Worth the Wait

In 2014, I bought this excellent book. It tells you absolutely everything you need to know about rugs made of braided roving, including how to make them yourself.

In 2015, I bought three giant balls of roving. I planned out how I wanted the colors to flow: 3 orange strands, then 2 orange/1 multi, 1 orange/2 multi, 3 multi, 2 multi/1 grey, 1 multi/2 grey, 3 grey. I made one giant braid, trying to keep the tension and width even, although the places where a new strand started were usually thicker than I would have liked.

Life intervened for a couple of years. Somewhere along the way I took The Braid up to the Felting Machine, and then made my only irretrievable error - I dried it slung over a clothesline without regard to whether or not the braid was twisted.

In 2020 I decided it was high time I sewed the rug together. I had purchased a set of waxed linen thread which happily contained both orange and grey. I carefully worked out the measurements for the first loop, and then discovered the book spelled that out for me. Never mind, it was reassuring that it matched what I figured out for myself.

I cut off the knots I had tied in the end of the braid before felting. I worked the first rounds three times, learning to "cap" the initial cut end, learning not to pull the thread too tight, and eventually learning that, because of the twisted felting, the rug was never going to lay completely flat. Trying to untwist the braid usually resulted in the rest of the rug twisting in the opposite direction. I also learned, towards the end, that I should have used up all the orange thread before switching to the grey -- 2 spools of thread was enough, but I had to go back and use the rest of the orange thread at the end. I wasn't about to go back just to fix the thread color.

Not bad for a first effort; would definitely try again. The recipient, who owns a felting needle, gets to finish off the grey cut end for me.