Shabby Carpet

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 420, 11 July 1947, Page 23

Shabby Carpet

ar Aunt Daisy, T have a large mat in my living room, it is looking very shabby, the pat--tern is almost worn off. I believe there is e way of painting them, and if so would | you kindly let me know what type of paint to procure. Thank you. "Manurewa." Well, the first thing is to shampoo. the carpet and get it clean-it is no use trying to put on dye or paint if it is dirty, It brightens it up a lot, too. Of course, some dyeing firms will dye carpets beautifully-they do them just the one colour of course. But it is quite fun to do it yourself. If you want to put the pattern back, make up small pots of the required dyes, and then get small, fitm brushes, and just brush these colours into the pattern of the carpet. The sort of brush artists use for oil colours would do-or a very small ordinary paint brush, but a child’s camel-hair watercolour paint brush would not be firm enough. But you can also make up a larger quantity of dye, and using a larger paint-brush, or soft sponge, apply it _everily all over the carpet. To Make Into Lino.-You can also make a carpet into an artificial linoleum, Reverse the carpet, so that you are working on the canvas backing. Beat it well, then peint all over with a thick, boiled starch paste. Let it dry

thoroughly, then apply two coats of enamel in any colour. You can make up patterns and designs, even, and paint them in with different colours. That wears well, especially if.you use a special floor enamel.