Making simple rugs, Part 1

Or not so simple...

(not my rug, not my image but a good idea of what our rugs will turn out like)

Braided rugs made of natural wool are amazing!  When the sheep first arrived at Kaelie's I was a huge skeptic as to how these smelly beasts were going to be as wonderful as my Mom kept saying they were.  To me they just seemed like another critter my Mom brought home to fill her pastures.  

They are however wonderful!  I'm a crafter.  I love almost all things artsy and adore learning new tricks.  One of the things we learned this year is how to use some of this amazing wool by making rugs.  They turn out soft and cushy on bare feet.  I just adore them.

To get started you need the following supplies: clean carded wool, waxed linen thread, embroidery needles and scissors.

Step one is pulling off about 2 inch strips from your carded wool and thinning it down by carefully pulling the pieces apart and stretching your strips to about double their original size.

Step two is to roll your strip into a "snake".  It helps to wet your hand just a bit to make the wool slightly felted.  This helps all the shorter fibers bind together which makes the braiding process easier. 

Step three...start brainding!

Once you have many Braided sections (and I do mean MANY) you put them into a pillow case and throw them into the washing machine.  This is a good tutorial on how long to leave them in the machine and the settings to use.  This will help to felt the braids together and give you a more solid piece to start stitching.

Since this process takes awhile I'll leave you with just this tonight.  

Soon (like when I get my camera out and actually get back to stitching this thing together) I will show you the second part.  

For now...enjoy and if you want any wool to start your own handmade run you know who to contact!  We have plenty of gorgeous colors to choose from and many of them can be dyed easily.  Another fun post for weeks to come!