Cape Breton's Magazine

Hooking a Rag Rug Maisie Morrison of Wreck Cove began to hook rugs when she was about twenty years old. In those days she worked on a large frame her father built, and it was on this frame she made the rug on the back cover of this issue, 6' 7" by 2? 11". That was about 45 years ago. The entire rug is made of burlap. Maisie and her mother pulled the threads from many burlap bags, Maisie dyed the threads orange, green, brown and a kind of soft pink or off-white. Then she twisted strands together 5-ply, She sewed two flat 100 poinds grain sacks end to end, put them on a frame and hooked. Traditionally, burlap was used only as the backing for a rug, and strips of rag would be the hooking material. Yarn was rarely used. It was considered too precious. Having raised, sheared, washed, carded, spun and dyed the wool • you would want to use it to make warm clothing. The rugs were made from discarded clothing and other worn cloth. Every scrap was saved. Pieces of cloth that had no other worldly use • these would become the lovely rugs they hooked. To hook a rag rug, you begin by collecting all the old cloth you can and cutting the material into strips • as long a strip as possible, although it is not necessary to sew strips end to end. Thick cloth should be cut to 3/8" and hooked in a single layer. Lighter material should be cut about 1/2" and folded double by the left hand working under the rug, feeding the cloth to the hook. Whether it is used singly or doubled, be certain that in the finished rug the portion of the material that was inside when it was worn, will be the portion that shows. It is the inside of a shirt that has seen much less sun, and the color is thus least faded. GEORGE'S DAIRY Baddeck "Here we are again" Best wishes to the Third Edition of Cape Breton's Magazine MAC INNES' GROCERY & IRVING GAS & OIL Breton Cove Cape Smokey Recreation Center Skiing. Chairlift 4,000 Feet. Cafeteria. Licensed Lounge. *Dining Room. Discoteque. Ski and Gift Shop. Accomodations from December 20th. Ingonish, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Town and Country RESTAURANT Red ond White FOOD STORES Baddeck Port Hawkesbury Sydney River & Glace Bay Cape Breton's Magazine/13