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Rag Rugs


plainsman

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Yes I do. Phil makes them. Narrowboat Sandman, he used to be a customer of mine when I owned Annies Tea rooms in Thrupp. He passes us here on occasion so is still alive and kicking. I dont have his number but if you contact Annies Tea room at Thrupp they will probably help, if they are of no help get back to me and I can quickly track him down.:cheers:

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I occasionally make them but actually getting the quantity of rags for a big one makes them commercially a nightmare. 

You end up buying material to make rags and, as I don't have a trade supplier of rags it works out more expensive to make a cheap crappy rag rug than a quality wool one. 

If you want to have a go I can sell you a nice frame loom though. 

Peg looms don't make durable rugs btw. 

 

Edited to add... You can get fairly cheap ones off ebay which are pretty good quality and loom woven. 

Edited by carlt
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We used to make these as kids.  An opened out sack and just thread coloured strips of cloth in and out through the holes. An old war time occupation when you couldn't get mats.

Edited by bizzard
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Wife Gail made several, some years ago. She used to buy the largest size cheap T shirts in Primark and cut them in to strips, ready to be podged into the hessian sack backing. My grandmother made them in the 50s, she used old, worn out clothes as a source of rag. Recycling is nothing new.....

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My aunt used to be rag rug daft, she used to make her own looms. It's actually incredibly easy and you can find loads of videos on how to do it on YouTube. Making your own is really easy cheap and when you've made your rug (unless you want to make more) you can bung the loom on the fire because they're a pain to keep or give it off to a charity shop, buying one makes it harder to get rid off I think. 

 

 

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52 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

My aunt used to be rag rug daft, she used to make her own looms. It's actually incredibly easy and you can find loads of videos on how to do it on YouTube. Making your own is really easy cheap and when you've made your rug (unless you want to make more) you can bung the loom on the fire because they're a pain to keep or give it off to a charity shop, buying one makes it harder to get rid off I think. 

 

 

The problem with homemade loom frames is that they are usually not strong enough to maintain a strong even tension in the warp and so the rug doesn't last long. 

 

That said if all you want is rags prodded through canvas or sacking then you don't need a loom at all. 

It all depends on what you are after. 

 

I'm not sure why they are a pain to keep. 

The frames I make flat pack and take up very little room. 

They are also made from good quality hardwood so they are not a cheap source of firewood. 

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15 minutes ago, carlt said:

I'm not sure why they are a pain to keep. 

The frames I make flat pack and take up very little room. 

They are also made from good quality hardwood so they are not a cheap source of firewood. 

I don't keep anything I don't really need and if you're not going to make another rug it's just more carp to find a home for. If you want good quality hard wood and a frame that lasts then all power to ya, I on the other hand don't want a house full of rag rugs (or looms for that matter) nor do I want to go into business, I was relaying my aunts experience and I guess different people want different things from their things. I'm sure the OP can make his own mind up about what he wants. 

 

Edited by Tumshie
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1 minute ago, Tumshie said:

I don't keep anything I don't really need and if you're not going to make another rug it's just more carp to find a home for. If you want good quality hard wood and a frame that lasts then all power to ya, I on the other hand don't want a house full of rag rugs (or looms for that matter) nor do I want to go into business, I was relaying my aunts experience and I guess different people want different things from their things. I'm sure the OP can make his own mind up about what he wants. 

 

If you want one good quality rug that the warp doesn't start spreading after 5 minutes then you will need a strong frame that will maintain tension. 

If you use a floppy softwood frame then you may as well store it because the rug will fall apart and you'll be making another before too long. 

Poor quality tools make poor quality products. 

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8 minutes ago, carlt said:

If you want one good quality rug that the warp doesn't start spreading after 5 minutes then you will need a strong frame that will maintain tension. 

If you use a floppy softwood frame then you may as well store it because the rug will fall apart and you'll be making another before too long. 

See that where you got me cos I don't really care about making a second one or even one in the first place. Like I said I'm sure the OP can make his own mind up, though I can't see why anybody would want to store a loom because the rug they made won't last so they'll have to keep making more them. My aunt liked making rag rugs and she made her own looms - there are youtube videos on how to make them, beyond that I have no dog in this race. 

 

8 minutes ago, carlt said:

Poor quality tools make poor quality products. 

If you have to keep making more of them because they keep falling apart does that not mean they're pretty poor quality regardless of your good quality tools. 

Edited by Tumshie
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22 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

 

 

If you have to keep making more of them because they keep falling apart does that not mean they're pretty poor quality regardless of your good quality tools. 

Well I keep making more of them (proper rugs, not rag) because folk keep buying them. 

 

I don't make rag rugs unless someone is prepared to pay me a lot of money for them. 

 

I do have one in the bathroom that I made about 20 years ago. 

 

I still have the frame loom I made it on too. 

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2 minutes ago, carlt said:

Well I keep making more of them (proper rugs, not rag) because folk keep buying them. 

 

I don't make rag rugs unless someone is prepared to pay me a lot of money for them. 

 

I do have one in the bathroom that I made about 20 years ago. 

 

I still have the frame loom I made it on too. 

Thats nice. I'm glad it works for you. 

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5 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

Thats nice. I'm glad it works for you. 

Well it pays the mortgage and maintains my boat habit so it definitely works. 

 

That said I rarely make rugs these days because they are hard work and my health isn't great. 

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2 hours ago, Tumshie said:

I don't keep anything I don't really need and if you're not going to make another rug it's just more carp to find a home for. If you want good quality hard wood and a frame that lasts then all power to ya, I on the other hand don't want a house full of rag rugs (or looms for that matter) nor do I want to go into business, I was relaying my aunts experience and I guess different people want different things from their things. I'm sure the OP can make his own mind up about what he wants. 

 

Same here. Not much room on a b̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ boat to keep unwanted crap.Everything must have a use or it goes on the fire.....well, except Dylan and me that is.

Edited by rusty69
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1 minute ago, tree monkey said:

Shame, might have just asked you for a couple 

I can be persuaded but I am no longer reliable enough to do it professionally as I can be fit and healthy one day and bed ridden the next so deadlines and commissioned work are a thing of the past. 

The last rug I made was for someone who didn't care how long it took. 

 

I'm hoping to build a loom with a continuous warp system because putting a warp on the loom is by far the most work intensive part of the process but it is difficult to get the required tension for rugs without a fixed length warp. 

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