CLEANING OLD WOVEN COTTON RUGS
I hope you can help me. I have some very old rag rugs that were my grandmother's. I believe they were
woven from old clothing scraps. They are beautiful but are very dirty. They were in an open box in my mom's garage for many years.
They seem in good condition, just in need of cleaning. Can you advise me on how to have them cleaned? Also, two of them are long hall
runners and I would like to divide one of them into several rugs. Any books you can recommend on how I can do this? Should I try and
find a professional to do it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Sue
Dear Sue, You may have a big problem. Cotton rugs that are stored with dirt on them are often time bombs--they look fine, but fall apart in the washer--- so whatever you do, don't throw them in the washing machine until you know for a fact what their condition is. What I'd suggest you do is hand wash them first in the bathtub, with a mild detergent and warm water. Let them soak, and only agitate by hand, then rinse them several times. Do not handle the rugs from the edges! Wet rugs are heavy and can pull the threads apart with the weight. Lay them lengthwise along a railing, table or clothes line to dry, and then inspect them closely. Look for warp threads that have parted (often these only show up once the rug is clean, since the dirt stiffens the threads and holds them in place making it look like the rug is fine, when it really isn't). Make sure to inspect both sides of the rug.
Since these sound like 'heirloom' type rugs, being your grandmother's, a little extra care in restoration is justified. Where the warp threads have broken or are missing, 'reweave' the section, using a heavy mercerized cotton thread or crochet thread that is as close to matching the original as you can find. Start the reweaving at least 10 rows above the break and continue below the break.
Remember that the fibers in both the warp and the cotton rags is well aged, and cotton does weaken and rot over time. The rug is going to be most vulnerable to breakage when it is wet because of the weight on the threads. It is very likely to be damaged from agitation in a washer (even on gentle cycle). So, if the rugs don't get 'clean' after the first wash, the next step is the old fashioned 'boil'. It may be hard to find a pan large enough to fill with water and the rug and boil the rug, but that is the best way to clean a very old one if the dirt is stubborn.
Dividing long woven hall runners can be done, so long as it is cut across the width, not along the length. Most likely you have tied fringes on the ends of the rug now, and you will want the new ends to look the same. What you'll need to do is cut the rug and then unravel several rows of weaving to get enough warp thread to tie in knots so there will be some loss in the length of the rug. The big trick with doing this is that it has to be done *fast* or more rows will unravel than you want. I'd suggest you get a friend who has done some weaving to help you when you're ready to cut. You can of course, sew across the end row with a heavy duty machine to minimize unwanted ravelling, but the machine seam will show.
Well, that's the story... hope it helps....Diana
BREAD BAG RUGS
Hi Diana! I found
the comments interesting about the plastic bread bags used for rugs. I come from Upper Peninsula Michigan where many 2 and 4 harness
rag rug weavers are to be found because of the Swedish/Finnish populations there. Many rectangular shaped rugs made from bread bags
survived for years and were really quite colorful. Since purchased bags were long and narrow and usually had a fold at the bottom,
they could be opened flat into one longer wide strip by cutting the side seams open. Then they could be cut into desired widths for
weaving and sewn on the sewing machine just like the rags were done. I remember how Roman Meal bags were that golden brown color while
the Wonder Bread had the white with primary polka dots, Bunny Bread was I think yellow and blue. Quite a pattern could be made. One
of my girlfriends told me that her grandmother had to collect the bags from a lot of other people to get the variety, and also because
she made her own bread! Thanks for your site, all the work it involves, and for shipping my last order so quickly, I'm having a great
time! Pam
Hi Pam, What a wonderful letter- I *definitely* will put it up on the next letters update. I'm sure a lot of folks will
enjoy it too. Thanks for sending it. Happy rugmaking! Diana
Hi: I really enjoyed the visit I took to your web site about rag rugs tours. This is an art my grandmother had years and years ago, but she is now deceased (and sadly missed), and I would LOVE to learn this art again. I am a complete beginner in this craft field and don't know a thing about it. I would like to begin learning to make rag rugs with any fabric strips I have around the house, or the art of making rag rugs from plastic bags. (I saw this demonstrated on a television show once, but it was long ago, and though I do remember the program, I don't really remember everything about how they did it.)I do remember that they used old plastic grocery bags, cut them into strips, sort of braided the strips together and then formed them into an oval rug that was very washable and weatherproof. It was beautiful, too. What I don't know is how to hook one strip to another to continue the braid. I am very eager to learn and would appreciate any and all the help you can give me. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Allyson
Hello Allyson, Glad you're enjoying the website. We hear all of the time from folks who wish they had learned to make rugs from their grandmother, so we try to fill the gap. Was there a particular type of rug that she made and you want to recreate?
About the bread bag rugs, the strips were usually joined one to the next using the slit-and-loop method. Directions on how to do it are in the article called ways of joining fabric strips (but the methods work with bread bags too). To find it just click on the "articles" box. There is also an article giving directions for making braided rugs (written in 1932) that you might find helpful in getting started using either the bread bags or any fabrics you have on hand.
Hope that helps, Diana
Hello, My great grandmother used to make round rugs out of bread bags. I saw on your webpage that someone else posted a question about these rugs. You suggested that maybe it was crocheted with the breadbag cut in spirals. The rugs my great-grandmother used to make were really thick and knotty looking. Do you think she cut them or is there a way to make them by keeping the bag intact without cutting it down? I want to recreate the rugs she made but as I was her great grandson and boys didn't learn those sorts of things I have no way of learning. As far as I know no one in the family learned the secret. Any books or advice you can give to help me make these bread bag rugs? Take care, Michael
Hello Michael, How wonderful that you want to pick up the rugmaking tradition of your great-grandmother! So many of the rugs were "lost" in families, simply because the next generation wasn't interested (not just the boys)-- I constantly hear the same thing. Let me see if I can help with your bread bag tradition...
Yes, you can make *thick* bread bag rugs with crochet, simply by splitting the bag in half (cut down the sides so it unfolds. I don't know of anyone who used the bags whole (though maybe some did), since the whole bag would tend to trap air and that would be a real problem in the stitching. I'd suggest that you fold the cut bags in half lengthwise and then join the bags with the slit-and-loop method (see the article on joining fabric strips on the website). Roll the joined bags into a ball for crocheting. The slit-and-loop method adds to the 'knotty' texture you're speaking of and was probably what your great-grandmother used.
Try that and let me know if you get close, or have any other questions.. Happy rugmaking! Diana
have you seen the rugs that people make where they braid the material and then wrap the braid in a circle and connect it with thread or fishing line to make a rug? I saw a post online about someone making rugs out of plastic bags that way and wondered if you thought people made the bread bags that way sometimes too....?
What you're describing is the standard way of making a braided rug, where the braid is made and then coiled and laced together to form the rug. Yes, people did make bread bag rugs with braiding, though just not as often as they did with crocheting, since the braiding and lacing take longer. There were other ways people used bread bags for rugs too, like hooking, flat wrap, string crochet and knitted. The old time rug makers were extraordinarily creative in their abiltiy to recycle just about anything they had. Best, Diana
My great Aunt made my father a braided rug made out of bread bags. It is very pretty and I would like to know how she did it. I have been looking for directions for over a year so if you could help me out I would be very thankful. Thank You Marjory
Hello Marjory, It was not often that folks braided rugs from bread bags. Most often those rugs were crocheted. The bags were cut in spirals to make long continuous strips about an inch wide, and then crocheted in round or oval shapes. It is possible your great Aunt used the same type of strips to braid with, and then some sort of heavy thread to lace the rug together. Hope that helps, Diana
Dear Rafter4:Thanks for such great info on rugmaking. This is my first time and I have purchased the booklet "Braidmastery" and a lacing tool. I want to make a cotton braided rag rug, but am confused about folding the strips. Do I need the braiding cones for cotton or are they just for wool? Should I purchase the Smooth Strip Folding Set for folding cotton strips?Thanks for your help!Sincerely,Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, The old fashioned braiding cones are designed to be used with wools or *heavy* cotton fabrics (denim, corduroy, etc.) which are cut into 1-1/2 inch strips. For "regular" cotton fabrics of shirting weight or like calicos, you'll want to use the smooth strip folding set, and set the folds in the strips before you begin braiding. The light cottons just don't work in the braiding cones--they slip around too much.
Our smooth strip folding set is sized to handle 1-1/2 inch strips of "regular" cottons, we also have the Deluxe set, which will handle cotton strips up to 3 inches wide, since we've had several requests from folks wanting to use wider strips.
Anyway, the short answer to your question is that if you are using heavy cottons, the braiding cones work just fine. If lighter cottons, the smooth strip folding set is what will do the trick. Happy rugmaking! Diana
I want to make simple braided or crocheted rugs from cotton scraps--rugs that can get wet, be washed in the washing machine, etc. I was thinking of the bulletin "chain braided rugs"? What else do I need--I have seen people using the cones that fold the fabric under--do these work well with cotton? Thanks for any help you can provide. Kari
Hi Kari, To answer your last question first... the cones (braiding cones) that work so well with wool strip really don't work with most cotton since it slips around in the folder. They will work with heavy cottons like denim or corduroy. For the lighter cotton strips, they are folded first in bias tape folders (see the "smooth strip folding set"), then rolled into balls for use. The pre-folded strips really make a much nicer rug than trying to tuck in the raw edges as you work.