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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Thread, was Braided rugs
  • Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:32:02 -0500



Lynda wrote:
For rugs, you want a heavy duty carpet thread. Thread uses an
inverse rating, so the heavier the thread the smaller the number.
You don't want anything higher than 40.

It doesn't say heavy duty, but it is Singer Carpet Thread. I don't see
a number on the package.
What's your opinion of using the braided fishing line? Are you familiar
with it? I looks more like string than typical fishing line, and it is
very, very strong.



Gramma used to make the braided rugs. She'd make the strips out of
old wool men's suits she'd get at Goodwill/Salvations Army. Then us
kids would braid and she'd circle and sew.


I'm guessing that with wool, you don't have to worry about raveling
edges-it's more like felting?
Sorry to seem dense, but A. Wool isn't that popular of a clothing
material in the South and B. I'm allergic to wool. I do have some wool
socks that I wear in the coldest of weather, but never more than once a
week.

Something I don't have a good sense of is how the strip length will
convert to rug size. If I have 1000 feet of strips, divide by 3 is 333
feet of strips...Once you braid that, I'm guessing the length would be
reduced by 1/3 yet again, so you might end up with a 200 ft braid. Is
that long enough to make 6 chair cushions? Is is long enough for a 3x5
oval rug? I'd hate to start something and not have enough, or have to
change the colors and patterns if that isn't what I intended to do.

I've got two piles of sheets and material, sorted based on color
coordination and groups. I have a 'jewel tone' pile of burgundy, blue,
and some green, and I have a 'flowery' pile of sage greens, mauvey
pinks, etc. The latter is the smaller pile and I'm thinking of making a
bedside rug for the future guest bedroom. The jewel tones will be the
chair pads and maybe some rugs. I just would like to be able to figure
out how many rugs I can make or how large of rug I can make.

I'm probably jumping the gun as I still have a lot of strips to sew up.

When people make rugs out of rags and clothing, that sure seems like a
lot of sewing work due to the number of strips and small lengths. I'm
using sheets and it is still slow work! It's kind of neat though. One
set of sheet carries a lot of memories..they were a wedding present, and
our favorite sheets for years-nice, soft, about 450 thread count..they
were worn to the point of getting a few tears and the elastic was weak.
Another set was also a wedding gift, but Ron almost burnt the house
down smoking in bed, so that set has a number of holes, which were cut
out for the rugs. It's nice because we keep the colors, but after
braiding, the pattern is lost, so while you know what it was, it looks
totally different and new, yet soft and worn and familiar. Kind of strange.

Bev




--
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda




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