From Sheep to Rug

My Stash of Romney Rug Yarn

This fall at the Vermont Sheep Festival, rug yarn seemed to be the new rage. Vendors displayed their funky, colorful yarn. My booth sat directly across from a vendor who had a large display of this twisted, chunky yarn. All weekend, I eyed that yarn and could not wait to find the  mill processing it. Before leaving on Sunday afternoon, I found Still River Mill. I left several bags of Romney wool with them and waited patiently for my own stash of rug yarn to appear on my doorstep.

Once I had the yarn in hand, learning how to work with it became my next task. Doing a trial run on own, I discovered that I needed more information about rug construction. As carefully as I wove my first rug, I unwove it, saving all of the yarn. For my birthday, my husband gave me some private weaving lessons with a local weaver named Susan Rockwell. Through my trial and lesson with Susan I learned much about rug weaving:

Double Warp Threads of Strong Cotton

Weighted Tapestry Beater Packs the Wool

• Use a dark colored warp thread.
• Run two strands of warp thread through each dent in the reed.
• Weaving a strong header is crucial.
• Using a weighted tapestry beater packs the yarn tightly so that the warp thread disappears into the wool.
• Weave at a high tension on the warp.
• "Bubbling" the weft with each pass allows the yarn to have more depth in the warp, making a softer feel to the rug.

Yesterday, I pulled my first rug off of the loom! 

It is amazing! The rug has much loft and feels quite soft under my feet. Mmmmm....what a luxury!

I can see how this could become quite addicting. As with all the fiber arts, I love the feel of the wool through my hands, the unfolding of rich color as I work, and the satisfaction of knowing that the wool from my own sheep has turned into a lovely, useful item.

Proverbs 31:13

"She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands."

Bubbling the Weft 

Visit Grand View Farm this summer for a Vermont Weaver's Retreat! Visit our website for details.