 Once a rug or project is finished it must be blocked. Above is the Jane rug plus a few other projects I stitched to use up the leftover fabric to the best advantage. To block a rug, I use a piece of grid paper or a paper with straight lines on it that I have placed inside a clear plastic sleeve. I pin it to a firm background that I had left over from my younger days when I did macrame. It is some sort of firm fibre that holds thumb tacks easily. I start with one edge of the rug and firmly tack it down, using one of the grid lines for a guide. Once the first side is tacked down, I tack one of the ends. All of the tacks are placed on the extra silk gauze that is around the rug, not the rug itself because the tack will create a hole similar to the one you can see near the upper right-hand side of the picture above. While tacking, I stretch the rug a bit, keeping the rug on the line. The next side and end are tacked in the same way, trying to keep it as straight as possible, using the lines as a guide. Once all sides are tacked down, I steam the rug with the steam setting of my iron, without touching the rug. I let the rug dry, then add more tacks to straighten the edges, as needed. I often use a ruler against the edge to make sure I am straight. I repeat this several times until the edges are as straight as I can get them. This process can take several days to weeks depending on how much straightening the project needs. After the blocking, I cut the fringe along the outer edge and fold the gauze under towards the back of the rug. I press the edge down and cut it off short (leaving two rows of gauze). I will put small dots of fabric glue to hold the gauze down and press with the iron. Then I carefully work on the sides. I roll the rug up carefully and turn the long edge under, leaving 2 rows visible. I finish the sides using an overcast stitch and two strands of floss. I overcast over the two rows and through the folded gauze. After the overcast is done on the edge, I cut the gauze as close to the stitching as I can. Here is the finished Jane rug:
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After my first granddaughter was born in January 2019, I designed a little rug that I named after her. I decided it would be perfect for a nursery and began stitching it in July 2019 as a little project that fit perfectly onto a piece of leftover gauze that I had. It stitched up quite quickly and was a great small project to do.
You may notice that the background is being stitched on a diagonal. I used the basketweave stitch (which is done on a diagonal) because it is supposed to help keep the rug square if you use different stitches. I used the tent stitch on the border to be my different stitch. When the background is a solid color this works. However, if the background is going to be done in an overdyed floss (as I used in my Heather rug), you must do the background in the tent stitch so that the "abrash" effect works properly.
I wish to take this moment to wish a Happy New Year to everyone as we say goodbye to this year and usher in a new decade. This past year has been a very exciting one for myself and family and I hope to enjoy many years of stitching and miniatures. Hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful 2020! |
AuthorMy name is Yvette, and I will be writing this blog to tell you about the creative process that has gone into the creation of my Petitpoint patterns along with showing the stitching I have done of some of the rugs. Archives
November 2024
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