IMPLEMENTS AND ACCESSORIES 



39 



Boys, girls, or women would probably become more 

 expert at mat-making in a much shorter time than 

 men. A smart willing lad should earn from 30 to 

 50 per cent, more per day than a man at making mats. 

 A special frame is used for the purpose, but I have 

 seen mats made on the wooden floor of a barn equally 

 well. The frame consists 

 of two pieces of wooden 

 batten 3 or 4 in. wide, and 

 6 ft. or more in length, 

 as desired. These battens 

 form the side pieces, and 

 are kept the required dis- 

 tance apart by the inser- 

 tion of two cross battens 

 about 5 ft. long one at 

 the end, and the other at 

 any desired distance from 

 it, according to the length 







8. FRAME FOR 



MATS. 



(i) Side boards ; (A) Cross-bar 

 to keep sides equidistant. (5) 

 Strings strained tightly from nails 

 at each end. (E) Reel or bobbin 

 for twine. (F) showing loop made 

 when sewing. 



of the mat. Four or five 



nails or pegs are stuck into 



the cross pieces, at equal 



distances apart, cord or 



tarred twine is then tightly 



stretched from one nail to 



another. The straw is now taken in handfuls and 



spread evenly across the strings on the frame the cut 



ends being pushed against the side battens. Sewing 



now takes place. A quantity of string or twine is 



wound on a bobbin or reel about 6 in. long. The 



string is passed over the straw, under the bottom 



string, made into a loop knot, and pulled tight, so 



that each layer of straw is pressed close up and does 



