Serviceable bath rugs can be made by making three strips as long as desired, and then fastening together. They are made of cheese cloth cut bias, but the woof threads are packed much tighter than in the face cloths. Finish the edges by stitching a white tape all around. Floor rugs of any kind can be made firmer by finishing in this way with tape of the same color.
Chapter Eleven
RAFFIA MATS
Mats of raffia are made like all the other mats. The warp may be of twine or carpet thread. In this case, the mat should be woven of raffia in the natural color, with stripes of bright color at each end; or, it may be of some dark tone with stripes of a contrasting color. By using a warp of raffia, many of the beautiful kindergarten designs can be produced. Use one color for the warp and another for the woof. The method of stringing a warp of raffia is described in "Methods of Stringing Warp," on page 45. The illustration shows a raffia mat in process of making. The natural color of raffia is used, with stripes of cardinal, and the method of stringing color in the warp to obtain this effect is clearly seen. The children will have no difficulty in carrying out the pattern, if they remember that the rods correspond to the border of the paper mat. Before stringing the warp for a kindergarten pattern, count the strips in the paper mat and begin to count on the loom from the rods. In this kind of work the string on top of the rod does not count. It forms the border of the mat.
In making mats, or matting, of raffia, the material can be carried over the rods as in wool-weaving, or it can be finished on the edges in the same way as the real matting is done. This will be easily understood by examining a piece of matting. In stringing the warp, have three strings over each bar instead of one. Cut the woof strips several inches longer than the width of the loom. Weave the first strip, leaving a piece at each side. Thread a tape needle with one end and weave it in and out the three warp threads on the rod. Then cut it off close to the edge. Finish off all the ends in this way. When the work is removed from the loom, press the edges flat with a warm iron. It is a little easier to keep the pattern right by weaving in this way, and the work resembles the real matting more nearly. Use a tape needle for weaving raffia.
If the doll house which we are fitting is a large one with porches, one could complete the furnishings with a porch curtain, for sunny afternoons.
Boxes of all kinds can be made of raffia woven in panels. It will make the box stronger and firmer to overhand a piece of rattan around the edges of the panels before joining them in the form of a box. Thread a worsted needle with a narrow strip of raffia and buttonhole the edges of the panels together; or, sew them over and over and cover with a braid of raffia. Spiral-weaving is pretty for this finishing. It is described in an article entitled "Straw-Weaving," in "American Homes" for September, 1900, a magazine published in Knoxville, Tenn. Glove, trinket, and mouchoir boxes are pretty for holiday gifts. By using different patterns and colors a great variety of them can be made.
For rugs made of carpet wool, string a three-eighths-inch warp of twine, or oriental cord, the color of the body of the rug. Use a deep tone of red, olive green, or any preferred color, with a stripe at each end. A study of rugs will soon enable one to get the right proportion of rug and stripe. Beautiful rugs are made with a succession of Roman stripes separated by a narrow one of deep red, green, or blue, the ends of the rug being woven of the same color. Center and corner patterns can be woven by placing the pattern under the warp. By stringing a close warp of the same material all the designs for paper-weaving can be easily reproduced. Lengthwise stripes are also pretty. String the warp with different colors and weave a neutral color through them. The rug in the frontispiece is woven of heavy carpet wool, some of which is seen on the table.
Beautiful patterns for rugs can be made by cutting squares and triangles of paper according to directions given in the "Kindergarten Guides." The "Paradise of Childhood" has some very pretty ones. There are two fundamental forms for this paper-cutting. The first is made from a nine-inch square. Fold one diagonal, place the right acute angle upon the left so as to produce four triangles resting upon each other. The form now lies before you with the right angle at the right and two acute angles (one on top of the other) at the left. Lift one of these acute angles and place on top of the angle at the back, creasing the fold; then fold the remaining acute angle under to the same angle at the back, creasing as before. Now place the form with the right angle at the back and hold all the open edges to the left while cutting. Illustrations in the "Kindergarten Guides" show a network drawn on the triangle at the top as an aid to transferring the pattern.
The second fundamental form is made from a six-fold equilateral triangle. Directions for folding and cutting this from the square are given in the "Paradise of Childhood." It can be cut, also, from a circle whose diameter is equal to the width of the rug desired. In drawing and cutting the pattern, hold the form with the entirely open sides toward you. The whole pattern is cut at once and the unfolding often reveals a charming design for a rug, which can be woven in tones or contrasting colors. If cut from colored paper, it can be mounted on white and placed under the warp. Beautiful original designs in conventional leaf and flower patterns can also be made.
To make a conventional leaf form, use fundamental form No. 1. Cut the leaf on the mid-rib and lay this part on the base of the triangle with the point of the leaf on the open edges at the left, and the stem on the closed part at the right. Draw around the edges of the leaf and cut, taking care not to separate the leaf forms at the center, which is at the closed part at your right hand.
Some excellent suggestions for this leaf-cutting in centerpieces and borders can be found in the "Pratt Institute Monthly" for April, 1900.
Dusters for hardwood floors are best made of strips of old flannel. They can be made of stocking strips, or cheese cloth. Make two mats the full size of the loom, sew on three sides and run a gathering-string around the top. It will fit better if it has a piece of cheese cloth sewn at the top through which the gathering-string can be run. This makes a fine duster to slip over a broom. If one prefers, a continuous warp can be strung—the length to be twice the length of the broom part—and a long piece woven which will require sewing on two sides only.
Doll towels are very fascinating things to make. Adjust the loom for the required size. The exact proportion can be ascertained from a large towel. String the close warp with fine darning cotton and have the strings in pairs with fringe at each end. Allow several inches for fringe so that it can be knotted easily. The woof threads, which are also of fine darning cotton, should be pushed very closely and smoothly together. Plain stripes of red or blue, or fancy stripes made with a kindergarten design, can be woven. Observe the same directions for spacing the stripes which are given with the silkoline rug. The towel in the illustration is made of white darning cotton, with the stripes and initial of red. The children will be delighted to lay towel borders with their tablets, and after cutting and pasting with colored paper, weave them in towels for Miss Dolly's housekeeping. Cross-stitch the initial as previously directed. Lunch cloths and bedspreads can be made in the same way. These should be fringed all around. A cross-barred cloth or spread can be made by putting the color in the warp at regular intervals and weaving across with color and white to form squares. Pretty quilts of coarse cotton can be made with kindergarten designs. By weaving many squares, a large quilt can be made. See directions on page 50.
Bed and carriage blankets are best made of single zephyr, although Germantown wool will do. The heavy carpet wools are also pretty. Some suggestions for this work have already been given under the head of Materials. These blankets are really mats, but made only for another use, and are to be woven in a similar way. Those with centers and borders are pretty, and the plaid ones are always attractive. (See illustration of the holder on page 92.)
For doll shawls choose a pretty Scotch plaid and match the colors in fine wool. String a close warp with wool, copying the Scotch plaid exactly. Weave the colors across so that a "truly" plaid shawl may grace Miss Dolly's shoulders on the cold winter mornings. A striped shawl is pretty, or one having one color for the center and another for the border.
Miss Dolly may have a lovely petticoat, too. String a continuous warp long enough for the width of the skirt. Adjust the rods for the length. By using a little color in the warp near the right edge of the weaving, the skirt will have some stripes. Twist a cord of the wool and run in the top for a draw-string.
To make reins, adjust for a narrow strip and string a close, continuous warp the length desired. Make a piece, also, to go across the front. Use Germantown knitting yarn. A black warp with a bright red woof is pretty.
In order to obtain a Tam O'Shanter for Dolly, first weave a square the required size. String a close warp with wool and weave a kindergarten pattern with two colors. When completed, remove from the loom, fold four corners to the center, turn them in to form an opening for the head, and fasten the edges by sewing, or by lacing with a cord made of the two colors. Fasten a tassel on the top and it is finished. Angora wool is pretty for these caps.
The head piece of the loom should be adjusted for the width of the rug for which the fringe is required. A rug nine inches wide would require fringe nine inches long. Adjust the rods one inch apart—that is, with one perforation between the rods. String the warp in every groove, one string over each rod and three between, making five in all. Weave over and under one until the heading is finished. If you have an extra side rod, place it in the sixth perforation from the right-hand rod. This will make tassels a little over two inches long. If a shorter fringe is preferred, adjust accordingly. If you have not an extra side rod remove the left one and place as directed, leaving the right one in the heading until the whole fringe is finished. Thread a large tape needle with two pieces of worsted, as long as the two can be conveniently managed. If the fringe is made of two colors, take one of each for the tassels, weaving the heading with the one which predominates in the rug. Run the ends in the grooves to fasten them. Wind under the right rod, which was left in the heading, through the first stitch, which includes the warp string over the rod, then over the extra rod to the right. Wind under again through the next stitch in the heading (always around the rod) and so on until the end is reached. To make this fringe into tassels, separate six strands of each color and tie with the two colors, running the tape needle and worsted along from one tassel to another, or tie each one securely and cut. The fringe will need no finishing at the ends. Run the short ends, which were wound through the grooves in the beginning in order to fasten them, through a few stitches in the heading. The fringe can be made of one color, and of any width. To take the fringe from the loom, first remove the rod at the end of the tassels and cut the fringe before removing the rods from the heading. This will insure straight cutting at the ends of the tassels. If one prefers a knotted fringe, cut and knot before removing the heading. By examining rug fringes in the furniture stores one can get a very good idea of the manner of knotting. (See also directions for splicing Germantown wool on page 84.)
A simple fringe can be knotted quickly and easily in the ends of the warp strings, after the rug is taken from the loom. First decide upon the length of the fringe when finished. Add at least two inches to allow for knotting. Cut each piece of wool twice this length, double, and thread a tape needle. Pass the needle from the right side of the rug to the wrong, through the warp strings at the end of the rug. Draw the loop of wool through and unthread the needle. Pass the two ends of the wool down through the loop and draw it tight. When this has been done in every pair of warp strings, knot every other piece of the fringe together, in the same way that towel fringe is made.
This question of whether a rug should have fringe or not is much discussed at present. It is largely a personal one. The best way, perhaps, is to study different kinds of rugs and know which ones are usually made with fringe and which are not.
Bed shoes of all sizes are easily woven, and make a useful holiday gift. They are made without soles and are intended to be drawn up around the ankle like a high moccasin. Use the soft double Germantown wool. White, fastened together with pink or blue, or white striped with a color, may be used, and are attractive. The socks in the illustration are of white wool with a pink seam up the instep and pink scallops around the top. One sock is shown on a last, and the other as it appears off the foot. The stripes in the knitting can be shown in the weaving by using a color. The full size of the loom makes a shoe of medium size. String a close warp with white wool. If the shoe is to be all white, weave with the same, leaving the color for the finishing. If it is to be striped, weave perhaps eight or ten times across with color and then with white; when the weaving is finished you will have a mat 9 × 12 inches. Double one of the short edges and sew over and over on the wrong side with white wool. This is the toe. The two long edges now lie together. They may be crocheted, or knitted, with colored wool by holding them close and fulling in, or by puckering a little. If this is done in color, it makes a pretty seam on the top of the foot and front of the ankle. The top may be finished by crocheting a beading and scallops of the colored wool. Run a ribbon or worsted cord through the beading. If desired, the long edges may be laced together with ribbon one-half inch wide. Baby shoes are made in the same way. To ascertain what length to adjust the loom, measure the sole, then up, back of the heel, to a point above the ankle. For the width, measure around the foot. Finish the cord with tassels or balls.
To make worsted balls, first cut two small circles from cardboard. From the center of each cut a smaller circle. Hold one circle over the other, and with a worsted or tape needle threaded with wool, wind over and over very closely until the hole in the center is completely filled. Always piece the wool on the outside edge. Cut the wool all around on the outside. Make a cord of the wool and slip between the two circles. Then tie so as to fasten all the pieces of wool in the middle, leaving the cord long enough to tie in a bow if desired. Tear the pasteboards, remove them, and trim the wool evenly. A second ball should be fastened on the other end of the cord, after it has been laced through the beading.
To weave photograph and picture frames of silk, chenille, raffia, celluloid, or leather, proceed in the same way as for a bordered rug, having the oblong or square center the required size for the picture. Foundation frames for mounting the work can be purchased, usually, at the stores where tissue paper and flowers are sold.
Square and oblong table mats for hot dishes can be made of candle-wicking, knitting cotton, or cheese cloth.
To-day, tippets and scarfs are very little used, but they are very comfortable things to wear to school on a cold day. In order to make them, string a continuous warp of the required length with Germantown dark colored wool. Weave the same color for the woof, and brighten it at intervals with Roman stripes. A plaid scarf can be woven, if preferred; while with a close warp one can have a kindergarten pattern in another, or contrasting color.
In making wristlets, one must decide how long they are to be, and adjust the length on the loom. Measure around the wrist for the width, remembering that the wristlets will stretch when pulled over the hand. Weave in stripes or plaid, or, if desired, plain, stringing the warp with the same wool as is used in weaving. Remove the mat and sew the edges together.
Sleeve protectors can be woven of raffia in the same way as wristlets. Make them so they can be fastened on the outside of the sleeve, like a cuff.
Purses, or chatelaine bags, are made of knitting-silk. Beads can be added, if desired. Adjust the loom for the required size, and string a continuous warp, if necessary. One can obtain the silver or nickel tops, which open and close, at the department stores.
It will be better to use heavier material for shopping and school bags. Raffia makes a strong bag; silk strips are serviceable, and leather strips are good for school bags. For opera-glass bags, make two mats and lace or weave them together, or string a continuous warp. Use rope silk, chenille, or knitting silk with beads.
When one has mastered the mysteries of weaving thoroughly enough to make a good mat, it is very easy to "turn them into" various articles. There is no sleight of hand about it.
Silk canvas panels are made by adjusting the loom for the required size of the sides of the box, and weaving a plain mat for the top. A number of suggestions have been given on page 52, under the head of Materials.
Pretty neckties of fine knitting silk can be made on the loom by using a continuous warp of the same material.
The accompanying illustration, and another on page 98, and also the vignette on the title page, show squares of silk canvas, and will give one many ideas of how they may be used. One has a cross-stitched pattern of chenille, and in another the chenille was alternated with silk in the warp, and both chenille and silk were used in the woof. The squares can be made up in cushion and box covers, sachet cases, sofa pillows, or the larger squares can be used as veil cases. A number of them can be joined for large sofa pillows. In the latter case they can be made of wool, and many of them could be crocheted together for an afghan or slumber robe.
The design in the illustration is a pattern which may be used for either a Wilton or Axminster rug, or for mats, sachet cases, cushion or box covers, or cross-stitch embroidery on burlap, or silk, or wool canvas. The patterns given on pages 120, 125, 130, and 134 will be found adaptable for rugs or squares.
Slumber robes or afghans have been previously mentioned on page 54, under the head of Materials. It will be found very easy, after a little experience with a continuous warp, to make strips of any length. It is better to wind the extra lengths of warp upon spools, as has been suggested, or around the tops of the rods. Large portières can be made of long strips of silk or silkoline cut bias. Fasten the long strips together horizontally in imitation of Bagdad curtains.
Hair receivers are easily made from raffia. Make a square mat and fold it in cornucopia form.
Chapter Twelve
ORIENTAL RUGS
To be quite up to date, Miss Dolly should have oriental rugs and draperies in her house beautiful. These are easily made on the loom, and the little girl or boy, who has first copied a pattern and then seen it grow under patient fingers, has a thing of beauty and a joy forever. What could give more pleasure than to be able to say fifty years from now: "I wove that, my dear, when I went to school"? Truly the grandchildren would reply: "How I wish I could have gone to grandma's school!"—only they may have something equally beautiful which will take its place in that far-off time—who knows?
The patterns for oriental rugs familiar in the East have descended through hundreds of years, and the exquisite colors, produced by vegetable dyes, and increasing in richness and beauty with age, are only to be seen in old rugs. We have nothing in our modern dyes to compare with the old color. One is soon interested in the study of these Eastern treasures, and it becomes second nature in a short time not only to chat familiarly of Kermans, Serebends, Khivas, Bokharas, and Kiz-Kilims, ad infinitum, but to jot down now and then in one's notebook, or still better in one's design book (made of the kindergarten squared paper, one-eighth inch), a pretty border or centerpiece for the rug which is to grace some doll house. The patterns of Turkish rugs (see page 127) are of geometrical or arabesque designs—an edict from the Koran having prohibited the reproduction of living things. The Persians, however, weave animals, birds, etc., as their ancestors did in days gone by.
There is some very interesting reading in "Oriental Rug Weaving," by V. Kurdji, on the subject of inscriptions often found on Persian rugs. He says: "If the possessors of some of the rare pieces that are sold in this country knew the meaning of the inscriptions woven in their rugs, the knowledge would add a charm and interest which would make them more valuable than the harmonious colors so beautifully blended."
Oriental rugs take their names from the countries or provinces in which they are made. Bokhara rugs are made in mountainous districts of Turkestan, and have never been successfully imitated, because the dyes used are made from a plant grown only in that district. The designs are geometrical, and the colors deep maroon or blue. The pile is woven as close as velvet. They are noted for the superior quality of their dyes. Khiva rugs, sometimes called afghan, are made in Turkestan. They resemble the Bokhara rugs, but are coarser in texture and heavier in pile, and they differ from them in having a wide selvage at each end. Some Khivas have a small pattern in red mosaic over the surface with a circle in the center. One often sees a rug made of a rich golden yellow with a background of dark red.
The Kiz-Kilim rugs have no nap, and are woven with a needle. They are thin and almost alike on both sides. The larger sizes are woven in two strips fastened together so that they can be taken apart and used for curtains. "These Kiz-Kilims are woven by Armenians and Turks in Anatolia (the land of sunrise, and the Greek name for Asia Minor). The literal translation of the word Kiz-Kilim is bride's rug, it being a custom in that country for a bride to present to her husband one of these rugs, which she has woven during her engagement to him. The quality of the rug is supposed to measure the quality of the husband's affection for his bride, consequently we have many beautiful specimens of this class, the brilliant hues and intricate designs of which could only have been inspired by the whisperings of Cupid. They are in open-work patterns—called perforated—and often have long tufts of colored silk tied to the rugs with blue beads, in order to keep them from the effects of the Evil Eye." The Kiz-Kilim rug in the illustration was copied from a genuine rug. The filling is a deep blue and the borders are in oriental colors. The center figure is white, with red, brown, and yellow inside. There are four kinds of Kilims. Much interesting and valuable information can be found in John Kimberley Mumford's "Oriental Rugs"; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900, where directions for weaving Kiz-Kilims, Khivas, and Bokharas are given, with a few patterns.
Oriental wools or carpet ravelings are used for these rugs. Copy your figures and colors from genuine rugs. The accompanying patterns were obtained in this way. See directions on page 47 for stringing a double warp with fringe at each end. First fasten the pattern under the warp; then weave about one-quarter inch at each end with carpet thread like the warp. This will make it look like a "truly" Kiz-Kilim. Next to this, weave a very narrow strip of several colors each twice across, regarding the double strings as one. Then weave each part of the narrow border. To make the perforations, take up one thread of the double warp for one side of the pattern, and the other thread for weaving the pattern next to it. For instance, the "steps," as the children call them, of triangle No. 1, when finished, will stand close to the steps of triangle No. 2, with a little slit between. These perforations occur only where one pattern joins another of a different color, or the dark filling. For instance, in the white figure in the center, where three or five squares come together, the slits occur at each end, the part between being woven over the double strings as if they were only one. In this way the perforations of other parts are closed top and bottom. Use a tape needle and weave each section of the pattern separately. Weave the filling last. As this peculiar tone of blue could not be obtained in carpet ravelings, an eighth of a yard of terry was raveled for the purpose. Take care not to draw any part of the pattern too tight, or the perforations will be too large. The right and left edges of the rug are woven over the rods to keep them straight. Both narrow borders were woven before the center was commenced. The pattern in the illustration is for a Wilton or Axminster rug, but can be used for mats, or box, sachet, and cushion covers. It is made with cross-stitch embroidery on burlap, silk, or wool canvas. (See also page 120.)
The children can lay these Turkish patterns with square tablets upon their desks, the pattern being drawn upon the board, or on paper with a rubber pen. It will be a delight to the children to transfer them to paper by drawing and then coloring, or by cutting and pasting colored papers.
The genuine Khiva and Bokhara rugs are made by weaving and knotting alternately. It will be easier at first to weave a web, or foundation. Choose a tight twisted yarn about the color of the rug to be woven. String a close warp of the wool and weave plain up and down, one string at a time, until you have a rug of the desired size. Put in the pattern first, and then the filling. This work will be almost too difficult for little children. Carpet wools and Germantown wool can be used. It will not be found difficult to follow the pattern, especially if one is used to cross-stitch embroidery. Each stitch counts for one of cross-stitch. Keep the stitches very close together so that the nap will stand up well when finished. Silk rugs can be copied in the same way, using floss or rope silk for the pile. If one prefers, a piece of burlap may be stretched across the loom and secured to the rods, instead of weaving a foundation, as suggested.
Stitches for pile weaving are very easily made. This illustration showing examples of stitches for pile weaving illustrates the methods used in the stitches, and may be used for Axminster or Wilton rugs, for boxes, sachet cases, and other articles. The tape needle is the kind used for weaving when the large needle cannot be used. It is preferable to use one of this kind on account of the eye and blunt point, and it may be obtained at the notion counter in department stores for a few cents. There are two stitches, each occupying half of the illustration and numbered from left to right, beginning at the top. Make No. 1 by passing a tape needle threaded with wool down through the web, leaving a short end, then up one stitch to the left. This is the first step. In No. 2 continue over on the right side, past the stitch where you started, to the stitch on the right; then down and up through the first hole, and cut off the wool the same length as the end you left at first. No. 3 shows a stitch completed. No. 4, one row of stitches, and No. 5, three rows, showing how one row overlaps another. When the rug is finished, the ends should be cut evenly, so that the nap is like velvet. The children would say that this stitch looks like a two-legged stool, and so it does.
The second stitch is made so that the nap lies sideways from left to right. No. a is just like the preceding stitch. No. b shows the needle passing down the stitch where you started and up one stitch to the right. Cut off the wool and pull the end left at first over the last one. This pile should stand very straight and even. No. c shows a completed stitch; No. d one row, and No. e three rows. These stitches are useful in mending Khiva and Bokhara rugs.
Wilton, Axminster, or any rugs having a pile, can be woven with the same stitches. The pattern in the illustration may be used for either a Wilton or Axminster rug, for a box cover, cushion, sachet case, or mat; and can be cross-stitched embroidery, on burlap, silk or woolen canvas.
Chapter Thirteen
NAVAJO BLANKETS
Navajo blankets were first made by the Pueblo Indians, from whom the Navajo Indians learned the art, and not long after the latter excelled in the making of them. Among the Pueblo Indians the men do the work; but women are the weavers among the Navajos. In the illustration on this page is seen a miniature Navajo loom with the blanket commenced. The two cords woven at the sides with the woof can be easily seen. Simple looms are suspended between two posts or trees, and the weaver sits upon the ground. A twig is used for a shuttle, and a reed, fork-shaped like a hand, is used to push down the woof threads. The blanket is made waterproof by pounding down the threads with a batten, a good picture of which is seen in Dr. Washington Matthews' article on Navajo weavers in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Separate balls of color are used to carry out the pattern, which is sometimes traced in the sand before the work is commenced. As many as twenty-nine different balls have been seen hanging from a single blanket. Some of the designs have been handed down from one generation to another, and are carried entirely in the memory. They are often symbolical "and unfold a whole legend to the knowing eye of the native." The weaving is done from the bottom up, some working in one direction, while others weave first at the bottom, then turn the loom upside down, and, after weaving about the same distance there, finish in the middle. The last part of the weaving is like darning, and is often done with a needle. The colors most used are white, gray, black, a bright yellow, red (a scarlet, generally obtained by raveling bayeta cloth), and sometimes blue. In former times, when the Indians used vegetable dyes, the colors were beautiful and lasting. These old blankets are becoming more and more rare, and to-day in their places we have the bright and not always satisfactory results of aniline dyes. The blanket in the illustration facing this page has narrow stripes in the following colors: On each end (seven stripes) red, black, white, orange, green, white, black. The two groups of six stripes in the middle are: Black, white, red, green, white, black. Before the advent of the present squaw dress, the black, red, and dark blue blankets were used as clothing, but the best blankets were, and still are, worn at sacred dances. Dr. Matthews, in his report, gives an interesting description of the method of making these blankets, with several pictures of the better examples. Navajo blankets are finished with four border cords, which are secured as the weaving progresses, and the ends are fastened at the four corners by small tassels.