My latest project off the large rug loom was a set of five rag rugs in rosepath threading. I love rosepath for its infinite possibilities. Though I have no intention of limiting myself to one draft, I think I could be quite content--and never run out of variations to try--weaving nothing but rosepath. (Edit: That is a complete lie; I want to try everything. But I really do love rosepath.)
Treadling Sequences
Before starting, I mocked up a number of different treadling patterns on the computer. Ultimately I kept things simple for the actual rugs, but it was fun to see what varied results one can achieve from the same simple threading.
Rugs Off the Loom
I set my warp at 8 epi, using two strands of 8/4 cotton carpet warp wound together as one. It was roughly 26" in the reed. All hems are woven with the same doubled warp thread.
Rug #1: Used two alternating shuttles, weaving on opposites. The first shuttle was satin-weave bedsheets, cut into 2" strips. The second was the same 8/4 cotton as the warp and hems. The pattern was achieved with treadling sequence I (see above).
Alternating with picks of 8/4 thread was an interesting experiment. The rag picks don't overlap, because they're separated by the thin picks. The result is a relatively thin rug with a lot of drape to it, and an elongated twill pattern. It's quite nice, if you're looking for a light/thin summery rug, though I think thick & heavier rugs tend to be more popular.
Rug #2: For weft I used t-shirts, spiral-cut in 1" strips. The main background pattern is treadling sequence H.
This rug is my favorite of the batch, probably because I love the colors. For the first time, I actually over-dyed the t-shirt strips. The stripes are their original color, but the main darker blue color started out as a bright light blue that clashed with the others. I had a pot of "denim" Rit dye on hand, which I had already used for a small project. I dumped the blue t-shirt strips into the pot to take up the exhaust dye, and they ended up a perfect periwinkle. Most of my t-shirt rugs up to this point have had a uniform overall color, but you can see some slight variegation in this one because of the overdyeing process.
Rug #3: For weft, I spiral-cut 7 turtlenecks and divided each one into two equal balls to use in sequence for the gradation effect. Treadling sequence D, finished with twisted fringe.
This rug is so thick that the Toika temple didn't want to stay in. If I wasn't careful, it bounced right out when I beat the fell. It feels great to use up this weft material, which has been sitting around waiting to be used for about two years. A different treadling sequence might have worked better; if I had it to do over, I would choose either straight draw (A) or a dornick (E/F) to avoid the longer warp floats, which give a slight bunching effect due to the very thick weft. But I'm happy overall, as it was really fun to see the gradation effect come out.
Rug #4: Rag warp using old, well-worn bedsheets cut into 2" strips. The faded, threadbare sections of the sheets created the subtle color variegations. Treadling sequence A, finished with rolled hems.
Rug #5: I used every single scrap left over from rugs 1 & 4 to make this final rug. I also squeezed in every possible inch of warp to balance out the pattern; there was only about 6" of loom waste left at the end of the warp, which is cutting it close for my big counterbalance loom. I re-used my favorite treadling sequence H continuously, even through the stripes.
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