THE CRAFTS 
WOOD CARVING AND PYROGRAPHY. LEATHER AND METAL. BASKETRY, ETC. 
Under the management of Miss Emily Peacock, Room 2 3 , 22 East 16th St., New York. All inquiries in regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be answered in the magazine under this head. 
Summer Address, care of Keramic Studio Pub. Co , Syracuse, N. Y. 
All questions must be received before the 10th day of month preceding issue, and will be answered under "Answers to Inquiries" only. Please do noi send 
stamped envelope for reply. The editors will answer questions only in these columns. 
made on ordinary rag carpet weaving, and in that way 
was able to keep up their interest in carrying out my 
ideas, and although they had a supreme disdain for my 
experiments in color effects and pattern making, they 
were not going to quarrel with their means of support. 
It was not long before the weaver who did the best work 
became a complete convert and John became my most 
loyal and ardent supporter. Many an hour have I spent 
watching him weave as I directed how the borders and 
patterns should be evolved. He was a great favorite, 
not only among other weavers, but with laborers who 
were out of work, who used to spend their time in his 
workroom, debating on the subjects of the day- When 
I first made my appearance among this group, they used 
to sit like mutes, with their chairs tilted against the wall, 
and never uttered a word, but this was too good an op- 
portunity to be lost, and I improved the occasion by draw- 
ing the men out, and hearing their views on the questions 
of the day. It was interesting to note the gradual in- 
crease of friendliness on their part, and they became so 
loquacious that I was able to get their view of many 
phases of life, that most of us do not have the opportunity 
of hearing first hand. 
At that time it was all experimental work, as I had 
not the opportunity of seeing other rugs, or of knowing 
what was being done by other craftsmen. The chief dif- 
ference between the Colonial rugs and those made to- 
day is, that the former were made from worn out cloth- 
ing, which was torn up into strips. These were sewn and 
wound into balls, and a motley chain of materials and 
color were woven "hit or miss" into rag carpeting. Roots 
and barks of trees were sometimes employed from which 
to make vegetable dyes, and from the dye pots, the old 
clothing reappeared in charming rich colors, which in many 
cases, have retained their brilliancy after years of hard 
wear. These home dyed rugs, and the "hit or miss" 
varieties, fitted in with their simple surroundings, but 
No. 1— Cutting male 
ial with a weighted knife, which s 
cutting with scissors, or tearing. 
ves hours of tedious 
RUG WEAVING AND DYEING 
Mabel Tuke Priestman 
I T is a far cry from the days of our great grandmothers to 
* the present day, but it seems strange that the same 
handcrafts that were occupying their leisure hours, 
should be of such deep interest to the women of to-day. 
The intense interest which is taken in all handcrafts, has 
brought about a wonderful revival of the useful and well 
made products of our ancestors,. Not the least interest- 
ing of these is the art of weaving, and the demand for 
good hand made work has made of it an industry where- 
by women are able to make at home beautiful rugs and 
curtains, which, when they are well designed and well 
made, can always find a ready market. It seems strange 
that more has not been written on this interesting subject, 
especially as it is not difficult for a woman of ordinary 
intelligence to become an expert weaver, and also learn 
to make her work express her own individuality. 
It is now quite a number of years since the revival of 
these rugs was started in America, and I have followed 
its advance ever since I came across the first rugs, which 
were an outcome of the Arts and Crafts movement. There 
was so little written on the subject, that in order to under- 
stand it thoroughly, I had to make personal experiments, 
not only in the weaving, but in the kind of materials to 
use, and in the dyeing of the fabrics, and therefore I can 
speak from my own experience in the early days. 
As my desire was not to become a weaver, but to 
gain all the knowledge possible, for the sake of having 
beautiful rugs made, I at first made use of crude rag car- 
pet weavers, who no doubt thought that I was crazy, 
and made feeble protests against my innovations. It was 
necessary for me to understand the process of weaving, 
as well as to gain experience from results, and I greased 
the wheels by paying the men just double what they 
No. 2 — Making experiments in weaving border designs in a narrow loom. In chang- 
ing the color of the warp the brown threads have been tied to the white which 
was already on the loom. The lay-to is brought sharply forward to make the 
warp firm. 
