International studio (32.1907)

Weaving in a Hand-Loom

but the crow’s-foot must be perfect or it looks un-
workmanlike. Do not be led astray by your
friends speaking of poor work as interesting. I
have noticed work from a studio badly matched,
badly woven and irregular, and instead of being
condemned it was only called interesting. I throw
out this hint so that workers who are in earnest will
not be deceived by such criticism. I think that
every craft-worker should make a point of making
her own border designs. There is so little oppor-
tunity for individuality that only in this way can
we make our weavings express our own originality.

A clever young man thought out the interesting
border of diamonds and evolved it by weaving the
material in clumps of colors which he calculated to
form a design. This was then torn into strips and
woven in the ordinary way. It would be difficult
to describe at length how this was arrived at, but
it should be a help to show the possibilities there
are for new ideas in border weaving.

Difference in texture can be gained by adjusting
the warp. Instead of threading every hole in the
heddle skip alternate holes, and put two warp
threads instead of one in the others. The result
will be a rug like the John Alden. The red John
Alden illustrated has a border of seventeen shots of
white, followed by alternate shots of red and white
for the center of the border, which consists of
sixteen shots. Seventeen more shots of white are

woven, and that forms the border at each end.
This is a complete change from the triple borders
which most of the hand-woven rugs have, and yet
occupies nearly as much space on the rug itself.
This weave being very soft is well adapted for
portihres and pillows. When weaving it is not
necessary to pound with the lay, as the firmness
necessary for a rug is not suitable for a hanging
that must fall in soft folds. Another thing to
remember when weaving portieres is to always
make use of the softest kind of material. Canton
flannel, Shaker flannel and unbleached muslin are
admirable for this purpose, but the harsher denims
and cretonnes are not nearly so well suited for
draping. There is a material called roving-yarn
which is very attractive for hangings. This can be
obtained from houses that sell rope and string.
It is something like lamp-wick. The latter can be
used after home dyeing has been done and is very
attractive. It has not often been utilized for
weaving.

WThen the warp is all used up it is cut out of the
loom and the weavings are laid on a large table.
The fringe is cut across and each rug is gone care-
fully over with shears to remove any irregularities
that would catch the dirt.

The next process is the knotting of the rugs.
Knotting rugs takes time, but it well repays the
labor.

WAVERLY RUG

MADE EROM HAND WOVEN CLOTH

XXXVI