Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Working on my green penny rug

 YIPPEE!  
I actually found enough thread! 
 The match was close enough to the hand dyed pieces I started with,
 get this, 2 years ago for this rug!
(stitching slow as time was flying by!)
  
Last night I finished the last row. 

This rug is a collection of 2" greens.
Some are brownish green, some are greyish green.
I'm not going to add any other pennies or colours.
This is the rug I envisioned when I started.
Simple.

This is my first cotton backed rug. The last one was linen.
I found a reproduction feed sack and aged it with tea.
Note: some teas will leave a pinkish tone, test your tea first.
 I use the cheapest brand for dyeing, don't use orange pekoe.
BUT you should try onion skins for dyeing!  Check Cee's post here
The Diary of a Rug Maker - the dye pot is on
Start saving your onions skins!
  
I really enjoyed working with the cotton backing.

With lots of thought and discussion I think I'm going to trim it with a cotton binding.  
There might be enough fabric to fold over and stitch, but I think I'm going to try binding it. 
This will my first "bound" penny rug.
 Cee suggested cotton binding.
These are straight edges, so I don't think I'll cut my binding on a bias.

So, onward and stay tuned for the finishing and my YouTube tutorial.

4 comments:

  1. Lots of stitches there!! It's really beautiful ~ love it!

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  2. I love this rug! I've never seen one with only one penny and I love it. Can't wait to see it after you've done the binding.
    Jean, Lady Moth from Wisconsin

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  3. Drop dead gorgeous! I've never stitched a penny rug onto a backing like that. I'll try it soon, but perhaps start with something a bit smaller. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. What a beautiful rug, Colleen. I love your collection of greens. Can't wait to see your finish.
    Lady Moth from Ohio







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