The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-26

MANY minneapolis people are 1dHll-
lar with the name and appearance of
the Abnakee rugs, their attention hav-'
ing been called to them at arts and
scrafts exhibitions thru their merits and
the: fact that they originated with and
are manufactured under the direction
of a former Minneapolis woman, Mrs.
Helen Hickey Albee. In House Beau
tiful Mrs. Albee gives the following
interesting account of this industry:
About eight years ago an. experiment
was begun at Pequaket, New Hamp-
shire, to prove that the old-fashioned
hooked rug, made from cast-oH cloth
ing by housewives thruout New Eng
land and Canada, could be transformed
into an artistic product, which should
be marketable. This experiment has
been so successful that the evolved
form, known as the Abnakee rug, has
been admitted for six years to the most
! exclusive arts and crafts exhibit ions
| held in. various parts of the country;
and it has also encouraged multitude
| of art workers to engage in rugmak-
ing as a craft.
The process is so simple that child
| can be trained to do the work. No
loom is used, for the rugs are not
woven. A rug is made on founda-
ton of firm, heavy burlap, that is
tackled smoothly upon a frame made
for that purpose. Narrow strips of
cloth one-quarter Of an inch wide are
then drawn thru this burlap in such a
way as to form a surface of loops on
the upper side of the burlap quarter
of an inch high. On the upper side
the stri ps are worked close to the bur
lap so as to present smooth surface.
! A hook, which will be described
later, is used for this purpose, and the
frame is an improved form Of the old
ones so long used. The new one is
i adjustable, and consists of four pieces
two lengthwise bars, four feet long,
with a series of holes bored in the
ends, and two crosspieces, each fifteen
inches long, fitted with pegs which slip
into the holes. Wooden buttons are
so placed that they can be turned over
the pegs after the lengthwise bars are
in place. These hold the frame firmly
together.
I am often asked wherein my method
differs from the usual one, for the Alb
nakee rug has no resemblance what
ever to the old hooked ones; but looks
more like a heavy Turkish rug in tex
TUE; yet in design and general effect il
is wholly unlike any foreign OF domes
tic rug in the market.
The first point of difference between
the old rugs and the new is the way
the strips are hooked in. Formerly
housewives used old garments, and cut
wide, and then folded it narrow anc
worked it in straight rows, and made
the surface consist of even, uncut loops
Ny method is to cut the cloth on The
lengthwise One-quarter of an inch WIDE
and the strips are worked across thu
frame in a series Of three. or four loop:
up, then the same number down, which
prevents the even row appearance, ant
thus disperses the light upon the color
and produces a singularly velvety tex
ture.
This appearance is further secured by
drawing up the loops slightly unequa
in length In shearing the barest top'
are cut from the highest loops, but t, NJ
effort is made to shear every loop. This
mixture Of cut and uncut loops, gives
a fine play~of color on the smooth sur
face, because the uncut loops reflect
lighter tone than the cut ones do. Th'
rug, after being sheared, should hav!
pile at least quarter OF an Incl
thick, and it's durability is not i'm
4 paired by shearing, as some old house
4 wives contended.
Another point Of difference IS ina
I only new all-wool material is used IL
4 Abnakee rugs. A suitable material o
4 moderate cost presents a very serlou
4 problem. While it is true that one ma.
4 use old garments and make respect
: able-looking rug, the chances are large
" against it. The weights of cloth use!
in dress goods will not yield beautl
full texture, nor are they OF warm re.
colors required in rug. For elghtee7
months | made experiments with man.
weights and weaves of cloth, and foun
that a soft pure wool flannel twill wa
the only material that would make
thick yielding textures that would &C
quire a velvety bloom with wear. Blu
it must be of a certain grade; II to
! light weight, it requires too much clot
to cover the ground; if too heavy, tn
material is hard to work and still hare
er to shear, and the rug is stiff Whe
finished. This exact quality of the r.
CURED weight, width, and finish wa
not to be had in the market; SO foc
years T have had my flannel made t
meet My special requirements.
A third point of difference betwee
former rugs and the Abnakees is tn tn
many years burlaps have, been offere
"a for sale stamped with atrocious flor;
l patterns, animals wreathed in posle
meaningless scrolls springing from not
Is ing. It is not surprising that
1T hooked rug of such pattern was not
N work Of art, tho [ believe they awake
~ honest admiration in rural districts.
IN little COhSlucIdUlOn VI NV 1hAe'oe
W showed me that strips Of cloth qua
ter of an inch wide do not lend the1
t. selves to fine details, to curves, or
Il elaborate pattern. In planning my q
" signs I have aimed for bold effect
D large masses of plain color, and simp]
re decorative units, such as one lin
4 among savage and semi savage race
to North American Indian ornament -ope
er a rich field for study. When l refer
" the use Of plain. color, I do not me:
:. of even tone. In dyeing the materi
10 I try to secure slight differences
~ tone in the different dips, and the
can be merged in the same way tn
or watercolorists flow their colors togeth
When skilfully worked the result is \
spotty, but has a lovely play of col
- that takes the place of, pattern for
center of rugs, and enriches BAG
grounds where there is but little p
tern. .>..
A fourth point of difference is col
Not depending, as the old housewife d
upon discarded clothing of dull brow
drab, and gray, the materials for ca
- rug in my industry are dyed with ref
ence to the color scheme desired. Oh
the best dyes are employed, and with
small range Of eight colors 200 ton
e and shades have been secured of ter
Il GOTTA, old red, old pink and rose, t
m brown, dull yellow, sage, olive and go
en- green, gray blue, dark blue a