OLD METHODS—NEW RUGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 927, 21 March 1930, Page 4

OLD METHODS—NEW RUGS

AN INTERESTING HOBBY Most of us remember tbe "knitting” we dicl in our youth, with the help of four pins stuck into the top [ of a cotton reel and a small ball oi multi-coloured wool. The long woven cords which resulted didn’t seem much good then, but they could be put to many a decorative use today. Which only serves as an introduction to the news that the latest method of mat-making calls for exactly the same sort of appliance as we struggled with in our infancy. A large wooden cylinder has four big staples set round the head, coarse string is worked on it instead of wool, and the cords so woven form the basis of very fascinating modern mats. Naturaltinted and gaily-coloured strings are obtainable, but if any particular shade is difficult to find, the natural cord can easily be dyed. The method of fashioning the rugs from the woven cords is simplicity itself. Suppose a mat is to be carried out in natural, blue, and green string: first make a length of blue cord, and beginning at what is to be the centre of the mat, wind it round and round, sewing the strands t.o each other as you go, and taking care to keep the work flat. When the circle formed in this manner is big enough, make a natural-coloured cord, join it to the end of the blue one, and sew it round and - round in the same way. A green cord comes next, perhaps; then blue or natural again, and so on, until the mat is large enough for your purpose. Oval rugs are done in very much the same manner, only’ the starting point takes the form of a strip of cord doubled back on itself, instead of the small circle. These mats are ideal for placing

by a bed, before a bureau, and in front of a small writing desk Tliev are warm to the feet, look bright and decorative, and their wear is praetij cally everlasting. * • » car center could make the tool i lf he received careful instructions, ! an<l small cost of the materials is I out of all proportion to the utility and I charm of the finished articles.