The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-03-22
How Rugs Are Made.

How many who stop to admire the
show windows of our carpet dealers
know how the rug is madeP That it is
woven somehow is all that is apparent
as it lies there warm, soft, bright with
dozen colors, fruits, birds or figures.
The rugis twice woven, and this is its
history First, the border and center
that is to form the pattern is designed;
then painted in straight lines upon
paper, containing ruled scale, and in
the proper colors that are afterward to
appear on the rug. This paper rug is
then cut up into strips, each contain
ing two spaces of the scale, and these
papers are the pattern that the first or
weft weaver is to follow.
In weaving weft a warp beam of
say 200 threads in width and a wheep
beam of 100 threads in width are re-
quired. Two threads of the first and
one of the second pass through the
same split in the reed at regular inter-
walls of say one-third of an inch, the
intervening splits of the reed being
empty. The paper pattern is fastened
to the middle of the work, and the
weaver follows it exactly as it is paint
ed; that is, the pattern may need six
threads of crimson, two of black,
twelve of corn, ten of green olive, and
so on, the weaver filing the "spot A."
exactly as to length and color. Having
woven the full length of the paper as
painted on the left-hand space the
paper is begun again and the painting
in the right-hand space is followed, and
when all the papers which, laid side by
side, form the rug, have been thus
gone over the weft for the rug is fin
ished.
The roll of weft-cloth is then run
through the cutting machine, q ten-inch
cylinder, around which a continuous
thread of knife blades is wound. The
cylinder is revolved at high rate of
speed, and the weft-cloth, passing within
range of the knives, is cut into strips by
them. These strips do not unravel, be-
cause in weaving the wheep-thread is
twisted about the two warp-threads and
the filling is locked in. After twisting
each strip to change it from being fiat
thread into round thread, it is wound
upon a bobbin, and is ready for the
second weaver, who is called the setter
The warp of the rug is black flax;
and the setter uses two shuttles, alter
nately-a small one, containing bob
bin of two-ply or three-ply flax, and a
large one for the unwieldy bobbin of
weft. A white thread on each side,
and one in the middle of the black
wrap are the guides to the setter, who
sees that certain parts of the weft-
thread come under those white threads
before he presses the weft in, Each
bobbin of weft will weave about three
inches of the rug; so, if the rug is one
yard long it will require about twelve
bobbins, which mean twelve pieces of
weft- cloth to complete it. But these
twelve pieces, having each been
! cut up into ninety.six identical
strips, will make ninety-six similar
rugs. Therefore should the weft weaver
put in, say, eight threads (one-half inch
in lengthy of wrong color Ur shade,
that error would appear in ninety-six
rugs. The setter having finished the
ninety-six sets OF twelve bobbins, the
rugs are ready for finishing. The
machine through which they pass cuts
the surface off evenly, and brushes
them free of fragments of the materials
used. This treatment brings out every
detail of the design and heightens the
colors. Most of the rugs made here
are of fax and wool; others
are of silk and shoddy
silk. The weft for the silk rugs has
eight strips to the inch, and to cut il
requires 288 knife blades, each one OF
which must have a razor edge. The
weft cloth and the blades must be set
to nicely, since the variation OF
the sixteenth of an inch would make
the knives cut the 288 threads instead
of the filling between the threads.
There is a firm in Glasgow, Scotland,
who manufacture for the royal houses
of Europe such elaborate designs as the
Lords supper, the weft-weaver, in
some cases, using 400 different shuttles.