Part 2: Braided Rug tutorial

Sewing Strips Together

So, I cleaned the sewing room so I could instantly make a mess with this project. Above photo: stacks of wool for making the rug.

The strips are sewn together at a 45-degree angle. This is used to change colors and to add more of the same color to the current strip being used. This is also used in the beginning when you have three colors starting at the same time.

1. Lay ends of wool strips that you have cut at right angles to each other.
   
2. Sew from corner to corner, a 45 degree-angle, right sides together.
   
3. Trim off excess wool; leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch-wide seam allowance.
   

The reason the seam is sewn at a 45 degree angle is to reduce bulk in the braid because it spreads it out over about an inch instead of putting all the bulk in one spot.

When braiding, you need one of your strands to be short; there are a few ways of doing this.

• One is to leave two long strands and constantly add to the third strand.
• Another is leave all three strands short and add to all three as needed.
• I don't like to do either of these methods because it breaks the rhythm of braiding. So, I leave two strands real long and the third strand is left sort of long, but in the form of a reel, which makes its over-all braiding length short.

You can do any of the above that works best for you. Two are pretty much self explanatory, the last I will explain a little better.

I like using a braid aid reel; the only thing was, it didn't hold enough in my opinion - only 5 yards.

So, I bent an old wire clothes hanger and attached it to the bottom of the reel tool to make it longer and hold more. At the bottom of the bends I placed a piece of PVC pipe to help the wool roll around the wire better for ease in braiding.

Wool wound in a circle/reel with a hole big enough in the center to accommodate the pvc pipe.

Extension inside wool.

Remove pin from Reel aid and attach to extension.

Wool strips feed through the tool.

I don't use the reel to fold the fabric; I just use it to hold more fabric. You can use braid aids on all your strips to help you fold, especially if you have arthritis or something of that sort. Personally, it is easier to braid without the gizmos and creates less fiber dust, too. That is why I now prefer to use just the one, the reel, to speed up the braid time by not having to stop so much to sew more strips on. But I leave the other strips without the tool because it is faster for me.

If you don't have, or don't want to buy, a reel-aid tool, you can do the same thing with a safety pin and just undo a loop every time you need more of the strip to braid. I do this, too. I am trying to give you as many options as possible on how to do this so it is the cheapest for you in the long run in case you do not want to invest in a lot of tools.

Part 1: Prep work and cutting fabric
Part 2: Will be about sewing the strips together and forming reels
Part 3: About starting a t-started rug
Part 4: How to start a round rug, apple peel style
Part 5: Sewing and increases / tools
Part 6: How to change colors
Part 7: Ending in a taper
Part 8: Butting last one or two rows of the rug for a smooth finish
DO NOT USE THIS PATTERN TO MAKE THINGS TO SELL FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY!!!!