Hi Diana, I am working on braiding wool roving into a braided rug so if you know of any tips that could help me along I would appreciate it:-) Drin 
Hi Drin, With the roving rug that you're braiding, the only thing you really need to watch is where you need to add more length to keep braiding. Make sure that the ends of the roving are pulled apart, not cut and make sure the ends of the roving are overlapped and work the two pieces with your fingers to make sure that they stick to each other.

One other trick that works with all sorts of braiding, is to wind the length of cording around your hand loosely, and secure the roll with a rubber band. Then when you need more length, just unroll some, and reband the rest. It helps keep the ends from tangling (and with roving from sticking together), and also you can use longer pieces that way so you don't have to splice in as often. Hope that helps, Diana 

CUTTING T-SHIRTS & BRAIDING WITH DENIM
I can no longer find the directions for cutting old T shirts into strips to make braided rugs. Can you help? Also, my chosen fabric for braided rugs is old jeans. When I tried the four-strand braid for a dog leash, it seemed too heavy. I suspect using any more than 4 strands of jeans strips for any style rug would be too heavy and hard to manage. True? Thanks for your help. Barbara

Hi Barbara, T-shirts and all single knits are cut in the direction of the 'curl'--either lengthwise or across the grain, so that when the strip is given a tug it curls up into a neat little tube. With T-shirts that don't have side seams, you can cut a spiral around the shirt for a continuous strip (If it does have side seams, the seams end up on the outside of the curled strand .) For a braided rug, t shirts should be cut 2 to 3 inches wide (wider if pretty well worn). 

It's not true about multiple strand braids not being suited for denim--it depends on the type of braid. The dog leash is made with the 4 strand STANDARD braid, which is used to make a heavier braid from lighter fabrics. With heavy fabrics to start with, the FLAT BRAIDS are used (they get wider with each strand so that the weight and thickness of the braid itself doesn't increase). So a 4 strand flat braid will work fine with your old jeans. 

Hope that helps, Diana 

WHAT IS THE "RAGS TO RUGS" RUG?
Dear Diana, In the back of the Bohemian Braid book is a picture of a rug that says RAGS TO RUGS. Is it a cross stitch rug? I was trying to figure out how it was made. Thanks for any information, Debbie

Dear Debbie, No, that rug is actually a fabric tapestry rug that I made for display in one of our retail rug shops, probably in about 1984 or 1985. It was made with ¾-inch unfolded strip in a deep charcoal gray and ivory cotton, to accent the graphics in the design. It does show some of the possibilities in the more advanced sort of fabric tapestry designs. Best, Diana 

ESTIMATING FABRICS FOR A LARGE CROCHETED RUG
I never start a project out on a small scale, I always go large... I want to single crochet a rectangular rug (back and forth) to measure 2' x 9'. It will be a runner for a hallway. I'm interested in earth tones- blues, purples, greens, rusts, yellows. Can you help me figure out how much I would need and how much it would cost? Thanks for all the great information you offer on your web sight.Kim 
Dear Kim, I can understand your wanting to go big at the first crack, but I still recommend you make a small practice piece before you get going on the big rug. It will help you to get the feel of working with fabric strip, which does handle differently than yarns. 

For the back-and-forth type of crochet, I really don't suggest our pre-folded strip. It is just too heavy at 1-1/2 inches wide, and the rows are too prominent. It just doesn't make a nice rug in the back-and-forth type of patterns. Instead I suggest you use unfolded strip at about 3/4 to 1 inch wide. The rug will lie smoother and have a much more even surface.

A 2' X 9' rug has 18 square feet and you'll need 1.5 to 2 yards of cotton fabric per square foot. That means you'll need 27 to 36 yards of fabric.... Don't panic. I'm going to refer you to the Waldmans at 'Raggedy Rugs' (See Links). They sell fabric by the pound and one pound is approximately equal to 4 yards of fabric. It is by far the most economical way to go, since for a rug the size you want, you'll need 8 to 9 pounds, instead of massive yardages. (If I was doing the rug I'd get 10 to 12 pounds, so I had flexibility in the color placement.) They also have a lot of photos on their website so you can see the fabrics--just remember that the prints will 'disappear' in the rugs so only work on the colors you're looking for. The only catch is that you'll need to cut and join the strips yourself. Hope that helps... holler if you have any more questions. Happy rugmaking! Diana 
 

CUTTING MACHINES FOR RUGMAKING
Greetings. I'm interested in trying out rag rug hooking and found your website. Before I send an order I'd like to know if you've heard of a machine that can speed up the rag cutting process. I saw a such a device on a TV show segment, but can't seem to find out about it. Thanks. Susan 
Dear Susan, There are rag "slitters" (fixed razor blades) which really don't work well, but are cheap ($12 or so). The "real" cutters are a very nice piece of machinery called Fraser cutters, made by the Harry M. Fraser Co. (I've used one for years and they are wonderful.) They are however expensive, running $125 or thereabouts these days. I don't recommend that you get one until you really know that you want to take up rug hooking seriously. In the meantime a rotary cutter, with a good ruler made for cutting on the mats works fine. It isn't as precise in the very narrow strips, but will get you started. You can find the Fraser company on the links we have on the website. Hope that helps, Diana 

SPLICING BRAID LACING THREAD
I love your site, I just found it by accident and I will be spending alot of time there! I have a wonderful elderly neighbor who has been teaching me to braid wool rugs. We have done all the striping, planning our color scheme, sewing the strips together and have braided a large "rope". Our problem is that she has forgotten how to splice the hollow carpet thread so you don't have a seam. Do you have any information on this? 
Hello, The thread used for lacing is usually used as a loop (tie a double length together, and thread the lacing needle or braid lacer with the doubled length). When you want to add more thread, make another loop, and slip it through the old loop and itself to make the next length. (It works just like chaining rubber bands!)

Hope that helps, Diana 

REVERSIBLE RUGS WITH DENIM
Greetings, I have only hooked a wall hanging and have 30 years of sewing experience. I am interested in a 5' x 8' square reversible denim rug. What would you recommend? Fran Hello Fran, I started thinking about all of the reversible rugs you can make with denim, and decided that it wasn't such a simple question after all. But since you have 30 years sewing experience, I think the one I would recommend is a "kitchen table" rug. All of the others of that size would be extremely heavy, and would take you so long that it really wouldn't be a good way to start. The kitchen table rug pictured on the website is made with old jeans, but for a 5 X 8 rug, you'd probably want to buy new denim to go at least one direction (probably the length of the rug). There's info in the bulletin to figure the yardage you'd need. 

Also, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to work on the kitchen table unless you have a very large one, but the construction is quite simple, and with your sewing experience, you could put decorative reinforcements in some of the squares to spruce it up. That would be my first recommendation. The next best I think, would be a regular braided rug, since denim makes very nice braided rugs, and a braided rug would be quite a bit heavier and more durable in case the place you want to put it is heavily travelled.

Hope that helps, Diana 

RUGS FROM OLD NYLON STOCKINGS
Hello, good rug folk! How FUN to find your Web site. I have spent quite a long time reading through your material and have found it delightful. Many years ago I saw a braided rug made of old nylons and panty hose. It was the most beautiful shades of beige's and browns and looked like a lot of thought had gone into it. My grandmother passed away three years ago and, while sorting through her things, I discovered boxes full of NEW nylons and bags of used cotton stockings (the really old fashioned kind). My Nana wore a panty girdle every day of her life and she liked those stockings held up with garters. She never would wear a pair of panty hose. I immediately thought of that rug I had wanted to make all those years ago, but have been unable to find any source of information for doing so. Can you advise if it's worth the time to make a rug out of nylons/panty hose and what type of rug would be best suited for such. After going through your rug tour, I think I like the braided-in affect. So, what do you think? This would be a "first" rug for me. I'm willing to spend the time. In fact, I have been looking for a hobby. I have recently started a business in my home and find I have the time to spend on "making" something and I would like it to be unusual. Thanks for any advice you can offer! I need all I can get! Carol in Alaska 

Hi Carol, So glad you enjoyed the web site. As for rugs with stockings, the old ones are wonderful--we have several in the family that date from the 30's and they are still going strong. However, before we get to discussing rugs, let me say that the new stockings you found are worth too much money now to use for a rug. Particularly if they are still in the box, they are worth a pretty penny. If you aren't familiar with ebay, take a look at it, since things like that sell for good prices there. If you don't want to do that, at least find an antique dealer to give you a price on them before you cut them for rugs. 

Now, onto the rugs. Most of the old rugs made from stockings were either crocheted or braided (regular 3-strand standard braids), but they can be used for almost any type of rug other than the frame braids or the strung shags. If you're looking for something really unusual, think about the bohemian braid or the knitted rugs, since very few people do those. To prepare the stockings for rugmaking, you'll need to cut them into strips. Cut in a spiral, starting at the top a little more than an inch wide, so that you get a single long strip from each stocking. When cut like that, if you tug a bit on the strip, it will curl up into a neat little tube, and it's all set to start working with. 

Hope that helps, Diana