I was wondering if anyone has come across a rug like this. I agreed to
try to repair it (one side was lightly chewed by a dog), and hope I
haven't gotten myself into something I can't handle :)
It's a weft faced rug on a heavy 2-ply linen warp. Wefts include some
sort of twine--looked like baling twine at first, but it's not quite
that thick. Zack bought some "gardening twine" from Ace that's 3-ply,
and each single is very similar to the twine used in the rug. The twine
is used in bands of 3 ends together as an occasionaly decorative element.
Although I was told the rug was a 'roving rug', it's not. The 'roving'
is actually a core-spun yarn, with a core of the same twine as above,
with an extremely short (1/2-1 inch) extremely coarse protein fiber spun
or wrapped somehow around it. I can't be more specific without pulling
some of it out of the rug, which I don't want to do. I've never seen
such a coarse, short fiber before. I'm guessing it's some sort of short
overcoat from a non-wool animal. Yak came to mind, but I admit to
knowing NOTHING about yak overcoats :) I can't imagine how this short
fiber stuck together enough to be wrapped around the twine.
Fortunately, I have some Icelandic wool of exactly the same color,
though MUCH longer and much softer. The owner of the rug had no problem
with using a different fiber. It will be interesting to see if I can
recreate the 'roving' by corespinning the wool over the twine. I've
ordered some linen rug warp, and of course Zack bought the twine, so
pretty soon I'll see if I'm just frustrating myself or actually able to
make this work!
I told him I would charge materials plus labor at $10/hour. I know,
that's probably low, but that's what I told him.
Do I charge the entire cost of the tube of linen even if only a little
is used? I wouldn't have bought it if not for this project, but it
won't take much.
And has anyone heard of or seen something like this rug before? The
owner doesn't know anything more than that his MIL owned it before it
was passed to his wife. I think it's definitely not a US craftsperson's
work. That short coarse stuff is just too unusual.
Holly
looking at clear skies and warmer temps today--gotta grill some burgers
to use the last of the tomatoes :)
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