The examiner., 1882-03-04
How Rugs Are Made.

How many who stop to admire the show windows of our carpet dealers know how the rug is made? That it is woven somehow is all that is apparent as it lies there warm, soft, bright with dozen colors, fruits, birds or figures l The rug is twice woven, and this is its history: First, the border and center that is to form the pattern is designed; i; 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 gre the pattern that the first or weft weaver is to follow.
 In weaving weft a warp beam of say 200 threads in width and Q 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 vals 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 filling the "spot " exactly as to length and color. Having woven the full length of the paper as painted on the 1eft-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-c cloth is then run through the cutting machine, a ten inch cylinder, around which 8 continuous cylinder is revolved at 8 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 l nately-a small one, containing bob bin of two-ply or three ply flax, and a
 
 weft. A white thread on each side, and one in the middle of the black wrap are the guides to the setter, who 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 11l> s1l 14 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 e-halt inch in length) of a wrong color Cr 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 flax and wool; others are of silk and shoddy silk. The welt for the silk rugs has eight strips to the inch, and to cut it requires 288 knife blades, each one of which must have 8 razor edge. The weft cloth and the blades must be set to a nicety, 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 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.