A Monogrammed Rug with Braids

Another year of Workshop Week has come and gone. I took a few classes. I took one with Charlie Dalton on an approach to increase creativity with Circles, Squares & Triangles. I took one with Wendie Scott Davis in doing monochromatic portraits. More on those another day.

The third workshop I took was with Kris McDermet: Before and After Hooking Comes Braiding. Check out her rugs- they really are amazing pieces of artwork!

Punched rug with braiding at a mid-point and on the outside.

I've always loved the way braided rugs look, and Kris was in a class I took a couple of years ago and I learned of her use of braiding as an edge to many of her rugs. I bought her book, but never dared open it to give it a try. So I was SUPER excited to see that she was teaching one for this year's Workshop Week.

I've also recently added punching to my repertoire. So I decided to use these two new skills to do the monogram rug I've been playing with in my head. The pre-class assignment was to hook (or punch) a 5 inch circle. I did the monogram for my husband and myself. If I had it to do again, (which I might) I would probably use a different font, but it's ok as it is. The color choices were based on the fact that my husband and I both prefer blue, and the white was a good contrast. This was my 2nd punched piece. And since it was only a 5 inch circle, it punched quickly. Then we had class #1.

We learned how to finish the first piece with batting and wool lining. This helps keep everything the same thickness when the rug has been completed, since braids tend to be thicker than hooking. Then we moved to setting up the braid. I'm still working out the why in my head, but you start with one piece of wool higher up than the other two. I think it has to do with when you butt the ends, it allows the seams to be hidden easier, but I might need to do it again to verify that.

I spent the money on a braid stand from Dorr Mill. It wasn't that expensive, and was quite helpful. I also ordered large allegator clips from The Oxford Company. These were probably even more helpful than the stand, but I'd do both again, if I had to start over.

Once I got going, the braiding just fell into place (though stopping periodically and clipping with the clips kept my hands from getting too tired). Kris taught us how to attach the braid to the hooking using lacing, but not how to butt the ends to finish it off. So the assignment between class 1 and 2 was to hook the "wreath," lace on the first braid, and braid the wool for the outer braid. Since my braid was laced on and ready to butt ends, I could focus my attention on the wreath.

My original plan for the wreath was a Celtic wreath. But in looking at the piece at that point, I felt like a Celtic wreath between two braids would be a bit much.

The monogram and first braid after Class #1.

So I opted for hearts instead. I felt like the purple, my daughter's favorite color, brought her into this piece, so the wreath represented the expansion of our family, and hearts was the best representation of that. So, I kept the white as a background, with navy and purple hearts alternating was both representative and aesthetically pleasing. Someone else in my class had almost identical colors for their braids. The hardest part of the wreath was centering the hearts. Kris had mentioned that we should have two rows of hooking around the inside edge especially. This would give us the flexibility to take some out if we needed more space between the first braid and the wreath. But knowing you may take some of the inner part out, makes it hard to center... I think I erred a little toward leaning outward with my hearts. But again, batting, and lining the wreath. I will say it's harder to do the lining on the inner circle, since the fold over isn't enough. Since this was punched on monks cloth, I was really worried it will pull out. Kris suggested if that was a concern using fabric glue of some sort. But that was after mine was done, so I'll just keep crossing my fingers it holds up.

On to part two- braiding the wool for the outer braid. It needed to be longer than the first one, so we had to sew strips together. As one would do with quilt edges, the two strips are laid perpendicular and stitched across the corner. Once the corner is trimmed, they lay flat. I wanted to make sure I didn't end up having to add to my braid, so I did 3 strips worth. I did way too much, but it was ok. I may find something else to do with the rest of it.

We had two weeks between classes, and my life can be up in the air when it comes to how much time I have to put into my projects. So I really tried to zip through. I got everything done before class #2. We started with butting the ends of the first braid. Not overly complicated, but I felt like a 4 year old trying to tie my shoes. It should be easy, but my hands just couldn't get the ends of the braid to do what I wanted. Finally I got it finished and spread out the loose wool so it would look more uniform. This was followed with a review of applying the batting and backing and discussion of the troubles with the inner circle. Then it was lacing the wreath onto the first braid and the outer braid onto the wreath, and fighting with butting again. The butting here was even worse because I had both the seam at the end of the strip, and the butting to hide, and I really couldn't successfully hid both. And I didn't do as great a job in evening out the braid after butting- at least in part because I couldn't hid both seams. But I'm proud of what I have. I'm looking forward to putting it on the wall in the hallway upstairs. Guests will be able to see it, but not up close. And anyone we invite upstairs would be someone I trust to not be too judge-y on my artwork.

This piece not only represents my immediate family- but also my acceptance of imperfection and and acknowledgement that we show different people more or less of ourselves. It ended up with way more meaning than I thought it would when I started the monogrammed piece for my husband and me.