Braided Rugs and Their Making 
A BRANCH OF HANDICRAFT WORK THAT IS SIMPLE AND EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE—PATTERNS, 
MATERIALS AND METHODS FOR MAKING ONE OF THE MOST SERVICEABLE OF THE NEEDLE RUGS 
Tt y A m y Mali Hicks 
W ITH the steadily increasing interest in handicraft work 
which lias accompanied the growth of this phase of home 
activities, there has come a better understanding of the really 
valuable place it can occupy in the modern house. We realize 
that the work of the handicraftsman not only has an element of 
strong personal interest given by the fact that it is the product of 
the owner’s own hands, but 
that it possesses a certain 
distinction and individuality 
not to be found in articles 
duplicated in large quanti¬ 
ties by specially equipped 
factories. This is a condi¬ 
tion which applies probably 
with equal force to nearly 
all branches of the work, 
but it is especially notice¬ 
able in the case of braided 
rugs. In the old Colonial 
days these serviceable and 
attractive articles filled an 
important place, and even 
to-day they may well come 
in for the handicraftsman’s 
careful consideration. 
The braided rug is one 
of the most serviceable and 
effective of the needle rugs. 
It is so simple in technique 
that any careful needle¬ 
woman can make it. And 
consequently it is one of the 
rugs most frequently seen 
in the farmhouses in New 
England and the Middle 
States. Sometimes, indeed, 
a complete floor covering 
is formed by using braided 
squares fitted together. 
These coverings are heav¬ 
ier and warmer than rag 
carpets. They wear longer, 
too, and lie flatter, keeping 
down to the floor at the 
corners and showing no dis¬ 
position to kick up in the annoying way that rag rugs do. 
Braided rugs can be made entirely at home and with other¬ 
wise waste material if the worker chooses. The really old ones 
were made of cotton rags or cotton and woolen mixed; in fact, 
of anything old or new which came in handy. For the spacious 
attics of our great-grandmothers furnished inspiration and mate¬ 
rial enough at any time that one was needed, and the work is so 
simple that many a one has been braided during the long winter 
evenings by the meager light of its contemporary, the tallow dip. 
But in these days of no attics and few store-rooms the worker 
in the cities at least has no treasures of cast-off things to resort 
to. The basements of the large department stores are the substi¬ 
tute, and these, filled with their odds and ends of remnants and 
marked-down bargains, 1 must admit, take the place fairly well, 
though they are not as fascinating as the old-time attics. They 
have many advantages which are not to be despised : for one 
thing, goods may be bought in any desired quantity, large or small, 
and the worker of discriminating taste may select just that which 
is most suitable to carry out the design which has been planned, 
for there are many kinds 
of cotton fabrics that are 
soft and attractive in col¬ 
oring and printed with fair¬ 
ly reliable dyes. 
Of these the blues of all 
shades and makes are the 
most satisfactory. Of 
other colors the cottons 
known as the Washington 
prints made by several 
Rhode Island mills are de¬ 
pendable. These are a re¬ 
vival of some of the quaint 
old-time patterns and they 
are principally used for 
making quilted bedspreads. 
The braided rug is made 
in three forms : square, 
round and oval. An old 
square rug is sometimes 
started with a piece of car¬ 
pet for the center, but this 
has an incongruous look 
and is not good from the 
designer's standpoint. The 
most desirable shape for 
the small braided rug is 
oval, so let us take as an 
example a braided bath 
mat in blue and white, size 
26 x 32. The tool needed 
in making a braided rug is 
a coarse sewing needle suit¬ 
able for carrying white cot¬ 
ton, size No. 24. 
The cotton Washington 
prints alreadv mentioned 
are practical for braided 
rugs because they are soft finished fabrics with little dressing. 
They retail at from seven to eight cents a yard and are about 
twenty-four inches wide. Select a medium blue with a small 
broken-up figure on it, rather than a figure which is distinct in 
pattern, like a dot or a plaid, for instance. A floral pattern or 
sprigged effect is better for the present purpose. Of course any 
print will do if the Washington prints are not obtainable. Plain 
colors can be used effectively when combined with figured goods, 
either bv using braids made entirely of plain material or bv braid¬ 
ing two strands of one with one of the other. A rug this size 
requires nine yards of medium blue cotton print and six yards of 
unbleached cotton cloth of the cheapest braid. 
The blue cotton prints and the unbleached cotton cloth must be 
The braided rug is made from strips of cotton print, braided together in the form of a rope 
and then coiled. A very wide variety of design and color is possible 
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