Method of making a rug

A method of making a rug comprising attaching a plurality of tying elements to a rug backing, wrapping the tying elements around central regions of bundles of strands and tying knots in the tying elements to attach the bundles of strands to the rug backing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Rug making by the home craftsman has become a popular hobby. Various 
techniques are employed by the home craftsman to make rugs. Typically, 
these techniques involve the use of hand operated tools, such as a tufting 
tool, a latching hook, etc. While these tools provide fine products, 
particularly for the more skilled craftsmen, there is a need for a 
high-quality rug which can be easily made by the unskilled craftsman. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a rug which can be made by one totally 
unskilled in the rug making art. No tufting tool, latching hook or other 
rug making tool is required. Rugs of this invention can also be easily 
made on a commercial scale for resale. 
These, and other advantages, can be obtained by simply tying a plurality of 
bundles of strands to a rug backing using a plurality of elongated 
flexible tying elements. More particularly, the rug may include a rug 
backing having a forward face and a back face and a plurality of bundles 
of strands. The tying elements are attached to the rug backing. Each of 
the tying elements is wrapped around a central region of at least one of 
the bundles and tied into a knot to attach the bundles to the forward face 
of the rug backing. Accordingly, each of the bundles forms two clumps of 
the pile for the rug. 
Although the tying elements can be attached to the rug backing in various 
different ways, this can be simply and inexpensively accomplished by 
sewing each of the tying elements onto the rug backing. 
Preferably, the end portions of each of the tying elements project from the 
forward face of the rug backing. This permits the knot to be on the 
forward face of the rug. More importantly, however, this permits the end 
portions of the tying element to extend beyond the knot to form two 
additional strands of the associated bundle. Thus, each of the tying 
elements serves the dual purpose of attaching a bundle of the strands to 
the rug backing and forming a portion of the strands of such bundle. 
Preferably the end portions of the tying element are of an appropriate 
length so that these end portions terminate at the ends of the other 
strands of the bundle. 
Each of the tying elements is preferably wrapped around, or part way 
around, a central region of the associated bundle. After the knot has been 
tied, the bundle forms two separate clumps of pile of substantially 
identical length. The knot is preferably below or on the side of the 
associated bundle so it is protected, not readily visible, and not 
noticeable when the rug is in use. 
Indicia on the rug backing can be used to indicate the approximate location 
at which each of the tying elements is to be sewed onto the rug backing. 
This assures proper spacing of the bundles and assures that the pile will 
be evenly distributed. In addition, the indicia can be used to obtain 
various patterns and colors. 
To prevent the strands from being pulled out of the rug, a small amount of 
adhesive can be placed between each of the bundles and the associated 
tying element. In addition, to prevent the tying element from slipping 
relative to the rug backing and to protect the tying element from wear, a 
small amount of adhesive can be placed over the portion of the tying 
element on the back face of the rug backing. 
Another advantage of this invention is that the length of pile is variable 
over a very wide range. Specifically, pile length is controlled by the 
length of the strands in the bundles, and this can be easily changed. For 
example, the rug of this invention can have a very long pile and be made 
very plush by using relatively long strands in the bundle. 
The strands of a bundle can be of the same or different lengths. However, 
the rug can be made faster if the strands of a bundle are all of the same 
length. 
A preferred way of making the strands is to wind a continuous filament 
around a template a multiplicity of times to form a plurality of loops. 
Each of the loops is then cut one or more times to provide strands of the 
desired length. The template can be marked with suitable indicia, such as 
one or more cutting lines, indicating where the cut should be made to 
provide strands of a specified length. 
A more rapid way of attaching the tying elements to the rug backing is to 
sew a tying element strand into the rug backing to form a plurality of 
loops on the forward face of the rug backing. The tying element strand is 
sewed to, and therefore attached to, the rug backing intermediate each of 
the loops. The tying element strand is then cut at each of the loops to 
thereby form several of the tying elements. This more rapid method of 
providing the tying elements is particularly adapted for use when several 
bundles of the same color are to be consecutively attached to the rug 
backing. This enables the tying element strand and the bundles to be of 
the same color and taken from the same ball of yarn. 
The invention, together with further features and advantages thereof, may 
best be understood by reference to the following description taken in 
connection with the accompanying illustrative drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 shows a rug 11 constructed in accordance with the teachings of this 
invention. Generally, the rug 11 includes a rug backing 13, bundles 15 
(FIG. 8) of strands 17 and a plurality of tying elements 19 (FIGS. 2, 7 
and 8) for attaching the bundles to the rug backing. 
In the embodiment illustrated, the rug backing 13 is a broad, strong sheet 
of woven fabric having a forward face 21 which faces upwardly when the rug 
11 is on the floor and a back face 23. As shown, for example, in FIGS. 
5-8, the forward face 21 has indicia, such as the dots 25 and letters 27 
within squares 28. These indicia are used as described hereinbelow in the 
making of the rug 11. 
Each of the tying elements 19 is suitably attached to the rug backing 13. 
In the embodiment illustrated, each of the tying elements 19 is sewed onto 
the rug backing 13. Each of the tying elements 19 extends completely 
around an associated bundle 15 and is tied into a knot 29 (FIG. 8), such 
as a square knot, to firmly attach the bundle to the rug backing 13. The 
knots 29 are preferably tied as far under the bundle as is possible so 
that the knot contacts the forward face 21 of the rug backing 13 as shown 
in FIG. 2. End portions 31 of the tying element 19 project beyond the knot 
29 to form additional strands of the bundle 15 as shown in FIG. 8. 
Each of the bundles 15 includes a multiplicity of the strands 17. The 
strands 17 may be of any suitable rug making material or yarn, such as 
wool or a synthetic material. Perferably, all of the strands 17 of a 
bundle 15 are of the same length, although the length of the strands 17 
may change from bundle to bundle if the pattern of the rug so requires. 
The tying elements 19 are wrapped around a central region of the bundles 
15 so that each of the bundles forms two clumps 33 (FIG. 8) of the pile 35 
for the rug 11. Because the strands 17 can be of any desired length, the 
pile 35 may be long and plush as illustrated in FIG. 2. 
Adhesive 37 (FIG. 8) can be placed around the area of contact between the 
tying element 19 and the bundle 15 to prevent the strands from pulling out 
of the bundle within the tying element. Adhesive 39 (FIG. 2) may be placed 
on the back face 23 along the area of contact between the rug backing 13 
and the tying element 19 to prevent slippage of the tying element relative 
to the rug backing and to protect the portion of the tying element on the 
back face. 
The first step in making the rug 11 is to make a plurality of the bundles 
15. Although this can be accomplished in different ways, a preferred 
method is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A continuous filament 41 is wound around 
a template 43 to form a plurality of loops 45. The filament 41 is yarn or 
thread of the material of which the strands 17 are to be formed. 
Although the template 43 may be of various different constructions, in the 
embodiment illustrated, it includes a flat plate having spaced projections 
47 at the opposite ends thereof defining notches 49. The side edges of the 
template 43 have recesses 51. Indicia in the form of a cutting line 53 
extends transversely across the template 43 half way between the upper and 
lower edges thereof as viewed in FIG. 3. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the filament 41 is wound around the template 43 at the 
notches 49. The loops 45 are held in place by rubber bands 55, or other 
suitable means, which are in turn held in position by the recesses 51. 
To form the loops 45 into the bundles 15, the loops are cut along the 
cutting line 53 by any suitable means, such as scissors 57. The bundles 
resulting from cutting along the cutting line 53 would contain strands 17 
of relatively long length. To make these strands 17 of half this length 
and to double the number of the bundles 15, the loops may again be cut 
along a cutting line (not shown) corresponding to the cutting line 53 on 
the opposite face of the template 43. This forms the bundles 15 as shown 
in FIG. 4. If desired, additional cutting lines may be provided on the 
template 43 to make additional bundles of shorter strands. Also, 
additional templates 43 of different sizes can be provided to facilitate 
the making of bundles of strands 17 of different lengths and bundles 
containing a greater or larger number of the strands 17. Of course, the 
number of strands 17 per bundle 17 can be controlled by counting the 
number of the loops 45 which are wound on the template 43. 
As indicated above, the tying elements 19 are preferably sewed into the rug 
backing 13 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the embodiment illustrated, the 
indicia in the form of the dots 25 indicate the locations at which one of 
the tying elements 19 is to be sewed into the rug backing 13. The indicia 
in the form of the letters 27 can be used, for example, to indicate the 
color of the strands that are to be used for the bundle 15 to be attached 
to the rug backing 13 within the associated square 28. The squares 28 are 
sufficiently small so that the tying element 19 can be easily sewed to the 
center of square. 
The tying element 19 is preferably sewed into the rug backing 13 so that 
the end portions 31 are on the forward face 21 of the rug backing. The 
tying elements 19 may be cut to length before they are sewed into the rug 
backing 13, or they may be sewed into the rug backing and then cut to 
length using the scissors 57 as shown in FIG. 6. Preferably, each of the 
tying elements 19 is of the same material and color as the strands 17 of 
the bundle 15 which it is to attach to the rug backing 13. 
After the tying element 19 is sewed into the rug backing 13, one of the 
bundles 15 is placed on the forward face 21 of the rug backing 13 so that 
a central region of the bundle overlies the tying element 19. Preferably 
the strands 17 of the bundle 15 are arranged so that the ends of the 
strands are even. 
Next, the tying element 19 is tied to form the knot 29 as shown in FIG. 8. 
The end portions 31 of the tying element 19 are used to form a part of the 
bundle 15 and are preferably of about the same length as the other strands 
of the bundle so that the ends of all the strands are relatively even. 
The method described above can be carried out by sewing a plurality of the 
tying elements 19 into appropriate locations on the rug backing and then 
tying a corresponding number of the bundles 15 to the rug backing using 
the sewed in tying elements. Alternatively, the method can be carried out 
by sewing a single tying element into the rug backing 13, tying a single 
bundle to the backing strip and thereafter repeating this process. 
FIG. 9 shows an alternate way of attaching a plurality of tying elements 19 
to the rug backing 13. To accomplish this, an elongated tying element 
strand 101 is sewed into the rug backing 13 manually having a conventional 
needle 103. The tying element strand 101 is sewed through or attached to 
the rug backing 13 at each of the dots 25 with the yarn between the dots 
25 being loose and forming loops 105. 
To convert the tying element strand 101 into a plurality of the tying 
elements 18 of equal lengths, the tying element strand is cut near the 
peaks or centers of the loops 105 using, for example, the scissors 57. Of 
course, the height of the loops 105 should be accurately controlled so 
that the resulting tying elements 19 will have the appropriate length in 
relation to the strands 17 of the bundles 15 so that when these tying 
elements are used to attach the bundles 15 to the rug backing 13, the free 
ends of the tying elements will extend beyond the knot 29 to form 
additional strands of the associated bundle with such additional strands 
extending for about the same distance from the rug backing as the other 
strands of the associated bundle. 
The primary advantage of the technique illustrated in FIG. 9 is its 
increased speed. The increase in speed is obtained without requiring any 
additional tools. Preferably, the tying element strand 101 and the strands 
17 of the bundles 15 which are to be attached to the rug backing 13 
utilizing the tying elements formed from the tying element strand 101 are 
taken from the same filament, such as the same ball of yarn. After the 
tying elements 19 are provided as shown in FIG. 9, the remaining steps of 
the rug making method can be carried out as disclosed above in connection 
with FIGS. 3, 7 and 8. 
Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been shown and 
described, many changes, modifications and substitutions may be made by 
one having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing from 
the spirit and scope of this invention.