I’ve always wanted to make rag rugs and my lovely little 15” Weavemaster is, as you can imagine, just not big enough! So, when I got the chance of buying a larger loom from that well known auction site, I just couldn’t resist and the fact that it was located only a couple of miles away did it for me!
Although it was a bit scruffy I was quite pleased with my purchase. It has a weaving width of 45” – which is more than enough for weaving rag rugs on.
I soon discovered that using a counterbalance floor loom is a LOT different from using a table loom. The shafts must balance correctly for it to weave properly. After a little tweaking I got her up and running and warped ready for weaving my first rug. Now all that was left was to make the rags for the weft. I found an old pair of cotton curtains in a cupboard and spent a whole night cutting it into strips. Within a couple of hours I had my rug ready for the floor.I am very pleased with it even if my edges are not perfect – it’s now on the floor in the kitchen.
I’m now in the process of making rag strips for my second rug. This time I am double folding them so that I won’t have any fuzzy threads poking out all over the place. I’m making them from old cotton sheets this time and double folding the strips is time-consuming but I’m hoping that the overall finish will be neater.
