The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1888-04-07

as a mat, it IS comfortable to the feet,
and that under the scuffiing of the little
ones and the heavy tread of the big
ones its wear is something wonderful.
Homely, but comfortable and labor
saving, and cheap withal, rag-carpeted
bedrooms and iivingrooms are better
than rough, uneven, and cold floors.
Let it be taken for granted that you
have decided TO make rag carpet, but
do not know exactly how to set about it.
First, do not devote to your intended
enterprise any and every rag that comes
to hand. In the process OF weaving,
the strength of your material will be
well tested. II it be poor, 1t will fre-
quently break, making it necessary for
weaver to join the ends. 1t will not
pay HIM to take time to sew them, SO
he ties them, often into a rough hard
knot, which spolls the appearance OF
your carpet, giving it coarse, uneven,
and also an unswept look, as many
housekeepers can testify who have bent
10 pick up ''the litter" and found in
stead hard little tufts in their carpet,
made by knotted rags, whose loose,
frayed ends have way of impertinently
asserting themselves. Discriminate,
therefore, between rags fit for a rag
carpet and those fit only for the rag
man.
Cast off clothing and odds and ends
devoted to the making of rag carpet
must also be clean. No reasoning will
be required to show that soiled rags
will make dingy carpet, while clean,
bright rags will make a clean-looking,
bright one 1t is not labor thrown
away to wash every article requiring it,
as carefully as # it were going to be re-
worn, before putticg it away in a bag
or box impervious to dust till there is
time to cut it up. When you have an
odd hour or two to spare for that pur-
pose, spread a large newspaper upon
the floor or table. and don a dust cap
and dress for which you have no espe-
Cial regard for, no matter how clean
well-worn clothing may be, it is always
somewhat fluffy and dusty, and its lint
shows strong attachment for carpets
and table covers, and even for bare
kitchen floors.
Be especially careful to cut your
rags "eyen." The odds and ends of a
muslin dress may require to be Gu!
three or four times the width of men's
clothing, SO the two, perhaps side by
side, are ''pressed up together in lhe
loom," as weaver phrases it, they will
present the same width of strand, anG
consequently smooth, even surface
Only by careful practice and expert.
ments IN twisting and comparing car
one become expert in judging how
much to allow in width for difference il
bulk of material. Cut bulky stuff into
as narrow, even strips as its firmneSS o
texture will allow, as the fineness anC
eVennesS of the gram of the carpet vii
depend on the fineness and evenness o
the strands of rags that you have pro
vided as wool; for the weaver.
In sewing fragile material together
such as muslin, it is well to lay one bl
over the other about half an inch, anC
then double it. That makes firmnes
OF tour-ply to hold. Knot your thread
fasten on well, run it across, and faster
| off wIll. Thick material, if of firm
texture, should be simply scanned to
gether if of loose texture, it ought t.
be slightly laid over, but not doubled
before being stitched.
To make one yard OF carpet 1t require
one pound and a half of rags. An,
merchant with whom you deal WI
weigh ball of rags for you, and witt
it you can test by "hefting" the weigh
of each succeeding bail. These, t,
keep them clean, it would be well II
stow away in clean and whole old bag
till you have, as nearly as you ca,
judge, the weight necessary for you
carpet.
Where it is possible it is best to hav
the carpet made exactly to fit the foo
It is intended for, and to be in separat
lengths. or rather each length separate
from the other by about three inche
of woven warp. This bit of interver
ing warp that separates the roll of car
pet into the required lengths should b.
cut through the centre, and lmmedlatel
folded and sewed into a good stou
hem. Woven in this way, the work c
cutting and binding the carpet is mucl
simphfed, and there is not such los
of material and time as when tn
strands require TO be ravelled out, ant
the fringes of warp tied prevent furthe
ravelling. As to the width of th
lengths, when customers buy their owl
warp the lengths of carpet can be mad
as wide as the loom will allow, or an
narrower width to suit the dimension
of the flooring; but where the weave
gets his warp on beams at the cotto
mills, the standard width is one yard
In taking the dimensions of you
room be exact in your measurement