Math Class 2 - the basics - planning a rug

So - yesterday Maggie wrote about higher math - the calculus of weaving - lace patterns, fine thread, a kazillion ends. Today I am tackling a much simpler question - do I have enough fabric to make one last good sized rug?


Here is the fabric. It is light weight cotton. It came from the never ending stash at the center. Using the finger to nose method I think I have 7 yards of it. It is 46" wide. If I cut it in 3" strips (which is what I was planning) I will have 15 strips or about 105 yards of fabric. If I cut it in 4" strips which the cheat sheet on the wall at the center tells me to do I will have about 77 yards of fabric strips. Of course the 4" strips would make a little fatter weft and my number of picks per foot would be less. "Picks per foot" sounds funny but that is a better way to look at rugs.

Here is my loom. The warp has already produced 8 rugs. I think I have about 60 inches of usable warp left. The woven width of my rugs on the loom is 28". To be safe I am going to assume I need 30" for every pick. At 105 yards of fabric that would be 126 picks - assuming that each pick would be a little less than a half an inch wide (I guessed .4). That would give me maybe 50 inches of rug. At 77 yards of wider fabric strips I would get only 92 pick but they would each be bigger - probably more than 1/2 inch (maybe .54) - so I might get oh - about 50 inches. I guess it should be no surprise that the same fabric - cut differently it still is the same amount of fabric therefore a rug about the same size. So if I want a 60" rug I need to find some contrasting or complementary fabric to add about 10 inches. Maybe some white stripes at the beginning and the end.

Here is the last rug that I wove on this warp. It is a combination of a pale silvery blue and white nylon. Yes - just like that stuff I shlepped on Tuesday from one part of the annex to the other. I have woven 5 nylon rugs on this warp. The others have been solid. All of the rugs have been variations of baby pink, baby blue and white. Anyone need a rug for a baby gift? How about a rug for a bathroom at a beach house?

I best get a few more things done this afternoon so that I can get my strips cut and my rug woven. Then the warp gets cut and it is time for more math - how long should that next warp be? how many ends? Yes, weaving is a lot more than throwing the shuttle.

Be well,
Ann