This is a case of using family to practice and learn on: thus the name of the rug, which I made for my daughter. I combined left-over blue-grey unmercerized cotton warp with a mercerized orange cotton to make a simple,.balanced stripe. I was ready for the blue-grey this time, so warping went a little easier. This is the first of two rugs I wove on the warp; the second is a little shorter and simpler. I'll post it separately.
My daughter wanted something colorful, so I selected several rolls of plain and patterned rag strips, largely blues and oranges from a box I had picked up at a weaver's studio sale, and worked out a rough pattern. I kind of winged it, changing things to create a more pleasing pattern as the weaving progressed. My daughter really likes the subtle interplay of the warp stripes on the weft stripes: not really a plaid, but nice colorplay. shots a few times.
HOWEVER, I wove this when I was just coming down with flu, and managed to make one of the most fundamental mistakes of all: I forgot to secure the beginning of the rug and started weaving rags right after the padding. Duh. Didn't even notice until I took the rug off the loom. (On the positive side, my selfedges are much improved.) Not knowing quite what to do, I simply tied off pairs of warp threads with a granny knot.
Hurriedly looked in Peter Collingsworth, and first tried a woven edge, which was quite simple (and satisfying) but I decided it didn't really fit the rug. I finally muddled through how to tie a locked loop edge so it was pretty even, leaving just enough warp for a short fringe.
Every time I made one of these goofy mistakes, I learn not only not to do that again, but also at least one creative way to fix my mistake. And acquire something I can use on purpose on some other project. That is one of the reasons I love weaving!
PS: This is the last time I warp up with that blue-grey. It came with the loom, and I wish I knew the brand so I could make sure to avoid it in the future. The orange handled beautifully.
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