Mom's Woven Rugs - Commissioned Works
09-14-2015, 07:33 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,643
Mom's Woven Rugs - Commissioned Works
My Mom used to make woven rugs - hers were "way better than average"
Some of the reasons were:
1) She used new or slightly used recycled things like sheets
2) She had a good sense of color, design, and balance
3) She had "standards" - her turns were even, the edges of her strips were turned in so there no raw edges showing, her strips were sewn with diagonal joins so there wouldn't be lumps, her knots at the ends of the rugs small and even - etc.
(She's been a hard act to follow -
- but an excellent example!)
Anyway - the point of this post -
She did weave some "rags" - and they truly were rags - for a dear neighbor - she ended up resewing a bunch of them to make them "tolerable" to her sensibilities - and a batch for another person - and those were even harder to work with -
After that she swore "Never again"
She did do ONE commissioned work for someone - that kept changing the parameters - and was cheap - also a "Never again"
She preferred to work with materials of her choosing and prepared to her standards.
So - the point of this post is - sometimes it is really hard to say "no" - but sometimes avoiding the aggravation is worth it - there is no way one can make something decent out of materials that are unsuitable for the purpose.
It is a lot easier to "do it all" than to try to use something that really should have gone in the wastebasket or burning barrel.
As far as doing things on commission - getting it in writing and getting a down payment - CRUCIAL steps!!
Some of the reasons were:
1) She used new or slightly used recycled things like sheets
2) She had a good sense of color, design, and balance
3) She had "standards" - her turns were even, the edges of her strips were turned in so there no raw edges showing, her strips were sewn with diagonal joins so there wouldn't be lumps, her knots at the ends of the rugs small and even - etc.
(She's been a hard act to follow -
- but an excellent example!)Anyway - the point of this post -
She did weave some "rags" - and they truly were rags - for a dear neighbor - she ended up resewing a bunch of them to make them "tolerable" to her sensibilities - and a batch for another person - and those were even harder to work with -
After that she swore "Never again"
She did do ONE commissioned work for someone - that kept changing the parameters - and was cheap - also a "Never again"
She preferred to work with materials of her choosing and prepared to her standards.
So - the point of this post is - sometimes it is really hard to say "no" - but sometimes avoiding the aggravation is worth it - there is no way one can make something decent out of materials that are unsuitable for the purpose.
It is a lot easier to "do it all" than to try to use something that really should have gone in the wastebasket or burning barrel.
As far as doing things on commission - getting it in writing and getting a down payment - CRUCIAL steps!!
09-15-2015, 05:19 AM
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Vermont
Posts: 7,044
I have a friend who used to do beautiful stained glass. Occasionally he would take on a commission. His rule - it would be done at his pace. The first time you asked him when it would be finished, he would say "Bye." and quit working on it.
09-15-2015, 09:17 AM
#3
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Florida
Posts: 266
Woven rugs
My Mom used to make woven rugs - hers were "way better than average"
Some of the reasons were:
1) She used new or slightly used recycled things like sheets
2) She had a good sense of color, design, and balance
3) She had "standards" - her turns were even, the edges of her strips were turned in so there no raw edges showing, her strips were sewn with diagonal joins so there wouldn't be lumps, her knots at the ends of the rugs small and even - etc.
(She's been a hard act to follow - - but an excellent example!)
Anyway - the point of this post -
She did weave some "rags" - and they truly were rags - for a dear neighbor - she ended up resewing a bunch of them to make them "tolerable" to her sensibilities - and a batch for another person - and those were even harder to work with -
After that she swore "Never again"
She did do ONE commissioned work for someone - that kept changing the parameters - and was cheap - also a "Never again"
She preferred to work with materials of her choosing and prepared to her standards.
So - the point of this post is - sometimes it is really hard to say "no" - but sometimes avoiding the aggravation is worth it - there is no way one can make something decent out of materials that are unsuitable for the purpose.
It is a lot easier to "do it all" than to try to use something that really should have gone in the wastebasket or burning barrel.
As far as doing things on commission - getting it in writing and getting a down payment - CRUCIAL steps!!
Some of the reasons were:
1) She used new or slightly used recycled things like sheets
2) She had a good sense of color, design, and balance
3) She had "standards" - her turns were even, the edges of her strips were turned in so there no raw edges showing, her strips were sewn with diagonal joins so there wouldn't be lumps, her knots at the ends of the rugs small and even - etc.
(She's been a hard act to follow -
- but an excellent example!)Anyway - the point of this post -
She did weave some "rags" - and they truly were rags - for a dear neighbor - she ended up resewing a bunch of them to make them "tolerable" to her sensibilities - and a batch for another person - and those were even harder to work with -
After that she swore "Never again"
She did do ONE commissioned work for someone - that kept changing the parameters - and was cheap - also a "Never again"
She preferred to work with materials of her choosing and prepared to her standards.
So - the point of this post is - sometimes it is really hard to say "no" - but sometimes avoiding the aggravation is worth it - there is no way one can make something decent out of materials that are unsuitable for the purpose.
It is a lot easier to "do it all" than to try to use something that really should have gone in the wastebasket or burning barrel.
As far as doing things on commission - getting it in writing and getting a down payment - CRUCIAL steps!!
Annette
09-15-2015, 09:50 AM
#4
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
I have just started crocheting my first rug. I watched videos on YouTube, to learn how, and I am using leftover binding strips (bias cut 2.5", then cut in half to crochet with) so no strings. I have no idea what colors will be in it, just whatever binding strips I have left over, since I always cut my binding at 2.5" unless it is a little project. I am not sure how well the bias strips will wash, but since I am using leftovers, that is OK with this first one. So far it is a twelve inch circle.
09-15-2015, 09:59 AM
#5
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: So. Central MO
Posts: 2,759
My mother-in-law showed me how to make "hooked" rugs out of old WOOL clothing/coats. She cut the cloth into narrow strips and "hooked" them through burlap. I think that she bought the burlap at the store and drew her own designs on it with some sort of marker. They were very vintage looking - mostly dark colors because they wore dark colored clothing/coats, etc. So, I started buying wool clothing at yard sales, Goodwill, etc. - easy to find back then - about 45 years ago. I cut them into strips and did make one decent looking rug. I had a huge box of strips in my utility room and we had a water leak and the box soaked up all of the water and sat there for a long time before we discovered it and so had to get rid of all of my wool strips. I thought that I might make a hooked rug out of polyester double knit strips but never did.
09-17-2015, 09:11 AM
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
I am working with a "K/101/2-6.50mm" hook to crochet with. It was the biggest one I had on hand, and it is working just fine with the cotton fabric cut bias at 1.25". The best part is no strings because of the bias cut. I do need to see if it is washable, or if it will dissolve when washed because of the bias cut. If it does, I will start sewing the strips down the middle for strength....
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