Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The tufted counterpane of today like most modern handicraft is a Colonial survival and has a historical as well as an artistic interest. Some fine examples are to be found in the National Museum at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, which was formerly the home of George and Martha Washington. There the counterpanes still cover stately four […]

The making of stencils would be an easy matter were it not for the difficulty of getting good and original designs, and in carrying them out through the medium of a heavy stencil paper. Because stencil paper is hard to cut, it is a serious handicap, and compels the craftsman to use commercial patterns or […]

In developing these old-time methods many other problems in handicraft are suggested, though not actually worked out. For instance, by knowing how to stencil the burlap foundation in the chapter on the hooked rug, one can make all manner of at-tractive and useful couch covers, cushion covers, and curtains. The dye recipes may be used […]

The increasing commercial importance of the Colonial rag rug or as it is usually called the rag rug, has somewhat interfered with its development from the handicrafters’ standpoint. It is being manufactured by commercial rug houses on a basis which defies all competition from the maker of rugs on a hand loom. There is usually […]

This primitive loom or frame is exactly like the frame used in making the hooked rug; the proportions only are different. It is a rectangular frame made of four wooden bars which are one by two inches in thickness. There are two pieces fifty-three inches long which form the sides and two pieces thirty-two inches […]

The needle-woven rug is one of the most interesting examples of craft work, be-cause it stands between the rugs of the needle and the loom. The rugs of the needle are the hooked, the knitted, crocheted and braided rugs, made with one single tool. It bridges the gap between these strictly hand-made rugs and the […]

Few articles of home furnishing are more useful or decorative than a well-made and attractive rug, and among the interesting techniques which have been revived from the old-time crafts are numerous hand-made rugs. There are the braided rug, the scalloped rug, the knitted rug, the crocheted rug, the hooked rug, the needle-woven rug, and the […]

AMONG Orientals a good deal of significance has attached, from the earliest days, to color. In Babylon scarlet was the symbol of fire, blue of air, and purple of water. Tyrian purple was an exquisite and rare shade of crimson. Many allusions are made to it by classical writers. The principal colors of the ancient […]

WHEN doing their best work, Oriental weavers use the softest of permanent dyes. The result obtained is in every case a thing of beauty and utility. The aniline dyes are, of course, not to be compared to the vegetable, although the best of them are not to be utterly condemned. The poorest aniline dye eats […]

THE designs of Eastern rugs are often the spontaneous outcome of the fancy of the weaver. Sometimes they are handed down from one generation to another ; in some cases young girls are taught the design by an adult, who marks it in the sand ; at other times a drawing of the rug is […]