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Rag Rugs Tour
4. Knitted
7. Chain Braids
10. Fabric Tapestry
13. Needleworked
16. Knotted &
strung shags
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#4 Knitted Rag Rugs KNITTED RUGS
Traditionally, knitted rugs were made in round, oval or rectangular shapes, but the technique is adaptable to a large variety of shapes. Half-round rugs, heart shaped rugs and even 'winding path' rugs can be made by combining two of the traditional knitted constructions. Hexagonal blocks can also be made and assembled into distinctive rugs. There are several different types of knitted rag rugs: Block & Strip Knitted Rugs Round Knitted Rugs: Coiled, Bullseye & Wedge
Cross-woven Knitted Rugs were made by knitting a rug base with rag strip, allowing sections which are unknitted. The unknitted sections are then woven across with rag strip. The resulting rugs form a continuous structure with strips of knitted and woven fabric strip alternating.
LETTERS Knitted Rugs and Basset Hounds Dear Jana, We have dogs too, and for years we have noticed
that
handmade
rugs are a magnet for them. It really is comical sometimes when one
just
wants to lay the rug on the floor long enough to get a look at how the
design is working, but the instant the rug is down it has a contented
canine
occupant! There are several other techniques including the one you
mentioned in the volume 1 of the rugmakers handbook series. I didn't
list everything here on the website, but the contents of the book are
available for preview. (See the Table of Contents page.)
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Knitted 'Rag' rugs
have
been made since at least the middle of the 19th century in various
designs
from the primitive to elaborately artistic. 
While
the garter and stockinette stitches are most often used for knitted rag
rugs, other variations include the reversible shingle stitch (detail
shown
at left), corn-on-the-cob, and "woven" or "fabric" stitch (detail,
shown
at the right). 
These
include the most primitive of the knitted rugs where simple strips of
knitted
fabric were joined side by side to form the rug. Blocks of knitting
were
also laced together in a general imitation of quilt style patterns, the
most elaborate being hexagonal blocks. 
Bullseye
rugs were constructed with a small round knitted center, then sections
of knitted fabric strip were curved around the center in concentric
rings
(hence the name). Wedge knitted rugs were knitted in a single section
on
the radius of the rug. 
Rake Knitted
Rugs were made using the tines of a rake or a series of pegs in a
board
resembling the teeth of a rake. Loops of fabric strip were worked in
sequence
over the pegs using them as a primitive knitting machine. A variation
of
Rake Knitting which has gotten some attention lately is "Spool
Knitting"
for rug making. A hollow, wooden spool, with four pegs on top is used
(remember
those toys used to make tubes of yarn?--This is exactly the same
method,
just at a slightly larger scale). The tubes of knitting are coiled and
laced together like braided rugs.