Hem

Sorry...this was posted under another thread...should have been here...I think.

I'm struggling with a hem.  I've done three mats like this.  They seem to be fine while under tension, but once I cut them off the loom, they seem to want to fall apart.  The first mat I ended up knotting.  The second and this, I managed to stitch with the sewing machine.  I have followed, at least I think I did, Laura's video and also Peggy Osterkamp's directions, but obviously, I still don't get it.  Can anyone help?  Or, can someone suggest a simpler way of finishing off a rug?  

I have just started another rug and have the header in but I have not tied it off to make tassels like the one in the picture.  So at this stage, I'm open to any and all suggestions that would make my life easier.

Many thanks...

Comments

Sun, 03/16/2014 - 09:55

Yvonne K

I have always used the technique described in the appendix of Handwoven magazine when hemstitching. I'm not sure how you have done yours, but it looks like you have stitched too far up into the cloth. I only include the first (or last) three rows.

For any mat to be used on the floor, you need to go to some effort to secure the ends as they will wear more than you expect. Knotting securely against the first and last rows is the simplest way. Hem stitching the edge first is good, but not necessary and not sufficient on its own. Twisting the fringe and then knotting the ends of the strands you have plied is a common technique. You can also bind the ends with cloth strips, which I once did to rescue a rug that had a badly frayed fringe.

Do some research on finishing techniques - there are discussions already on this site. The best advice for a beginner is to get some books and read, browse, think - don't rely on videos alone to give detailed information. And, of course, weave and experiment, which you are doing already, We learn a lot from our failures.

 

Sun, 03/16/2014 - 11:15

Artistry

Oldfanny, Try to get your hands on Peter Collingwood's Book The Techniques of Rug Weaving. This book is a wealth of information on finishing , plus other things. Sometimes you can pick it up used from Powell's Books in Oregon ( no price gouging!) or you could certainly get it through inter library loan through your library. Rug finishing is sometimes like Tapestry finishing because of the heavy cotton warp. I weave tapestries. I use a Damascus edge to finish my work. Yvonnek has great advice. You have so many options, a good book on rug finishing ,I think, is your best bet.
Sun, 03/16/2014 - 13:04

kerstinfroberg

Both Techniques... and Rug weaving techniques: beyond the basics can be downloaded from handweaving.net - link

Sun, 03/16/2014 - 17:16

sandra.eberhar…

I don't like to use fringe on items that will get a lot of wear and washing.  I weave about 6" using rug warp as weft and make a triple-fold hem with a sewing machine.

Sun, 03/16/2014 - 17:53

oldfanny

Thanks for your comments...I appreciate all of them.  I have now downloaded Peter Collingwood's two books on rug weaving, so now to do some reading.  I do agree that there is lots to learn and we learn from our failures.  I'm on my fourth rug and each rug has taught me something new.

As much as I dislike using a sewing machine to finish a hem, I do like what you are doing, soda dog...I must try that.  Unfortunately, not on the rug I am working on now.  At the stage I'm at, I'm committed to finishing it some other way.  Cathie mentioned damascus weave.  I read something about that someplace, so will see what Peter says about it.

Much of what I read seems to be so simple, but when I translate that to my fingers, something seems to go amiss, but I keep at it.

Many thanks again...oldfanny.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 12:09

trkeyfrm

this is what got me started with hemstitching....

http://peggyosterkamp.com/peggys-weaving-ips-tips-hemstitching/

of course, modifying as i go....  and with the rag rugs, i do not leave the length of weft to do it with, rather i use a length of the warp material to do it after the weaving is done, but before cutting the piece off the loom.  (do not try to do this after removing tension... very difficult)

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 12:53

oldfanny

Good Morning trkeyfrm...

Thanks for the link.  I have visited Peggy's link before and have tried her method on the second rug I made.  It seemed to be OK and still holds.  The third rug I made, I tried finishing it off the same way, but something did not work and the ends started to fall apart.  I saved it by getting it to a sewing macnhine.  The next rug just got knotted.  I have three more rugs to do to fill requests, so will get practice in finishing. I will visit the second rug again to see if I can figure out what worked with it.

And yes, I found out the hard way, it is better to finish a rug under tension rather than the other way around.  Tension seems to build up quickly when the rug falls apart when not under tension!  This begs another question:  how do you knot a rug without losing tension?  I can understand taking a few warp ends at a time and knotting them under tension, but what about the other end, once one the first end is done?  And if there is more than one rug on the cloth beam, they all lose tension once the first (or is the last) rug is knotted.  Am I losing something here?

Appreciate all the comments...oldfanny

 

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 17:14

trkeyfrm

i am certainly no expert, but i would have to say from the couple of pictures that you aren't getting the strips beaten in sufficiantly... maybe it's the materials. what are you using for warp? and the weft? strip width is a factor too. some of my early rugs are not holding up well... not so much the ends coming apart, but the weft throughout just too loose.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 17:16

trkeyfrm

stupid tablet, or site, or user.... seems to do that here with others too,    wouldnt update the post.. reboot  and its there twice...

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 17:22

trkeyfrm

the stitching needs to be done while still on the loom... at that point i cut it off and am done.  if you want to tie the tassles, cut them off more, twist them or whatever... yes that's after it's off, but the hemstitching should be tight enough to hold the ends together.       and ha, how are you getting so many friendly responses... early on i was told to go buy a book and take a class (there were nice people too.. dont get me wrong nice people...heehee)

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 22:16

oldfanny

...I was told to go and buy a book...maybe more than once.  There are a lot of resources available, but there is something more personal when a person can get help from a real person...not so say that the author of a book is not a real person.  

To answer your questions:  the warp I'm using is cheap Dollar Store cotton twine.  I will order rug warp the next time.  I'm using denim cut in 3/4" strips with some cotton cut wider...just so that it would pack in about the same as the denim.  EPI is 5 and I beat as much as I can.  I'm weaving on an old Fanny which seems to be sturdy enough.

I have been weaving less than two months, so my skill level is next to nothing...but I'm having fun and rug orders continue to come in.  I've just completed (still on the loom, but not hemmed yet) my fourth rug and have two more to do.  

And now I think I will go down to the basement and mull over my next step.

Thanks for comments...oldfanny

 

Sat, 03/22/2014 - 02:21

trkeyfrm

nothing wrong with the twine.. i have used stretchy commercial yarn for most of mine.  just recently bought actual rug warp myself recently.  denim is an unfriendly thing when too thick, just doesn't bubble between the warp enough to pack in well (but i do just love denim).  anymore i'm cutting the strips thinner and thinner, moving from a rustic rag rug look to more of a weft faced tapestry look.   not as thick of a rug, but cleaner and tighter. 

cheers