alternating a row of single crochet and a row of "loop" stitches. Don't try to make all loop stitches or the work will loosen. This is one of the stitches that it really pays to work tightly. Start by making a base chain of the desired length, plus one chain. Beginning at the second chain from the hook, make one row of single crochet. Chain 1, and turn. Skip the first stitch. Put yarn (or rag strip) over your thumb, or index finger of the left hand (whichever feels most natural). That loop stays there while you complete a single crochet stitch. You can adjust the height of the loops by how you hold your finger or thumb as you complete the stitch. Anyway, with the loop over your thumb or finger, make a single crochet. For the next stitch, repeat-make a loop around your finger or thumb, and then make a single crochet in the next stitch. Continue until you reach the end of the row. Chain one and turn. Make a row of regular (not loop) single crochet stitches to the end of the row. Chain one and turn. Make a row of the loop stitches. The pattern repeats. For really uniform loops, the strip can be wound around a piece of cardboard instead of your finger. WARNING: These loop rugs can be hazardous. The loops will catch on shoes, toes, whatever. DON'T use them in traffic areas.

GIRDLE RUGS These really seem funny nowadays, since it is hard for the current generation to conceive of a time when women wore girdles all of the time. No kidding, there was a time when your girdle was a piece of underwear, and a gal felt undressed without it. But like all underwear, girdles wore out and then there was the problem of what to do with those old girdles, that had lost most of their stretch but "should be good for something". The old girdles had little rubber strings inside (I'm not kidding youngsters!), so they did make quite durable rugs. Some people cut the girdles up to weave rugs on a loom, but the most interesting rugs were the ones that used one-piece girdles. The girdles were cut across, so that each strip formed a continuous loop. The loops could be joined together (just like you'd make a chain of rubber bands) and then crocheted or knitted, but the most fun rugs are the ones made from girdles that were woven as loops. They were woven on a pegged frame to make squares of a uniform size. Then the squares were sewn together. Think about the "sock loop" weaving kits that are still sold as children's toys. These girdle rugs were made just the same way, just on a bit larger scale. (The girdles were most often dyed to hide their origins.) These days, girdles are in short supply, but the same principle can be applied to T-shirts. Cut across the T-shirt at about 1 inch intervals, then weave the loops of T-shirt fabric on a pegged frame. Finish the square by chaining the loop ends. Then stitch the squares together to form a rug.

FADS OF THE 60'S AND 70'S
MACRAME RUGS Even if you're not old enough to remember these decades, you will have been exposed to a bunch of leftover plant hangers, purses, window decorations and whatnots that were from the age of macrame. It shouldn't be a surprise that rag rugs were also done with the more "solid" of the macrame knots (not the 'open' patterns). Actually, when made with pre-folded strip, macrame rugs could be quite attractive. I'm not going to go into elaborate directions here, but there are patterns for the 'solid' macrame knots in the book "Braiding and Knotting" by Constantine Belash (1936 reprint, see the catalog).

ROPE RUGS Rope making machines were one of the least successful rug making gadgets ever marketed. They twisted fabric strips into ropes, but the marketers didn't understand that short sections of rope were awkward. You couldn't make a decent sized rug without making a very long section of rope, or doing lots of splicing. It just didn't work well for rugs, but if you happen to have one of the old rope making machines, they do make good ropes for dog leashes or horse tack, so don't throw it away. (Update: LACIS is now marketing a rope machine again. See our links.)

PIECED CROCHET RUGS During these decades pieced crocheted rag rugs were made in very bold graphic designs. Individual pieces were made using back-and-forth crochet patterns (either single crochet or double crochet) and the blocks laced together to form the rug. Over-size representations of traditional quilt patterns were done this way also, but usually in the "in" colors of the time which are a bit difficult to live with.

PIECED CARPET REMNANTS Another rug fad of these decades was piecing commercially made carpet remnants to make patchwork rugs. Most of these were in simple blocks, but they were also made in diamonds, wedges, etc. Precision in cutting is extremely important so that the pieces would fit together exactly. The pieces were cut and joined from the back side, using a sail-makers needle (the curved one) and strong thread. To reinforce the structure, some rug makers then used a carpet glue to fix the sewn pieces to a canvas or burlap backing. While most of this type of rug was of the "modern art" variety, I have seen extraordinary work in recent years which shows a lot of skill with this method. The rug that sticks in my memory was a sillouette of a flamingo (black) against a rising moon, horizon and night sky and was quite striking. Obviously, this type of rug has artistic potential.

NEEDLEPOINT ON RUG CANVAS There was also quite a fad for needlepoint in these decades--remember Rosie Greer, the football player who did needlepoint? Well, the needlepoint fad extended to rag rugs as well with rag strip being used on latch hook canvas in the "quick point" style of needlepoint.

FADS OF THE 80'S AND 90'S
SPOOL KNITTING When I was growing up, one of the standard things kids messed with was spool knitting. It was a wooden thread spool, drilled out to make the center a little larger, and 4 or 5 small nails driven in to the top. We used the spools with leftover yarn and made all sorts of ropes, belts and miscellaneous other kid things. A few years later, plastic versions of spool knitters were standard in every dime store. Some time in the 80's I was surprised to see a hand-crandked spool knitting "machine" marketed as a kids toy too.

In recent years, both wooden and plastic spool knitters have been marketed for making rag rugs. These are exactly the same as the old spools, only on a little larger scale (the hole in the center is about an inch across). Use fabric strip cut ¾ or 1 inch wide. The strip is wound once around each peg to start. Then wind the strip a second time around a peg, pull the first loop up and over the new loop with a small crochet hook. Move to the next peg in sequence and repeat the process. The knitted 'rope' goes down the center of the spool, and when it gets to a sufficient length, coil it to a round or oval shape. Lace it together with more of the rag strip (work on a flat surface).

SERGED RUG STRIPS FOR CROCHETED RUGS In the late 1980s home sergers were all the rage for the up-to-date seamstress, but projects specifically for sergers were a little scarce. Someone had the bright idea of serging strips of cotton for crocheting into rugs. Because rugs take a lot of strip, the process also used up a lot of pretty expensive thread. In practice all of the exposed threads did not stand up to wear and the rugs quickly frayed and started to look ratty. Needless to say, it was a short-lived fad.

KNITTING MACHINE RUGS In the 1980's knitting machines began to be widely available for the home. These machines eventually got to be used for rag rugs too, by using a light thread for the knitting, and a strip of lightweight fabric laid across so that the stitches would cover it. The same principle can be used with a hand made knitted rag rug, using large needles (particularly circular needles). The knitting is done with a fine thread or yarn, and each stitch encloses the fabric strip. It is the same principle as "carrying along" in knitting, and the only nuisance factor is that the position of the knitting yarn has to be checked with each stitch to make sure the fabric strip is enclosed, and that each row has the same tension on the fabric strip so that the rug maintains its shape. The surface threads often broke in use.

PIECED CROCHET WITH A GIMMICK After 40 years of various pieced crochet rugs, the 1990s brought some with a sense of humor. The pieced rugs (back-and-forth crochet, laced together to make a rug) show some ingenuity. These are not the "watermelon slice" or "imitation quilt" type of boring rug, rather a rug that is also a game. Yes, checkerboards (and checkers) have been made in crocheted rugs for a long time. But when I saw a crocheted hopscotch pattern (full size of the sidewalk version), I thought that it was a wonderful idea for a rainy day activity for the youngsters-just lay the crocheted rug out over the carpet (not on a tile floor) and let them go at it. Even crocheted maps of the 50 states and "jigsaw" puzzles turned up.

KNOTTED RUGS ON CANVAS I had gotten used to craft writers using the Rugmakers Homestead as a source for their articles, but some of them really didn't do their homework. When they read the title "Knotted Shags" for a type of traditional rag rug, they guessed that it was done on rug canvas, tying a square knot in a strip of fabric. The resulting rug bore no resemblance to the traditional knotted shag rugs and was lumpy and uncomfortable underfoot.