It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
Good to the Last Thread
"Pioneer women spent evenings and free time mending clothing to make their clothing last as long as possible. When clothing was completely worn out it was saved to make quilt pieces or rag rugs. Ma mended everything from Pa's shirts to the sheets on the bed. To make curtains for the Ingallses' new home on Plum Creek, Ma starched pieces of worn-out sheets and edged them with calico and pink strips from a dress of Carrie's that had been ripped. Ma did all of her sewing by hand until Pa bought her a sewing machine just before Laura married Almanzo in These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder."~ From the website of: The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
The Inspiration
An Old Braided Rug
Years ago, my mother-in-law gave me an old braided rug that had been made by a relative of hers. It was made from fabric strips torn from old wool suits, and it was lovely.
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| Old denim jeans about to become 2 rugs: a braided rug, and a patchwork pocket rug. VeggieBound.org |
It was so soiled, I couldn't identify the colors, so I gently washed it in cold water and dried it in the sun. Shades of black, charcoal, navy and gray,
it was soft under foot, and captivated me with thoughts if its history.
Who wore the suits, were the suits also homemade, who made the rug, how was it done, how old was it?
I decided to make a braided rug someday out of our old clothes. We seldom wear wool, so I started saving old pairs of denim jeans.
Well...someday has finally come!
And, the denim jeans will become two types of rugs: a braided rug and a patchwork denim back-pocket rug!
Laura Ingalls Wilder Couldn't Have Imagined!
I decided to make a braided rug someday out of our old clothes. We seldom wear wool, so I started saving old pairs of denim jeans.
Well...someday has finally come!
And, the denim jeans will become two types of rugs: a braided rug and a patchwork denim back-pocket rug!
Laura Ingalls Wilder Couldn't Have Imagined!
New Technology Teaches Old Techniques
Since any relatives who could teach me how to make braided rugs are long gone, I turned to YouTube to learn how to make braided rugs.
- Rug Braiding Bay State 1 and 2, by jfmaziarz
- Audio Only, Making a Braided Rug Instructions, from HarvestofDaily Life.com
Tools
Halcyon Yarn in Maine sells the tools to help make braided rugs: Braided Rug Making Tools
A Charming Website with All the Need to Know Information
MargesBraidedRugs.com
Along with the sound of a push mower and typewriters
Add this to the list of things we'll never see, smell or hear again
Before the days of pre-washed and distressed denim, the jeans section of department stores had a special smell that I really liked, the smell of the indigo dye. To me, it was the smell of August, of back-to-school clothes shopping.
Besides the denim smell, jeans were not pre-shrunk, so my mom would always buy my brothers a size or 2 larger. They'd roll up the cuffs, and through the school year grow into and out of their jeans. Notice she bought them for my brothers? Girls had to wear skirts to school!
As the braided rug project progresses, I'll post photos.
A Charming Website with All the Need to Know Information
MargesBraidedRugs.com
Along with the sound of a push mower and typewriters
Add this to the list of things we'll never see, smell or hear again
Before the days of pre-washed and distressed denim, the jeans section of department stores had a special smell that I really liked, the smell of the indigo dye. To me, it was the smell of August, of back-to-school clothes shopping.
Besides the denim smell, jeans were not pre-shrunk, so my mom would always buy my brothers a size or 2 larger. They'd roll up the cuffs, and through the school year grow into and out of their jeans. Notice she bought them for my brothers? Girls had to wear skirts to school!
As the braided rug project progresses, I'll post photos.
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| This little piggy stayed home... to braid a rug! |
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