Rag Rugs Tour
1. Tambour
2. Shirred 
3. Standing wool

4. Knitted
5. Flat Wrap
6. Amish Knot

7. Chain Braids
8. Broomstick & String Crochet
9. Crocheted

10. Fabric Tapestry
11. Anchored Loop
12. Hooked, Poked, Prodded, Bodkin

13. Needleworked
14. Toothbrush rugs
15. Braided rugs

16. Knotted & strung shags
17. Loom woven
18. Patched (penny rugs) & sewn shags
19. Frame made rugs
20. Wagon wheel & frame braids 
21. Odds 'n ends

Patched Rugs
Patched rugs are made by stitching layers of wool to a wool backing. The oldest of these rugs were in a hit or miss arrangement, then in blocks and later in circles. Modern patched rugs often include animal shapes cut from wool as the upper layer. The various traditional types of these rugs get their name from the shape of the patches used in the surface design. With round patches, they are called dollar or penny rugs. With rectangular patches having two rounded corners at one end: shingle or tongue rugs. Square patches: layered blocks. An example of a layered block rug is shown. The joining stitches between the blocks are in a blue linen so they don't show well in the photo. Edging stitches around the layers are in a natural linen color. 

Also in this family of rugs are the 'woven strip' rugs where wool strips were woven flat to form a mat, and then stitched together with decorative stitches. Traditionally, the blanket stitch or buttonhole stitch was used with linen thread to secure the pieces of wool. More recent patched rugs show a wide variety of embroidery stitches, blurring the line between these rugs and some wool 'crazy quilts'. 

Not all patched rugs had flat surfaces. In particular the 'waterlilly' pattern allowed for unstitched edges of some pieces to be raised above the level of the rug. Most surviving patched rugs were used as table runners or wall hangings.

Sewn Shags
This family of rugs includes any where small pieces or strips of fabrics are stitched to a backing fabric, at one edge or in the center, creating a raised or shaggy surface. A common backing fabric for these types of rugs was mattress ticking, since the stripes in the fabric created guidelines for stitching. Most often these rugs had simple stripes or a very basic geometric pattern, if any, but in the two rugs below, Ruth Cannon of North Carolina shows that sewn shags can be wonderful examples of modern design as well.You can learn more about Ruth and her rugs by clicking on our Rugmaker's Exchange.

A wide variety of sewn shag rugs were made:
1. Strips or patches. These rugs were made by stitching one edge of the fabric strip (plain or gathered along the edge) or a small piece of fabric to the base, so that one edge stood out. Flat strips of fabric were also stitched down the center to the backing, creating two standing edges for each strip.
2. Caterpillar Rugs. Fabric strips were gathered in the center along a string, and stitched with the edges up to form the rug surface. Because of the gathering process, these rugs often carry the mistaken name of "shirred" rugs. Their most common name however was caterpillar rugs, since the gathered sections of fabric rather resemble a caterpillar. (See Links for a painting of an old caterpillar rug).. 
3. Accordian rugs. Fabric strips were laid on the backing fabric, then stitched across repeatedly, with folds of the strip standing up in accordian style folds. 
4. Ravel knit rugs. Old sweaters and other worn out knitted garments were unravelled to salvage the yarn. The yarn was then re-knitted into long narrow strips which were then stitched to the backing fabric along one edge, creating a thick pile. (This can also be done with new yarn or with cut sweaters or stockings, without the unravelling and reknitting.)
5. Fork-wrapped Sewn Shags. A tool like a crochet "fork" (for making hairpin lace), was wrapped with rag strip, then fed under the foot of a sewing machine, with the stitching catching the middle of the wraps, securing them to the backing fabric. As the sewing proceeded, the wraps were fed along the fork, and more wraps added at the back end. The loops were most often clipped to create a shaggy surface. 

Also, see our links page for other sites with photos of old sewn shag and patched rugs, and the Rugmakers Exchange. 
 

Dear Diana, One question. I have a rug book that states that shirred rugs can be constructed using knitting to secure the fabric. I know and understand the crochet method and while I am an expert knitter, I've never been able to figure out how to use knitting to do this! Any help or thoughts on this? Was the writer just blowing smoke? Thanks, Jana Trent 
Dear Jana, The author you talk about was a victim of the fact that there isn't a standard terminology dealing with rag rugs, which is a problem we're trying to correct. The "shirred" rug that she was talking about is actually a rug with a sewn texture on a base of burlap or mattress ticking. The Shakers made this type of mat which consisted of narrow bands of knitting, that were then gathered up with a running stitch and then sewn to the backing. Very different than true shirred rugs, and your reaction was right! Anyway, their rugs were called 'ravel mats' or 'ravel knit' rugs, but there are still a lot of people who don't know that these rugs aren't true "shirred" rugs.