TS 
 

 ABNAKEE RUGS 
 
 BY HELEN R. ALBEE 
 
ABNAKEE RUGS 
 
 A MANUAL DESCRIBING THE ABNAKEE 
 INDUSTRY, THE METHODS USED, WITH 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR DYEING. 
 
 BY 
 
 HELEN R. ALBEE 
 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 CAMBRIDGE 
 
 at Wqt fttoersi 
 1909 
 
1 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY HELEN R. ALBEE 
 PEC^UAKET, NEW HAMPSHIRE 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 286194 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION . 5 
 
 AN INDUSTRIAL EXPERIMENT . . 14 
 
 MATERIALS . . .27 
 
 METHODS OF WORK . . . 40 
 
 DYE FORMULAS .... 54 
 
ABNAKEE RUGS 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE industrial experiment known as the Abnakee 
 Rug Industry is the result of a chance interview held 
 in a New York studio. The subject under discussion 
 was the relation of the individual to society at large, 
 and particularly the duty a trained craftsman owes to a 
 rural community, if he has made one his home. This 
 is a question which eventually must find more and 
 more place in thoughtful minds. 
 
 In the ebb and flow of humanity prosperous people 
 from the cities are seeking homes in the country in 
 greater numbers than ever before, at the same time 
 that energetic men and women bred in the country are 
 seeking their fortunes in the cities. It is needless to 
 enter upon the problems resulting from this drift to the 
 cities. One does not need to be much versed in 
 economics to know that it means overcrowded popu- 
 lation, great numbers of the unemployed, increasing 
 difficulties for the individual to get even a foothold, 
 save in the most menial employments, and all the at- 
 tendant evils of close quarters, bad ventilation, disease, 
 increasing pauperism and crime. When the prosperous 
 meet this surplus population in cities, they seldom get 
 beyond questionable forms of charity and philanthropy, 
 
which, statistics go to prove, have served rather to 
 increase the pauper spirit, while they have not reduced 
 disease and poverty. 
 
 It is to consider the other side of the question that 
 this pamplet is written. How shall educated and 
 trained men and women, who go into the country, use 
 their influence to keep the country-bred youth at home ? 
 It is obvious the most important thing is to give them 
 congenial and remunerative employment, as it is to seek 
 employment that they have left their homes. A recent 
 investigation made by a New England governor results 
 in the significant statement that New England cannot 
 compete in agricultural products with the great Western 
 states ; that she must depend upon her commercial and 
 industrial enterprises, not only in the large cities, but 
 also that they must be developed throughout the rural 
 communities if New England is to retain her population 
 and wealth. 
 
 It was a consideration of these conditions that pressed 
 home the question of my own personal responsibility 
 to a little community where I had made first a summer 
 home, later deciding to remain throughout the year. 
 Previously to going into the country, I had studied the 
 principles and application of design to various textiles, 
 and had been successful in disposing of them to manu- 
 facturers. I had for years worked in various ways 
 with oil, water, fresco and china colors, and had given 
 a course of talks on the principles underlying line, 
 form, and pattern. Such was my equipment when I 
 faced the problem of finding some profitable employ- 
 ment which the women in the farmhouses about me, 
 who had many leisure hours at their disposal, could do 
 in their own homes. That this employment should be 
 
of an artistic nature was to my mind the first requisite ; 
 for, if there is any one thing which the average Ameri- 
 can mind needs, it is an awakening of the artistic sense. 
 Beauty of form and color are not a daily necessity with 
 us. As a people we are ingenious, fertile in resources 
 and imitative j we are rapid in execution and quick- 
 witted to devise new conveniences and to meet new 
 conditions ; but for some mysterious reason, the artistic 
 feeling which is so evident in Oriental, in some Euro- 
 pean, and in nearly all savage races is a thing unknown 
 to us as a nation. In proof of this, compare any dish 
 or bit of earthenware made by the Japanese, costing but 
 a few cents, with a dish of like cost made by an Ameri- 
 can. The comparison is mortifying. The Japanese 
 has given a beauty, a finish, to everything he touches, 
 no matter how insignificant its value, while our cheap 
 American productions in earthenware, glassware, our 
 cheap textiles and furniture, our moderate priced wall 
 papers and carpets, in short, every sort of com- 
 modity produced by the common, average mind and 
 bought by the common, average public are tawdry to 
 the last degree. They are overloaded with meaningless 
 ornament, they are for the most part crude in color, 
 and utterly commonplace in conception. 
 
 It is hard to understand this lack of taste, which is 
 well-nigh universal, not only among the working classes, 
 but among many who have had superior opportunities, 
 when a fine instinct for form and color is discernible 
 in many savage tribes. Ruskin, in speaking of the fact 
 that semi-civilized nations colored better than the 
 English, that an Indian shawl and a China vase are 
 inimitable, says, "It is their glorious ignorance of all 
 rules that does it ; the pure and true instincts have 
 
8 
 
 play and do their work. The moment we begin to 
 teach a people any rules about color and make them do 
 this or that we crush the instinct, generally for ever." 
 I doubt if art education has had anything to do with 
 America's lack. Rather has it been the preponderance 
 of our inventive genius, which is the natural result of 
 an intelligent people meeting the stern requirements of 
 pioneer life as it has had to be met in every state in 
 the Union, that has almost dried up the sources of 
 music and poetry as well as art, while trying to minister 
 to pressing material needs. In our desire to express 
 utility with economy we have overlaid any aesthetic 
 tendencies that survived Puritanism. Whatever the 
 real cause may be, certain it is that the North American 
 Indian, those of Central and South America, and the 
 South Sea Islanders show finer perceptions in their 
 use of simple ornament in textiles, pottery, carvings, 
 and weapons than do the greater portion of America's 
 native population. Nearly all the best designers in 
 this country are imported, and our leading mills frankly 
 and openly copy foreign designs. It is only here and 
 there that an American has an original talent for 
 design, and with all our producing (I believe it is our 
 present boast that we lead the markets of the world), 
 we do not reach that beauty in design which is found 
 in the cheapest cotton fabrics from India and Japan, 
 in the silks of China and Japan, in the brasses of 
 Benares, in the shawls, carpets, and rugs from India, 
 Turkey, Persia, and Arabia, in the thousand and one 
 articles of merchandise upon which these older coun- 
 tries impress their instinctive interpretation of art 
 principles. Nor are these things produced by artists in 
 the East, but by the humble native population working 
 at a few cents a day. 
 
It is difficult to see how the artistic sense is to be 
 awakened to such an extent in us that it will find a 
 spontaneous, national expression ; but with all our 
 lack, we have, as a nation, a quick imitative spirit, a 
 genuine desire for self-cultivation, an eagerness to ap- 
 propriate that which appeals to us as best, and- these 
 qualities may, in time, help us to assimilate the art of 
 older countries and give it a new and fresh utterance. 
 I believe many influences are working to this end 
 among us ; foreign travel, international expositions, 
 an increase of art galleries and art schools, an increase 
 of wealth and leisure, which enable people to cultivate 
 and enjoy the aesthetic side of life. And not a little 
 is being done through the Arts and Crafts societies that 
 are springing up on every side. These are reaching 
 out to encourage and foster all kinds of handicrafts, to 
 educate the public taste as well as to emphasize the 
 intrinsic value of hand-work if coupled with beauty 
 and honesty, a value which most persons have quite 
 forgotten, so universal are the machine-made things in 
 our market. The exhibitions of these societies are dis- 
 covering to the public many modest, earnest efforts 
 that have been going on for several years in out-of- 
 the-way places to establish industrial enterprises that 
 are called, variously, village industries, farmhouse in- 
 dustries, fireside industries. But they are all one in 
 purpose, which is to use the unemployed time and 
 labor of rural communities to create some artistic pro- 
 duct. Some of these industries produce embroideries, 
 some wrought iron and illuminated books, some hand- 
 woven textiles ; some are at work on pottery, carved 
 chests, leather and bead work, basketry and lace. All 
 sorts of commodities are represented, and the work 
 
IO 
 
 
 
 generally is excellent in design and workmanship. 
 These exhibitions have revealed the fact that though 
 these enterprises were previously unknown to each 
 other, they were prompted by the same impulse and 
 are unified by a common aim. They are quite apart 
 from the usual commercial ventures, and each has been 
 much influenced by the peculiar conditions of the place 
 where it was started. 
 
 I would here suggest to any one who may desire to 
 join in this industrial movement and find occupation 
 for people in a certain locality, not to imitate any one 
 industry that has proved successful, but rather to make 
 a careful survey of the field before choosing a handi- 
 craft to be developed ; for a community may have 
 natural skill in one certain direction and show no apti- 
 tude in any other. In studying individuals one may 
 soon discern in what direction the industrious ones 
 find expression through some kind of hand-work to 
 which they are peculiarly adapted. The work they 
 have voluntarily engaged in gives an excellent clue to 
 their natural capacities. In such instances it will be 
 wiser to foster the native craft and infuse it with artistic 
 principles than to begin work on wholly unfamiliar 
 lines. 
 
 There is, however, another matter of importance to 
 consider, and that is the question of securing raw ma- 
 terials suitable for manufacture at a reasonable price. 
 For example, a prairie country is not so well adapted 
 to the manufacture of ornamental wood work, such as 
 carved chests, panels, pyrography, etc., as one where 
 native woods can be procured in the immediate 
 vicinity. Raw wool can be secured more easily in a 
 grazing country than where forests abound. Pottery 
 
II 
 
 or terra-cotta work is better where the native soil yields 
 the suitable clays. While these commodities can be 
 carried to certain places which do not produce them, 
 yet it involves an ' industry in an unnecessary item of 
 express or freight charges, which soon grow to be of 
 formidable size in the cost of manufacture. 
 
 In reviewing the situation in my own neighborhood, 
 I found that a certain domestic production was made 
 in almost every farm-house the hooked rug. As a 
 means of using up old clothing and converting it at 
 the same time into a warm, durable covering for the 
 floors, these rugs had long served a useful purpose. 
 But the very fact that they were made out of odds and 
 ends, from materials that often ran short before the 
 pattern was completed, of neutral color, which, while 
 suitable for wearing apparel, yet lacked the warmth 
 and harmony of color necessary to a beautiful rug 
 all these conditions contributed to make the results 
 unsatisfactory, and are some of the reasons why the 
 hooked rug, as seen all over New England, Nova Scotia, 
 and Canada was so rarely artistic. Still another reason 
 was that the only stamped patterns procurable were of 
 meaningless design when they were not absolutely 
 ugly ; but they were sold in every country store and 
 were almost universally used. As a result, generations 
 grew up with the false idea that absurd scrolls spring- 
 ing from nothing, impossible flowers, cats and dogs, 
 blocked patterns, were beautiful just because these 
 were the only standards of beauty set before their 
 eyes. They were wrought into rugs with such loving 
 care and patience that both sentiment and common 
 custom gave them the stamp of endorsement as beauti- 
 ful patterns. What had been made by the mother was 
 
12 
 
 treasured and admired by the daughter, and with no 
 personal knowledge of what a fine rug was, as made by 
 nations older and wiser in art than were our own Puri- 
 tan forefathers, it is small wonder that false concep- 
 tions of both form and color became fast rooted. 
 
 Yet these same old hooked rugs, with their violations 
 of good taste in color and design, contained all the 
 possibilities that have been developed in a newer pro- 
 duction, known to Arts and Crafts societies over the 
 country as the Abnakee rug. It only needed some one 
 who had faith enough in the humble hooked rug to put 
 into it new material, one with a knowledge of design 
 sufficient to give an original stamp to the work, with an 
 eye for color to secure harmonious effects, and the 
 courage to give the conviction form, to revolutionize 
 the old product, and place it on a level where its merits 
 and artistic worth should rank it with many rugs of 
 foreign make. The Abnakee rug has done more than 
 merely to win recognition of art critics and a place in 
 various exhibitions over the country. While it was 
 doing these two things, it was also proclaiming far and 
 wide that as a new handicraft this work could be in- 
 troduced in many places, and give employment in rural 
 districts wherever a suitable person could be found to 
 foster and direct the work. It suggested, too, that if 
 one person had been able to give a distinctive charac- 
 ter to the new form, other workers who followed their 
 own ideas might develop still further perfections, each 
 one adding an original touch to his product, and in 
 time America might show as beautiful and varied rugs 
 as Oriental countries can boast. 
 
 But such ambitious aims were not in my mind when 
 I undertook to elevate the hooked rug. I saw no 
 
13 
 
 further than a small handful of people for whom I 
 wished to find a home employment during their leisure 
 hours, nor did I dream of any further market or wider 
 influence than I could find right among the colony of 
 summer people who frequent the hotels or have cot- 
 tages in my vicinity. If the influence of my effort has 
 been extended through accounts in newspapers and 
 periodicals to many portions of the country, it has 
 been wholly unexpected, and has followed lines of 
 natural growth, and has not been a result of the usual 
 advertisements. I speak of this as a proof of the eager 
 interest which is manifested in any new handicraft, and 
 how ready the public stands to welcome and encourage 
 any expression of individuality along novel lines. It is 
 to answer the questions of endless correspondents who 
 wish to know something of the details of the Abnakee 
 industry that I write this brief account of the work and 
 of the methods used. While I have been only too will- 
 ing to serve the unknown inquirer, thinking perhaps a 
 letter might drop as a seed, such as had been dropped 
 in my mind during the conversation I mentioned in 
 New York, which grew into my industry, yet, with all 
 my desire to be of service, there is a limit to the time 
 and energy one can spend on correspondence ; hence, 
 all that I can say is given here as a final word. 
 
AN INDUSTRIAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 THE first step in the industry was to procure ma- 
 terials. Nothing seemed simpler than to buy all-wool 
 goods at moderate price ; yet to find the right thing 
 was a problem that took many months to solve. The 
 price at retail was too great to be considered, and the 
 mills to which I wrote paid no attention to my letters ; 
 nor was the quality of any goods I examined suitable 
 for my purpose. I wanted a cheap, soft all-wool flannel 
 of firm but open texture. I found such a flannel was 
 the most difficult commodity in the market to obtain, 
 as it has been almost superseded by cotton outing cloth 
 and part-cotton flannel ; and the knitted underwear 
 now so universally worn had still further displaced the 
 use of cheap flannels. So for months I pursued a 
 weary search for an honest material that I could afford 
 to buy. Having no precedent for the establishment of 
 such an enterprise as I had in mind, I worked it all out 
 theoretically. I determined to buy a quantity of cloth 
 at wholesale, and distribute it to the women at cost 
 price, for which they should pay me when I had dis- 
 posed of their work. I expected to give gratuitously a 
 year or more of time to furnishing them with designs, 
 in advising with them about colors to be used, in direct- 
 ing the work generally ; at the same time letting the 
 individual have free scope for her own original ideas. 
 As I could not afford to advance materials and buy the 
 product too, I planned to take their work when fin- 
 
ished, pledging myself to find a market for it among my 
 friends, and in that happy event I should pay them for 
 their work, and get the money back for the flannel I 
 had advanced. Then I should reinvest in more flannel 
 and we should all start again ; and after I had worked 
 them along until they had confidence in themselves, I 
 should drop out and let them carry it alone. It was a 
 delightful scheme as I pictured it, an ardent enthusiast 
 on the one hand, and a small population with much 
 leisure and no opportunity to get employment on the 
 other ; nothing seemed easier than to fuse them into a 
 successful whole. 
 
 As I had almost no money to embark in the scheme, 
 little else than my years of artistic training and a great 
 desire to serve others, and as I expected no personal 
 profit from the enterprise, I fancied those whom I 
 wished to benefit would be willing to meet me half 
 way ; but it was soon evident that I had entirely mis- 
 taken the situation. Without exception the native in- 
 habitants listened with apparent interest as I unfolded 
 my plans to them, but they would commit themselves 
 to nothing. I did not understand their indifference, 
 and grew more zealous in my efforts. By this time I 
 had found a flannel such as I wanted, and began to 
 make several rugs after my own designs, thinking this 
 would prove the sincerity of my purpose, as well as 
 show them the character of the work as I planned to 
 have it done. I was still met with an impenetrable 
 reserve that could not be aroused into enthusiasm. It 
 was several months before I chanced to learn the dis- 
 mal truth. 
 
 My simple conventional designs had not met with 
 approval. I did not use bright colors ; I wove no vines, 
 
i6 
 
 no flowers into my rugs ; no cats nor puppy dogs re- 
 posed on parti-colored foliage in other words, I had 
 not reached the standard of the native taste. Further, 
 they had never been able to sell their rugs, and it was 
 not likely that mine, which were to their eyes less 
 beautiful than their own, could be sold, and they had 
 grave doubts if they should ever get the money for 
 the work if it were advanced. In short, I had been 
 weighed in the public balance and had been found 
 wholly wanting. I confess this news was very depress- 
 ing, and several days of melancholy reflection were 
 devoted to it. Then it occurred to me to submit the 
 question to a bold test by presenting it to the buying 
 public in an exhibition in the village hall. If I could 
 once prove to the native mind that the summer col- 
 onists appreciated the work enough to buy it, I might 
 hope to win the former to a reluctant confidence in my 
 plan. 
 
 I worked industriously and made about half a dozen 
 rugs of various patterns in dull shades of terra-cotta, 
 old rose, yellow, olive, rich dark blue, and cream color, 
 to which I added as many more made by a young girl, 
 my only convert. This simple statement gives no hint 
 of the labors those first rugs cost me. The native peo- 
 ple were really justified in their skepticism of me ; for, 
 at the time I began an effort to win them over to my 
 views, I had never seen a rug hooked nor a yard of 
 goods dyed ; nor did I know anything of either until I 
 began to make my own experiments. It was because 
 I knew nothing of the usual methods of rug-hooking 
 that my own were so different in texture and finish 
 from others. It was a great advantage to work free 
 from traditional influences, for I was thus enabled to 
 
set a new standard. But the weary days spent on my 
 experiments in dyeing ! It is not profitable to dwell 
 upon the many failures, nor the quantities of flannel 
 that came out every color save the one I strove for, 
 nor the days of discouragement when I was at the point 
 of throwing the whole scheme over, particularly when I 
 realized that those whom I wished to aid did not care 
 for my help. Nothing but pride saved me from com- 
 plete fiasco. I could not and would not confess, after 
 spending more than a year of time, during which I had 
 used my utmost knowledge, that I had failed miserably. 
 So I struggled on, studying probable causes for evident 
 results, gradually learning the necessity of keeping an 
 exact record of every procedure and of all proportions 
 of dye used, accompanied by a sample of the color 
 each formula produced. Often I came to a snarl that 
 refused to be unravelled, and all I could do was to 
 wait just wait until kind fortune should send me 
 some adviser who usually cut the Gordian knot in sim- 
 ple direct fashion. I must here acknowledge my great 
 indebtedness to many friends, who by advice or in- 
 fluence assisted me to information, to books, to the 
 proper market where materials could be bought, to 
 many things which I should never have found unaided. 
 It is to save others from going through all the trials 
 and difficulties that attend pioneer work that I have 
 decided to give this complete summary of my labors 
 and methods to the public. To my mind it is a sheer 
 waste of human energy for each person to struggle 
 single-handed with the problems that necessarily arise 
 in any industrial experiment, and the more valuable the 
 new craft is, the more ready should the early workers 
 be to smooth the way for the later ones. It is not 
 
i8 
 
 necessary for each one in turn to learn the same 
 painful lessons ; each should place his experience and 
 knowledge as a stepping stone for others. Then only 
 can we expect real progress, for no time should be 
 wasted in beating down the same old useless barriers, 
 when the fresh energies may be better spent upon 
 directing the work intelligently upon new lines. 
 
 Clear as the steps now look in the light of experience, 
 at that time everything was uncertain and the way dark. 
 I secured the use of the village hall, and to make up for 
 the small number of my exhibits I made lavish use of 
 vines, flowers and evergreens as decorations. It was 
 with much trepidation that I thus challenged the double 
 uncertainty of pleasing the taste of a capricious public 
 and of overcoming the native prejudices. 
 
 The little hall was crowded; city and country folk 
 came alike, and the success of the enterprise was 
 assured from that hour. Every rug that was for sale 
 was sold, and many orders for duplicates were received. 
 Much as I had dreamed and hoped of the work, I was 
 not prepared for the instant recognition accorded to 
 the rugs. Those I had made for my own use, which I 
 had not offered for sale, proved to be of the greatest 
 value to me. By keeping strict account of the material 
 I had used, I discovered how much cloth it took to 
 cover a square foot of rug, also what proportions of the 
 various colors were required for each pattern. I also had 
 them at hand to explain to workers, who now offered 
 themselves in great numbers, the texture I wished to 
 have them secure, how high the loops were to be drawn, 
 and how much they were to be clipped. In some cases 
 I loaned them, where I wished an exact duplicate to be 
 made. They were of still greater service in helping me 
 
'9 
 
 to estimate how many hours of skilled labor went into 
 the execution of each pattern, thus enabling me to fix a 
 price to pay the worker, and also the selling price. I 
 found these two points very difficult to estimate, as 
 there was no precedent for either. I wished to pay the 
 worker as high a price as was compatible with the 
 permanent interests of the industry, and to sell the 
 product as reasonably as possible. Patterns were de- 
 ceptive, some simple effects were quite as tedious as 
 some of the more elaborate ones, but by keeping a 
 careful account of hours required to complete each 
 new pattern I was able to establish a scale of prices 
 that seemed just. So valuable were these experimental 
 rugs, that I have made it a custom to finish for my own 
 personal use an example of each new design that I have 
 since added to the industry. From these I have secured 
 orders, and have them at hand to send to exhibitions 
 at short notice. As years go by they prove, too, how 
 the colors and texture stand wear and tear. It is with 
 pleasure I note that these examples are growing more 
 beautiful with age, acquiring more of a sheen. 
 
 From the day of my first exhibition I saw the neces- 
 sity of reorganizing all my former plans. The first 
 thing I relinquished was the hope of individuals working 
 independently. I had expected to find fertility of re- 
 sources and imagination among them, and it was with 
 the utmost reluctance that I abandoned the community 
 idea, with the freedom and independence that it means 
 to the worker. So far from having any original ideas 
 of their own, I found it difficult to get a number of 
 workers to carry out mine successfully, and I saw daily 
 the growing necessity of one person assuming full 
 control. I saw, where I had intended to play with the 
 
2O 
 
 management for a year and then withdraw, leaving 
 workers equipped to carry out their own conceptions, 
 and to fill orders that might come, that I had become 
 hopelessly involved with the fortunes of the budding 
 industry, and that a retreat on my part would be fatal 
 to its interests. Who could fill orders for duplicates 
 save the one who had planned the originals? Who 
 could guarantee a uniform product unless one per- 
 son stood ready to train workers and maintain the 
 standard ? I was appalled by the responsibilities I 
 had quite unwittingly made for myself, yet was unwill- 
 ing to retreat and declare the plan a failure. From 
 that day I assumed the charge of every detail ; I 
 furnished all materials, designed patterns, cut stencils, 
 stamped burlaps, dyed goods, arranged color schemes, 
 trained workers, secured a market, addressed corre- 
 spondents, arranged exhibitions, furnished accounts of 
 the work to numerous inquirers, ranging from members 
 of women's clubs to contributors of various periodicals, 
 and lastly, though it was the first thing required, I 
 furnished the capital and met all expenses as they 
 arose. I do not seem to have a very clear idea just 
 how the finances were managed, for though I had no 
 capital to start with I always paid cash ; I did not 
 borrow ; I was always hoping to get something ahead 
 to meet the increasing demands for more outlay. To 
 save money I had to buy in wholesale quantities, but 
 as fast as I added to my little hoard of money, it 
 melted into dyes, burlaps, tags, pressboard, wrapping 
 paper, mordants, flannel and more flannel. I was 
 chronically out of flannel until I quite involved my 
 bank account by pledging myself to take forty bolts in 
 order to secure a certain quality, which otherwise 
 
21 
 
 would have been dyed scarlet and blue and lost en- 
 tirely to my purposes. It was a long time before I got 
 squarely on my feet, with a little surplus ahead to com- 
 fort me when some unusual drain was made upon my 
 purse. 
 
 From the day of my exhibition I hired the worker 
 outright, and paid for the work when it was delivered 
 to me. I prepared all materials myself, which the 
 worker took home, spending what time she could each 
 day upon her rug. The price paid was so much per 
 square foot, according to the intricacy of the pattern, 
 and in consequence the workers varied much in what 
 they earned, as some busy housewives could spare fewer 
 hours than others less employed with household duties. 
 Prices were gauged upon the basis of a skilled worker 
 receiving $1.50 a day, if she were able to put in a full 
 day. Though no one gave undivided time to the work, 
 several were able to make $1.00 a day and do the 
 housework of a family besides. Some were more dex- 
 terous than others, and earned accordingly. Whether 
 the worker was rapid or slow, whether she was lavish 
 and had to be checked from squandering the cloth, or 
 was parsimonious and used it too sparingly, was merely 
 a matter of temperament. When you combine temper- 
 ament with inexperience, it takes much patience and 
 ceaseless supervision to bring a number of workers into 
 line and secure uniform results. But it can be done, 
 and no one is prouder than the individual worker her- 
 self to see that her work compares favorably with the 
 best. In every way I have sought to stimulate a per- 
 sonal pride and sense of responsibility and a desire to 
 reach as high a degree of perfection as possible. I 
 have striven to impress the fact, as each rug goes out 
 
22 
 
 with our label on it, that it carries with it and stakes 
 the reputation of the industry. To bring this home as 
 a personal matter to each worker, she is asked to work 
 her initials on the under edge of her rug, thus placing 
 the responsibility where it belongs, upon the indi- 
 vidual. 
 
 In order that they might be identified in the market, 
 I have adopted an Indian name for the rugs, Abnakee, 
 an arbitrary spelling of the name of the Abnaqui 
 Indians, who constituted a great tribe including the 
 lesser tribes of Maine and New Hampshire, among 
 whom were the Pequaket Indians. Thus in a way the 
 name is identified with the place where the industry 
 was established, Pequaket, New Hampshire. 
 
 The Abnakee Rug appears upon a woven silk label 
 which is sewn upon every rug as a guarantee of the 
 genuiness of its manufacture. It includes as a trade- 
 mark the totem or cipher of one of the Indian chiefs, 
 Kirebenuit, who signed a treaty between the English 
 and Abnaqui Indians. I think it is a decided advan- 
 tage for each industry to adopt some characteristic 
 name and mark by which the public may know its 
 work. 
 
 Regarding the industry as it now stands to-day, more 
 than six years after I began my first groping efforts, 
 I can say it has grown beyond the experimental period. 
 The work has extended from floor rugs to wall rugs, 
 including jeweled effects and coats of arms. It also 
 includes chair covers, cushion and couch covers. There 
 are also various practical ways that this method can be 
 carried into portieres. No one who knows anything 
 about the old hooked rugs needs to be told that they 
 are durable. I have seen some over thirty years old, 
 
23 
 
 and still good. Made from the best materials procur- 
 able, instead of old rags, the Abnakee should, with 
 proper care, outlast even these. 
 
 I have a great desire that others should develop a 
 similar industry elsewhere, and in such an event one 
 suggestion may be of value. Two conditions are 
 necessary for the success of an industry : workers who 
 can afford to work at a moderate wage (for hand-work 
 is slow and cannot compete in price with commodities 
 ground out by machinery), and a public who can afford 
 to buy at fair prices the work produced. These two 
 conditions are best found in some of the small but 
 popular summer resorts among our mountains or lakes, 
 or by the sea-coast. Through annual exhibitions the 
 work can be brought to public notice and readily dis- 
 posed of ; the summer visitor in returning to his home 
 carries back not only the news of the enterprise but an 
 example of the work. If the product has artistic merit 
 and integrity, it will be only a question of time until a 
 regular market is established. 
 
 There is one other way that an industry may be 
 started, and it matters not what article is chosen for 
 manufacture, it will probably be the same in its 
 methods. Suppose a rich man or woman wishes to 
 make a memorial gift to the native village from which 
 he sprang. Instead of bestowing a library, a museum, 
 a hospital, or a statue, which doubtless minister to 
 the public good with the least possible responsibility 
 to the donor after he has once made the gift, let us 
 presume he makes a study of the industrial conditions 
 of that village, and after deciding what the young men 
 and women are best qualified to do, he employs a 
 trained artist in that particular branch and places him 
 
24 
 
 in charge of the new industry which he wishes to be 
 fostered. This manager would train the workers and 
 devise fresh original ways in which the new handicraft 
 could be developed. The patron should provide the 
 instructor, also the materials, and give the work full 
 equipment. He should keep an eye to the financial 
 side so that the industry should be self-supporting, and 
 not add to the many philanthropies that are little less 
 than demoralizing alms-giving. As a man of means and 
 influence he could command a market for the product, 
 and place the enterprise upon a permanent basis. With 
 small capital involved he could reach a multitude of 
 young, ambitious people, giving them congenial em- 
 ployment, and as far as his small village was concerned, 
 stem the exodus to cities. 
 
 Should he wish to enlarge the scope of work, he 
 could advance individuals as fast as they proved worthy, 
 allowing them to purchase shares in the business, and 
 thus make it cooperative ; or, he might, when he found 
 one especially efficient, give him a special artistic train- 
 ing that would qualify him to take charge of a like in- 
 dustry elsewhere. Should the opportunity to direct 
 such industrial enterprises be offered to students in 
 schools of design, many would fit themselves in special 
 lines of work and stand ready to take positions as they 
 presented themselves. Such work would offer especial 
 attractions to original minds, for they would have great 
 freedom in carrying out their own ideas and at the 
 same time make a dignified place for themselves in the 
 industrial world. In such careers many students could 
 make a far nobler name for themselves than if they 
 were added to the long roll of ineffectual artists who 
 never achieve distinction in pictoral art. 
 
25 
 
 There is no limit to the things that a wise benefactor 
 could do with a community when he had once gained 
 its confidence and loyalty. The services of a land- 
 scape gardener could be secured, who would by lectures, 
 illustrations, and personal advice help to beautify the 
 village homes. To stimulate personal responsibility, 
 annual prizes could be offered to those who made their 
 premises most attractive with flowers and shrubbery. 
 Public addresses on hygiene, diet, popular science, etc., 
 could be added. One might play the patron saint to a 
 whole village full of people, and, by addressing them on 
 the artistic and aesthetic side, remove his benefactions 
 from any stigma of charity, and at the same time min- 
 ister to the public needs in the most practical way. I 
 question which would be helped and broadened the 
 most, he who studied how to bestow his manifold 
 gifts wisely, or those who received his benefits. 
 
 Crotina, a small inland village in southern Austria, 
 is an illustrious example of what a determined spirit 
 can do to regenerate a village. As it was remote from 
 any thoroughfare, and the soil unsuited to agriculture, 
 the native peasantry had remained, even into this cen- 
 tury, a brutish, ignorant people. But an Englishman 
 chanced to make his residence in the place, and, hav- 
 ing come from India, where all sorts of beautiful hand- 
 work are made in every village, it distressed him to see 
 the stolid, degraded condition of the Crotina natives. 
 He selected several of the more promising ones, and 
 began to teach them the rudiments of art, and also 
 started them in certain handicrafts. So successful was 
 he at length that he enlisted the aid of the govern- 
 ment, which established an art school and supplied it 
 with instructors. The work that these peasant fingers 
 
26 
 
 made without any hereditary training behind them was 
 so beautiful, that later on the government established 
 and maintained a large wareroom in connection with 
 the school. Graduates from the school had the privi- 
 lege of submitting their work for exhibition, and if it 
 met with the standards required, it was placed on sale, 
 ten per cent, of the price being retained if it were sold. 
 This small commission helps to maintain the running 
 expenses of the wareroom. I am told by those who 
 have visited this wareroom that the work in carved 
 chests, pottery, wrought iron, burnt wood, and metal 
 work is very fine. I saw a jewel case of exquisite 
 workmanship in niello, and it was incredible that it 
 could have been executed by rude peasant hands. This 
 village is becoming far-famed for its artistic produc- 
 tions, and though the name of the English founder is 
 usually forgotten when the village is described, the 
 handicrafts that flourish there are a living monument 
 to his genius. Certainly of him it could be said in the 
 words of an English Jesuit priest: "It is wonderful 
 how much good a man may do in this world if he does 
 not care who gets the credit of it." 
 
MATERIALS 
 
 THE FRAME 
 
 THE first thing which was revolutionized in our 
 method of hooking rugs was the frame used. Usually 
 the frame was large, cumbersome, and of a size that 
 required a strained position, which was not only ex- 
 hausting to the worker but often painful. The frame 
 I adopted, and have all my workers use, is light, firm, 
 and adjustable. It is made of soft wood, and consists 
 of four pieces ; two of them are two inches wide, an 
 inch thick and four feet long, with a row of half inch 
 auger holes bored at equal distances, about three inches 
 apart, down the middle of both ends of each piece (see 
 illustration No. i). The other two are cross-pieces 
 seventeen inches long with a fixed peg an inch and a 
 half from each end. These pegs should be of such 
 a size as to slip easily into the auger holes of the other 
 pieces, thus making an adjustable rectangular frame. 
 To keep the frame true and well squared, it is advisa- 
 ble to have a piece twelve inches long nailed on each of 
 the cross bars, and accurately fitted so as to come out 
 flush against the lengthwise pieces when the frame is 
 put together. This makes a strong brace to the corners. 
 A wooden button is screwed on within half an inch of 
 each end of these top braces. When the frame is 
 put together, the button is turned so as to cover the 
 pegs, thus holding the latter securely in the holes (see 
 
No.l 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
 
 _u 
 
 -r 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 o ol 
 
 
 
29 
 
 illustration No. 2). When in place the four pieces make 
 a frame that can take a rug any width from twelve 
 inches up to four feet. 
 
 THE HOOK 
 
 The choice of a hook is very important, for if too 
 small it will not catch the cloth readily, and if too 
 large, it injures the burlap as it is thrust through. If 
 the handle is too small the hand is cramped in holding 
 it, and if too large it is clumsy and retards the worker. 
 The best hook is about five inches long, the handle 
 representing half the length, and can be made of a 
 forty penny nail (about a quarter of an inch thick), 
 filed and smoothed into shape at the end, and given a 
 slight curve which enables the user to hold the hook 
 almost horizontally, and yet the point pierces the bur- 
 lap vertically (see illustration No. 3.) 
 
 THE CLOTH 
 
 After experimenting with at least a dozen kinds of 
 fabric, I found a certain grade of all wool unbleached 
 flannel twill the best possible material for my use. 
 There is a great difference in flannel twills. If a trifle 
 too heavy in weight the flannel is not pliable, and 
 works thick, as well as being difficult to cut into strips 
 and to shear ; whereas, if too light it requires twice as 
 much cloth to fill the same space, thus entailing almost 
 twice the labor on the part of the worker, with no ad- 
 vantage gained. The weight I find best is 3^ oz. to 
 the yard. This fills rapidly, and when sheared the 
 threads of the twill unravel a trifle and produce a vel- 
 vety surface. To take the dye well, flannel must be 
 
3 
 
 all wool, and to test its quality, take a thread from both 
 the warp and woof, and burn each separately. If the 
 thread burns quickly, leaving no ash nor odor behind, it 
 is cotton. If it leaves a little crisp as it burns, with a 
 strong smell of burnt wool, one may be sure that it is 
 woolen material. Even a small admixture of cotton 
 will show in the dyeing and fade out as the rug is used. 
 Great care should be used to get a reliable grade. It 
 is necessary to get flannel before it has been submitted 
 to the bleaching process, as sulphur affects the dye, and 
 it should not be exposed to the hot press finish. I 
 found it impossible to get a flannel prepared for the 
 retail trade which met all these conditions, so at length 
 I had it direct from the mills, made to suit my special 
 needs. Of the quality I describe it requires from one 
 and a quarter to one and a half yards to work each 
 square foot of given rug. Workers vary much in the 
 amount they use, as some work more openly, others too 
 closely; but they should be brought to a uniform tex- 
 ture, otherwise, one's rug will be thick, another's light 
 weight. 
 
 It has been urged by some that yarn can be used to 
 advantage than strips of cloth in making hooked 
 rugs. I investigated yarn, and these are some of the 
 objections that were conclusive to my mind. Using 
 the same weight of wool in yarn and in strips of cloth, 
 the yarn covered only five-eighths as much surface as 
 the strips did. Again, using the heaviest yarn I could 
 get, it had to be doubled and then trebled in the 
 strands in order to make it thick enough to hold in the 
 mesh of the burlap, and this doubling process made it 
 so difficult to catch with the hook that it took three 
 times as long to hook a square foot as it did to use the 
 
woolen strips. As labor represents a larger item of 
 cost in the making of a rug than the materials, one can 
 see, if the quantity of materials required almost doubled 
 and the price of labor increased threefold, what the 
 financial result would be. The question has also been 
 raised if one ought not to use material at first hand 
 and not after it has passed through the manufacturer's 
 hands. I answer emphatically, no if thereby a 
 greater cost and less value is involved. Though an 
 industry may be founded upon sentiment, this very 
 sentiment for hand labor may become a snare and a 
 hindrance if pushed too far and this matter of using 
 homespun yarn in order to say that all the materials 
 used are hand-made and furnished right in the vicinity 
 offers an excellent example of the point in question. 
 Suppose in the farm-houses about me I had my yarn 
 spun by hand. To get the proper thickness, if hand- 
 spun it would require the expensive and very tedious 
 process of two extra doublings and twistings, increas- 
 ing the actual cost per pound more than twofold the 
 price of my present material. The other alternative 
 would be to have it manufactured specially, as at 
 present the market does not furnish it sufficiently 
 thick. This would require purchasing in large quanti- 
 ties, as special machinery would have to be used. To 
 add further to the difficulties, when the yarn is finally 
 hooked and carefully sheared, if the pile is left long 
 enough to hold firmly in the burlap, the surface, after 
 a little wear, mats down and looks shabby; and if 
 sheared short as a velvet carpet, the loops do not hold. 
 Such has been the experience of my neighbors, who 
 many years ago experimented with their own yarn and 
 finally abandoned its use altogether. It is a very 
 
32 
 
 different matter, when a flat, narrow strip of cloth is 
 pinched into a small hole and springs full width out 
 from it, and is held fast in place on all sides by others 
 crowded close to it, from a round strand of yarn that 
 cannot be pinched in but must fill the space sufficiently 
 to be held in firmly. So from the point of cost of 
 material, the extra amount necessary per square foot 
 and the extra time consumed in working it, to say 
 nothing of its being unsatisfactory in wear, I found the 
 yarn prohibitive. I am speaking now only of the use 
 of yarn in the process of making a hooked rug, and 
 have no reference to its use when woven or knotted 
 into the warp as in Oriental rugs. 
 
 THE CUTTING 
 
 After the material is dyed, it is divided into yard 
 lengths as being the most convenient length for reasons 
 that I shall explain latter. It is then cut into straight 
 narrow strips about a quarter of an inch in width, on 
 the lengthwise never on the crosswise of the goods. 
 A safe rule is to cut as narrow strips as the goods will 
 allow, at the same time maintaining a firm strip when 
 worked. By folding a yard over from end to end and 
 then doubling that again, the folded cloth is a quarter 
 of a yard in length and its full width as it lies before 
 you. After getting the edges perfectly even, with a 
 pair of sharp long shears one can cut through the four 
 thicknesses as easily as through one. In cutting let the 
 cloth lay on a table to your right, and with the left 
 hand keep hold of the strip by the end nearest to you, 
 as you cut in long even snips with the shears to the 
 end of the folded piece. The strips should be straight 
 
33 
 
 and of even width. A little practice will make one 
 very skillful and rapid. If one is inclined to cut in a 
 little deeper at the bottom than at the top, by reversing 
 the cloth so that the top is now where the bottom was, 
 the tendency will correct itself ; and thus, by continual 
 turning, the irregularity is remedied. Before long the 
 eye is trained so that strips can be cut with great ex- 
 actness. 
 
 DESIGNS 
 
 It is of the utmost importance that bold effective de- 
 signs be chosen for hooked rugs. The fact that strips 
 a quarter of an inch wide are used precludes any fine 
 detail. Where a single fine line is necessary, a triple 
 strand of yarn or worsted can be substituted, although 
 I have never found this necessary. Broad masses of 
 color, simple arrangements of line and form, will be 
 more effective and less expensive to work than elabo- 
 rate detail. I should advise the study of any Oriental 
 rugs within reach. Observe the few simple colors used, 
 how they are interchanged and superimposed. Note 
 also the value of a firm outline separating the pattern 
 from the ground. If the pattern and ground are 
 both light, the outline may be dark blue, red or brown, 
 green or black ; and if both are dark, the outline is 
 usually cream color, yellow, old red or gray green. 
 Notice too the effect of straight lines of different 
 widths, how they enrich the value of a border ; for 
 most Oriental rugs, unless with cross-stripe effects, 
 have a definite border, with perhaps narrower borders 
 edging it on one or both sides. It is often an advan- 
 tage to have an outside edge or band of dark color, 
 from half an inch to an inch wide, which serves as a 
 frame or a setting to the whole. 
 
34 
 
 Although I urge a careful study of Oriental rugs as 
 guides to color and line effects, I do not advise imi- 
 tating the designs. The market is full of them at all 
 prices prices that cannot be met by American hand- 
 work. There is a strong liking in many quarters for 
 goods of foreign and especially of Oriental make, and 
 it is idle to offer to such people an American imitation, 
 no matter how good it is. I should recommend the 
 designer to study savage ornament, semi-civilized design 
 and Indian patterns ; also bowls, basketry, and textiles 
 made by the Zunis, the Chiriquians, the North Coast 
 and Navajo Indians and Peruvians. Fine examples are 
 to be found among the Pacific Islanders. Here are 
 fresh and interesting forms and ideas that can be 
 adapted not copied to the uses of hooked rugs, 
 
 Bold floral designs can be used if in flat colors, with 
 no attempt to add shading and perfume to the flowers. 
 A wooly copy of a rose is at best a poor thing ; but the 
 flat form of flower or leaf as seen in the shadow as it 
 falls upon the wall or ground may have a beautiful out- 
 line which can be used judiciously if one is experienced 
 in conventional design. There is no greater snare, 
 however, than leaves, flowers, and vines; and unless one 
 has achieved a mastery in the art of design, with a 
 knowledge of what the best artists have done with 
 them, they are to be avoided. Nothing but absurd and 
 meaningless results will follow their use by the common 
 average hand. 
 
 The suitability of a design to the purpose for which 
 it is to be used is of great importance. Floors and 
 walls are merely backgrounds to the furniture, pictures 
 and ornaments in a room, and as such should be kept 
 subordinated and free from fussiness, or wearying 
 
35 
 
 intricacy. With this principle in mind, a designer of 
 rugs will use few colors, and those in masses. If a 
 border is used, it is well to have the centre of the rug 
 plain, or at most, with a centre medallion. This gives 
 a restful and at the same time a finished result. If 
 cross-stripe effects are to be used, and their name is 
 legion, due emphasis must be given to spaces where 
 the ground color repeats itself. But above all other 
 things one should strive to find a fresh expression for 
 old forms or seek to interpret new ones with force and 
 simplicity. 
 
 COMBINATIONS OF COLOR ^ 
 
 A careful study of the effects of colors upon each 
 other will show that colors which are in themselves 
 beautiful are often inharmonious when combined. Also, 
 a little of a color may be good, when a larger propor- 
 tion seems to destroy the balance or harmony. Success 
 in this matter is largely a matter of close observation 
 and experience, although some persons have a natural 
 feeling or instinct regarding color which is seldom in 
 error. Strong colors should never be used, especially 
 greens. Though they may be modest in the piece, 
 when worked in with other colors, they have an un- 
 fortunate way of becoming intensified tenfold. The 
 safest tones for an amateur to deal with are dull gray 
 green, yellow green, and a soft, full but dark olive. In 
 striking a certain key in color it should be maintained 
 throughout. Thus if a full rich color predominates, 
 rich dark colors should be used through the whole 
 scheme. If a light tone is the body color, soft light 
 tones of other colors will be found most harmonious. 
 
36 
 
 Thus, for example, a rug for a library, or a hall, in which 
 a good deal of rich terra cotta appears, should have a 
 border or design worked in dark blues, full shades of 
 olive green, and dull yellow. There is an apparent 
 exception to this in the use of dull reds, old ivory and 
 black as seen in Bokhara rugs. But if studied, the 
 cream color is very dull, and is used in such small 
 quantities as to be quite subdued by the black that is 
 used freely in the pattern. Old rose, warm golden 
 browns and olive may be used effectively. A light 
 Gobelin blue may be worked with ivory, old pink, light 
 dull olive, and the outlines can be either a dark yellow 
 brown or very dark bronze green. An ivory centre is 
 lovely with an old pink border worked in green. A tan 
 centre may be combined with old rose, sage green, 
 bronze green, light yellow, cream color, and dark brown 
 outlines. Indigo blue, forest green, and dull yellow are 
 excellent colors when combined. A great variety of 
 beautiful rugs may be made by using only blue and white, 
 and unless one wishes to go extensively into dyeing, 
 it might be well to choose a certain simple color scheme 
 such as blue and white, red, black and ivory, and abide 
 by it. Let it be remembered that white in rugs is not 
 white, neither is it a delicate cream. Unless it is 
 decidedly yellowish or even grayish in tone, when in 
 combination with other colors, it becomes a staring white 
 that is anything but artistic. I dye my cream colors, 
 just as much as I do dark reds or greens. 
 
 I have been asked many times what is the best way 
 to plan a color scheme for a rug. This is a point I 
 cannot determine for another. Some may find help in 
 making water color sketches of what they wish to do. 
 In my own work I never use them, as it requires making 
 
37 
 
 a reduced drawing of great accuracy, and much time to 
 color it. Often I plan a combination mentally, and 
 match it up from the dyed flannels I always have on 
 hand. Other times I vary the scheme of some rug I 
 have already made, experimenting with different com- 
 binations, using other rugs as if they were books of 
 reference. I have discovered one rather curious thing, 
 which is, that when all my experimenting is done I 
 find some particular color scheme fits a certain rug as 
 no other does. It seems to clothe or to fulfill the 
 pattern as if it belonged personally to it. When I once 
 discover this elective affinity of a pattern for its special 
 coloring, I never make it again save in that one guise. 
 
 STENCILS 
 
 Having drawn a quarter of the design full size, it is 
 necessary to cut a stencil, that it may be used more 
 than once. Heavy brown paper serves very well, if 
 after the stencil is cut two coats of varnish are applied 
 to both sides. For my purpose I use large sheets of 
 press board of medium weight, which, when shellacked, 
 are durable enough to be used a score of times or more. 
 In cutting out the design, after it has been traced upon 
 the press board, narrow strips of the paper or press 
 board must be left throughout the pattern to hold the 
 design together. If the pattern is small it may be cut 
 full width, and half the length, but if large only a 
 quarter of it is necessary, and then by reversing it one 
 can mark out the whole rug. In cutting a stencil it 
 must be remembered that all fine details are lost in the 
 working, and when single lines are used in the design 
 they should be of such width as one or two strips of the 
 
38 
 
 cloth, one quarter of an inch wide, would cover. Careful 
 calculation must be made to determine which portions 
 of the design are to be cut, and which left ; otherwise 
 when half done, one may find the pattern cut away from 
 all supports, and nothing left to hold it together. 
 
 BURLAP 
 
 For a foundation I use heavy jute burlap of the best 
 quality. It comes in pieces of two hundred yards. 
 This seems a large amount, but in an industry it is wise 
 to purchase materials in large quantities, as workers 
 become accustomed to a certain texture and the more 
 familiar they are with it the more freely they work. 
 Though there is a wider weave, the common forty inch 
 width serves every purpose. The quality should be 
 firm and even, not too close, nor yet coarse and open 
 in texture. 
 
 STAMPING 
 
 In stamping a design, lay the burlap out as smoothly 
 as possible upon a table. Place the stencil so that the 
 edge will follow a thread or straight line. Either tack 
 it lightly in place or hold it firm in some way. For 
 scrubbing the design on to the burlap I use a nailbrush 
 with a handle running along the top. For a stamping 
 fluid I use common liquid blueing. I do not attempt 
 to indicate the colors to be used by marking out the 
 pattern in different colors upon the burlap. The whole 
 design is marked simply in blue, and afterward the color 
 scheme is worked out in fragments, with the cut strips 
 of cloth. A single unit of the pattern worked out in 
 color will indicate as much as if a whole side of the rug 
 was finished for copying. 
 
39 
 
 If the stencil has been properly made, the spaces cut 
 out represent the pattern which will appear in blue 
 upon the burlap. A little practice will show just how 
 this is to be done. At least three or four inches should 
 be allowed outside of the edge of the design when 
 stamped, otherwise it cannot be put into the frame. 
 This outside burlap is turned under when the rug is 
 finished, and sewed in a firm neat hem on the under 
 side. 
 
METHODS OF WORK 
 
 PREPARING THE FRAME 
 
 IN putting the frame together, make it two or three 
 inches wider than the stamped pattern you wish to 
 put in it. Double the burlap beyond the edge of the 
 pattern in tacking it on the frame, so as to save any 
 strain from the tacks coming on a single thickness. 
 Do not let the double burlap extend under so far that 
 it will be hooked into the design. Tack the burlap 
 so that the whole end of the pattern shall fall a full 
 inch within the frame, for it is difficult to hook close 
 up to the frame. Keep the burlap taut and firm, with- 
 out stretching it ; also keep the edges straight and true ; 
 for if a rug has been tacked carelessly into a frame, 
 when finished it will come out askew and cannot be 
 straightened. Place the frame in a horizontal position, 
 resting on two tables, or on a table and a window sill, 
 sufficiently high to enable the worker to sit in an easy 
 upright position. If due attention is given to the rela- 
 tive height of the chair and the frame, it will save the 
 cramped position and the aching back of which some 
 complain. I urge my workers to maintain a proper 
 position, as they can work more hours at a time with 
 almost no fatigue. 
 
METHOD OF HOOKING 
 
 In holding the hook, take the handle with the right 
 hand well within the palm, with the forefinger extended, 
 and resting on the upper edge of the hook, and the 
 thumb underneath as a sort of a brace, and the other 
 three fingers closed lightly around it. Take the end of 
 a strip of cloth with the left hand, holding it between 
 the thumb and first finger, using the little finger as a 
 gauge, much as a crocheter does with her thread. Hold 
 the end close to the burlap underneath the frame at 
 the point where you start to work at the right hand 
 lower corner. With the right hand, holding the hook 
 a little inclined from the horizontal position, push it 
 through the burlap, catch the end of the strip, and 
 bring it up through the burlap three eighths of an inch. 
 Push the hook through again about two threads distant 
 from the first end brought up, and bring up a loop of 
 equal length, and continue to bring up loops until the 
 strip is used ; then bring the end to the top. Thus 
 both ends are brought up, a matter of prime importance, 
 as none must be left on the under side to catch and pull 
 out. Be sure to keep the goods close to the burlap on 
 the under side as it is worked, and see that no stitch laps 
 across another, as this makes a bunch. Do not wrap 
 the strip about the hook to bring it up, but let the hook 
 drop just below the strip, and thus draw it upwards 
 with a slight movement. In bringing the loop up be 
 sure to keep the hook in almost a horizontal position, 
 and press on the hole backward, and toward you, with 
 the underside of the hook, so as to keep it from catch- 
 ing in the meshes in front. This trifling point is im- 
 perative for rapid work, else the hook will catch con- 
 
42 
 
 stantly and cause no end of trouble. Pull the loop up 
 with one short quick movement of the whole arm, not 
 of the hand. This movement is upward and slightly 
 backward, and is a very different thing from using a 
 wrist movement, which ends generally in a struggle to 
 twist the loop up through the hole. At first, one will 
 find that the last stitch will be pulled out by this one 
 simple stroke, but by keeping the thumbnail or the 
 point of the first finger of the left hand on the last 
 stitch underneath, one can become so deft that no strain 
 comes on that last stitch, but comes directly on the 
 loose part of the strip as it slips through the left hand. 
 A little experiment and observation will make all this 
 clear. 
 
 The chief difference between the new hand-made 
 rugs and the old process is the way the loops are pulled 
 up. By my method they are pulled up a trifle unequal 
 in length, varying just enough so that when sheared all 
 the loops are not cut ; only the higher ones are clipped, 
 and the shorter ones, left between, which are then 
 no higher than the clipped ones, give firmness. The 
 clipped ones fray a little, as all twilled goods will, and 
 in this slight unraveling they give a soft velvety sur- 
 face that is wholly unlike the old stiff hooked rugs, 
 which consist of straight rows of loops drawn up a 
 uniform height. If the loops, however, are more than 
 the least trifle of difference in length, it involves an 
 unnecessary waste of cloth in the clipping. What is 
 cut off should be little more than fuzz. 
 
 Another difference is, that in the new method the 
 strips are not drawn up in straight lines, except to out- 
 line a pattern, or in the row at the extreme edge of the 
 rug. My plan is to take three or four stitches up, and 
 
43 
 
 skipping over two or sometimes three threads, take as 
 many down, up and down, thus making an undulating 
 arrangement that covers the ground, without filling 
 every hole. By a little care the loops can be brought 
 up at slightly different angles from each other, so that 
 they catch the light at different angles and diffuse it, 
 which adds to the velvety surface. For a beginner it is 
 always best to work from right to left ; but gradually 
 one gains complete mastery over materials and learns to 
 work up and down, to left or right, with equal ease and 
 rapidity. This comes only with time and practice. Do 
 not try to fill a whole frameful from one side. Work 
 from the side containing the end of the rug, to the mid- 
 dle of the frame j then turn the frame around and work 
 from the middle to the opposite edge. As each frame- 
 ful is filled and clipped, the burlap should be shifted 
 along, keeping the edges true and the corners square, 
 until the whole rug is finished. If the rug is very wide, 
 it is well to work the centre first, then put the border 
 in, running lengthwise of the frame, and work it from 
 right to left until the whole border is finished too. 
 
 CLIPPING 
 
 Use very sharp long shears for clipping, holding 
 them as horizontally as possible, so as not to gouge 
 unequally into the rug. A well hooked rug may be 
 utterly spoilt if badly clipped. By placing the out- 
 stretched forefinger of the left hand under the portion 
 which one is clipping, it can be raised a trifle, and there 
 is less danger of cutting irregularly. Cut with long, 
 even clips, just enough to take off the merest trifle from 
 the tops of the loops, and if they have been pulled up 
 
44 
 
 properly, the surface will be very smooth and will look 
 as if every loop was cut ; whereas there are really many 
 that remain uncut. The cut and the uncut ones should 
 make a uniform surface and not show any difference. 
 
 SHADING 
 
 Much skill can be shown by an artistic worker in the 
 use of slight shades of difference in the same color. 
 For example, in the plain centre of a rug, several 
 tones representing shades of the same color will give 
 the effect of a play of light on a silky surface, which is 
 very beautiful. By using material that has been dyed 
 a trifle darker at one end of the rug, and working in 
 gradually lighter tones, the result is surprisingly effec- 
 tive. To do this, each three or four yards should be 
 dyed with these slight differences of tone ; then when 
 within thirty strips of the end of one color (more or 
 less according to the width of the rug), work in a broken 
 line of the next tone all across the rug. Then use a 
 few rows (not worked in single rows, however) of the 
 first color across the entire rug, then a wider broken 
 line of the second color. Broken lines blend better 
 than continuous lines do. The portions of the second 
 line should fall above the broken spaces left in the first 
 line (in the same way that masons lay bricks), then a 
 little more of the first color, using less and less of it, 
 and increasing the width of the second in masses, until 
 the first color has become only broken lines upon the 
 ground of the second color. All the way through any 
 changes of color should be merged in this way. Be 
 sure to work this method from side to side across the 
 rug, as the frameful is filled. 
 
45 
 
 DEVELOPING A PATTERN 
 
 Where a definite design appears in a rug, first work 
 in a careful outline with narrow even strips, following 
 all curves and turning all corners with precision. Then 
 fill in the pattern so as not to crowd the outline and 
 destroy its shape. After the pattern is worked fill in 
 the ground, working carefully into all corners and 
 crevices, for that which is worked outside of the out- 
 line helps to maintain the pattern as much as that 
 which is inclosed by it. 
 
 CARE OF RUGS 
 
 These hand-made rugs may be swept daily ; or they 
 may be beaten if turned upon the wrong side. Do not 
 take hold of the hem to shake them, as the strain at 
 the point where the edge is hemmed may pull the 
 stitches out, which cannot occur if one takes hold of 
 a rug well within the hem. For a few weeks it is pos- 
 sible that an end here and there may work up above 
 the pile. If so, cut it off ; but a little wear soon reme- 
 dies this matter, and as time goes on there is small 
 chance of an end working loose. Simple as it is to 
 keep a hooked rug in perfect condition, the public must 
 be instructed about them, as is done with an Oriental 
 rug. With ordinary care these rugs should last a lifetime. 
 
 DYEING 
 
 This is the most difficult feature of the whole handi- 
 craft, the actual coloring, and yet for fine effects I 
 should recommend only the use of hand-dyed ma- 
 
4 6 
 
 terials. Goods dyed by professional dyers are per- 
 fectly uniform in color throughout, and rugs made of 
 such material will have nothing of that difference of 
 tone, that play of color, that is absolutely necessary for 
 beauty. Nor can one get the material I have described 
 save in white and dark blue, and unless an order is 
 given to the mills for a whole dip, as it is called, in 
 other words twelve pieces or bolts of cloth of one 
 color, a mill will not dye goods to special order for a 
 purchaser. The cost of having a small quantity dyed 
 by professional dyers is prohibitive, even if taken in 
 five hundred yard lengths. I advise any one who 
 wishes to engage in such work to do his own dyeing, 
 and by-following exactly the instructions I give, excel- 
 lent results can be obtained. Dyeing is not a thing 
 that admits of carelessness in details or any omissions. 
 It requires the utmost accuracy and method, as the 
 most trifling variation in proportions of colors yields a 
 different result in tone. 
 
 PREPARING THE CLOTH 
 
 In the first place it is desirable to use only flannel 
 that has not been sulphur bleached and hot pressed, as 
 it takes the dye better. All cloth must be thoroughly 
 damp before going into the dye bath. I have found 
 the easiest way is to plunge the flannel into scalding 
 water, dipping it up and down with the aid of two stout 
 sticks, so as not to touch the hot flannel with the hands. 
 When thoroughly soaked, so that no white dry spots are 
 left, take the flannel out and drain thoroughly, and lay 
 each length aside to cool, until the whole amount has 
 been scalded. I usually cut the cloth in three yard 
 
47 
 
 lengths for the following reasons. As almost every rug 
 varies from the others in our manufacture, and most of 
 them are made to order to match certain color effects 
 desired by the purchaser, the materials for each rug 
 are dyed separately. In such cases it is well to have 
 just the amount of each color required to make the 
 pattern ; for small quantities of odd colors left over are 
 rather difficult to use, and they accumulate to an as- 
 tonishing extent, though they can be redipped and dyed 
 some dark blue, brown or green for outlines if desired. 
 I find for convenience three yard lengths make a good 
 unit, which can be increased or divided as one needs. 
 Another reason for choosing this length is that a pound 
 of cloth represents a fractional portion of five yards, and 
 in distributing cloth to workers and getting returns it 
 is convenient to compute in yard lengths, and not in 
 fractions of yards ; also six yards at a time is an easy 
 amount to handle in the dye bath and it is well in dye- 
 ing a large quantity to do as much as one can at a 
 time without crowding the cloth. So for my own con- 
 venience I have adopted, not the usual pound of cloth, 
 but three or six yards as an arbitrary unit of measure. 
 If one wishes to vary this it can be done by estimating 
 one yard as weighing 3^ oz. in making other computa- 
 tions. 
 
 DYE KETTLES 
 
 In dyeing use only brass, copper, granite or porcelain 
 kettles, unless one goes into it on a large scale and 
 uses regular machinery. Brass and copper vessels are 
 to be preferred, while iron or tin showing iron are to 
 be carefully avoided, as the mordants have a great 
 affinity for iron and ruin the color. I use a large brass 
 
48 
 
 kettle holding about five gallons, which takes six yards 
 at a time without crowding, and, as I have explained, 
 that is all an average person can handle conveniently 
 when the cloth is wet. 
 
 MORDANTS 
 
 For mordants I use Glauber salts and sulphuric 
 acid, and with the weight of cloth I use, it takes 3 oz. 
 of Glauber salts and f of an oz. of sulphuric acid (full 
 strength) to each six yards of flannel. I use a one 
 ounce Phenix graduate (American standard) measuring 
 glass, and as full strength sulphuric acid has about 
 twice the specific gravity of water, one should measure 
 by the scale engraved on the right hand side of the 
 glass. The left hand scale is based upon the standard 
 unit of weight, which is water. 
 
 In using sulphuric acid I dilute it in a little cold 
 water in a cup by pouring the acid on to the water, as 
 sulphuric acid in uniting with water causes a chemical 
 reaction. Where a large quantity of acid is used this 
 reaction is accompanied by a sudden burst of steam, if 
 the water falls upon the acid. But in a small quantity 
 as this, there is no possible danger of accident if the 
 acid is poured on the water. Sulphuric acid should be 
 closely stoppered and used with care, as it is corrosive, 
 eating holes in cotton or linen fabrics. With ordinary 
 precautions it can be used without the least difficulty. 
 
 Glauber salts are too well known in commerce to 
 need description, and are used to neutralize the acid. 
 The two in combination do not injure woolen fabrics, 
 but merely set the dyes. 
 
 In preparing the dye bath allow three gallons of 
 
49 
 
 water, and oz. of sulphuric acid ; stir thoroughly and 
 add 3 oz. Glauber salts to six yards of cloth. Then add 
 the dyestuif in required proportions. Stir thoroughly 
 as each ingredient is added, for the evenness of the 
 dye depends upon the thorough distribution of the 
 mordants and color in the dye bath. Generally it is ad- 
 vised to strain the dye before it is added, but as an 
 even tone is not the desired result for this special 
 handicraft, I never follow this suggestion. 
 
 TEMPERATURE 
 
 The proper temperature for introducing the color in 
 the bath is not over 150 F., but if one has not a bath 
 thermometer, the temperature must be very hot, yet 
 far below boiling point. Temperature plays a great 
 part in dyeing, for if the dye bath is too hot when the 
 cloth is introduced, the dye, having a great avidity for 
 wool, will be absorbed unequally by the cloth, the ends 
 and outside folds of the cloth absorbing more color 
 than is desired, and the inner folds will have less. I 
 am not discussing the process of dyeing as it should 
 be done on a large scale with vats and suitable reels, 
 etc., but as it is likely to be done by an amateur, in a 
 small way. When the bath is too hot, the cloth takes 
 the dye unequally and is quite spotted. A little ir- 
 regularity is necessary for a play of color, but it should 
 be secured in a definite way and only to a certain de- 
 gree, and not as the result of accident. If the cloth 
 has come out spotty, it may be redipped, having added 
 more dye and mordants to the bath, but it will come 
 out a darker shade. If the bath is anywhere near the 
 boiling point before the cloth is dipped, reduce it by 
 adding a quart or two of cold water. 
 
5 
 
 Having prepared the bath, gather the cloth in the 
 right hand at half a dozen places along one selvedge, 
 and drop it in, spreading it at once, using two stout 
 sticks, lifting it up and down continually so as to ex- 
 pose all parts to the dye. The temperature should be 
 increased to the boiling point and continued for three 
 quarters of an hour. Then lift the cloth up, and drain 
 it, then rinse in cold water, wring dry, but do not press 
 with an iron, as the soft wooly texture is very desir- 
 able. When a quantity of the same color is desired, 
 the same water can be used again by adding acid and 
 Glauber salts, together with more dyestuff with each 
 fresh dip of cloth. It must be stated, however, that 
 the color will not be so clear with succeeding dips, but 
 that does not matter, as a difference is desired. The 
 process of dyeing is very delicate and the utmost pre- 
 cision must be observed in following proportions and 
 directions regarding temperature, etc. Dyeing is more 
 successful in clear weather than on rainy days, and soft 
 water is required to get good results. If water con- 
 tains much lime or earthy salts it is unfit for dyeing, 
 and must be neutralized by acetic acid. In such cases 
 it would be still better to use rain water. 
 
 DYES 
 
 There is a curious conviction prevailing in some 
 quarters that beautiful durable colors are obtainable 
 only from vegetable dyes. My first experiments were 
 with barks, mosses, etc., but the difficulty of getting 
 them, the enormous amount necessary to dye any quan- 
 tity of goods, the tedious process in their use, and the 
 fact that after all only a narrow range of colors is ob- 
 
5 1 
 
 tainable from them, compelled me to abandon them 
 altogether. I began to investigate chemical dyes, and 
 to gain information I applied to one of the largest 
 woolen mills in New England, one which maintains a 
 high reputation for the class of goods it manufactures ; 
 also to two wholesale houses dealing in all kinds of dye- 
 stuffs ; and finally to one of the best experts in color in 
 the country. Their verdict was unanimous, and is 
 summed up in the opinion of the expert which he ex- 
 pressed in a letter to me on this question. 
 
 " In regard to the use of vegetable dyes, I would say 
 that they have almost disappeared from commerce, cer- 
 tainly for the purpose of dyeing fabrics. 
 
 " We know, of course, that there are strong prejudices 
 still existing in the layman's mind in regard to the use 
 of aniline colors, who supposes that they are not only 
 fugitive, but that the resulting tones are harsh and 
 unattractive. This, unfortunately, was so twenty-five 
 years ago, and the impression made then upon the lay- 
 man's mind has not been changed during all these 
 years ; but I can assure you that all the beautiful silk 
 goods, tapestries, cloths, and all the colors which we 
 see in fabrics to-day are made, without exception, from 
 aniline colors, which are immeasurably more perma- 
 nent than are the vegetable dyes used up to, say, 1875. 
 
 " I have in my library all the principal books written 
 on the subject of dyeing with vegetable colors, and to 
 show the disuse into which they have fallen I mention 
 the fact that not one book on this subject, that I know 
 of, has been published since about 1875. There is no 
 demand for knowledge of this kind since that date, and 
 the methods and the products used have all become 
 obsolete." 
 
5* 
 
 My own experience of several years justifies this esti- 
 mate of aniline colors, and with the small range of 
 eight colors a dull and a bright red, a dull and a 
 bright yellow, a dark and a brighter blue, one green, 
 and a drab, I have been able to reproduce all the 
 lovely faded tones seen in Oriental rugs of the best 
 class, as well as to match any bit of wall paper, carpet, 
 tapestry, or threads of yarn from a rug, that have been 
 sent me by purchasers who wished to have certain pre- 
 dominating colors in their rooms matched in the rugs 
 they ordered. Though the dyes come in large cans, 
 weighing several pounds, they are in such a concen- 
 trated form that half an ounce of dull red will dye six 
 yards of flannel a deep, rich terra-cotta, while a quarter 
 of an ounce will dye from eighteen to thirty yards of 
 the lighter tones of old pinks, blues, yellows, and tans. 
 
 In making each experiment I have kept a formula of 
 the quantity of dyestuffs used pure or in combination 
 with other colors, and attached to the formula is a 
 sample of cloth dyed by it. Thus I have an exact 
 record of various proportions required for different 
 colors and the various tones of each color. By follow- 
 ing these proportions I can secure the same results 
 month after month. These formulas are the final re- 
 sults of many experiments and many failures, but by 
 maintaining the same quality of goods I can now dye 
 with assurance of getting the color I wish. 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR DYEING 
 
 In using my range of eight colors I provide myself with 
 large, strong glass bottles in which I keep my diluted 
 colors. I use a pint measure for diluting the dyes. In 
 
S3 
 
 preparing the fluid I put one half or one quarter of 
 an ounce of dry color, whichever amount the formula 
 calls for, into the pint measure and mix it thoroughly 
 with a little cold water. The reason for using cold 
 water is that the dyes are a tar product, and if mixed 
 with hot water first, they are apt to grow waxy under 
 the heat and not dissolve readily. Having dissolved 
 them I fill up the measure with hot water, stirring all 
 the time. This makes a pint of liquid which is of uni- 
 form strength under all circumstances, and every for- 
 mula is based upon this invariable pint measure of 
 water. These formulas I have tried over and over 
 again. They are made with special reference to the 
 grade of flannel I have adopted, and doubtless will 
 vary in results if used on other weights or weaves of 
 wool goods. 
 
 The dyes called for in the following formulas have 
 not been offered before to the retail market, nor are 
 they to be confounded with certain crude brands that 
 have been sold in small packages containing only one 
 eighth or one sixth of an ounce. These cannot be sub- 
 stituted for my colors, and any attempt to do so would 
 be disastrous in results. 
 
 In conclusion I desire to state that having been al- 
 most discouraged before finding suitable materials to 
 make my first experiments in hand-made rugs, and 
 believing that others will be met, and perhaps deterred 
 by the same obstacles, should they undertake a like 
 work for their own personal use or as an industrial 
 experiment, I have decided to place my experience at 
 the disposal of others and furnish at a moderate cost 
 both flannel and dyes such as I use in the Abnakee 
 Industry. 
 
DYE FORMULAS 
 
 NO. I. DARK TERRA GOTTA 
 
 Dissolve oz. of jdull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Take full pint measure of dull red dye and 4 table- 
 spoonfuls of green dye to 6 yds. cloth. 
 
 Mordants : f oz. sulphuric acid and 3 oz. Glauber 
 salts. Boil | of an hour. 
 
 NO. 2. FULL TERRA COTTA 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Use full pint measure of dull red dye to 6 yds. of 
 cloth. 
 
 Mordants : f oz. sulphuric acid and 3 oz. Glauber 
 salts. 
 
 NO. 3. LIGHTER TERRA COTTA 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 22 tablespoonfuls of dull red dye to 6 yds. 
 cloth. 
 
 Mordants : f oz. sulphuric acid and 3 oz. Glauber 
 salts. 
 
 NO. 4. RICH OLD RED 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 L Dissolve | oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
55 
 
 Use 24 tablespoonfuls of dull red dye and 3 table- 
 spoonfuls of green dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as No. i. 
 
 NO. 5. DULL OLD ROSE 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright blue in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 1 6 tablespoonfuls of dull red dye, and i table- 
 spoonful of bright blue dye, and 3 tablespoonfuls of 
 dull yellow dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as No. i. 
 
 NO. 6. OLD PINK 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 6 tablespoonfuls of dull red dye, and 3 table- 
 spoonfuls of dull yellow dye, and i teaspoonfuls of 
 dark blue dye to 6 yards of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No. i. 
 
 NO. 7. FULL YELLOW 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve - oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 6 ta 
 
 Dlespoonfuls of bright yellow dye, and 5 
 
 tablespoonfuls of dull yellow dye, and 2 tablespoonfuls 
 of green dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as in No. i. 
 
NO. 8. RICH DULL YELLOW 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 Use 12 tablespoonfuls of yellow dye, and 6 table- 
 spoonfuls of dull red dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as No. i. 
 
 NO. 9. DARK TAN YELLOW 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 Use 14 tablespoonfuls of dull yellow dye to 6 yds. of 
 cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No i. 
 
 NO. 10. LIGHT OLIVE TAN 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in one pint of water. 
 
 Use 6 tablespoonfuls of bright yellow dye, 4 table- 
 spoonfuls of dull yellow dye, i tablespoonfuls of dark 
 blue dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as No. i, 
 
 NO. II. OLD IVORY 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve oz. of drab in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve | oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Use teaspoonful of yellow dye, and | teaspoonful 
 of drab dye, and i teaspoonful of green dye to 6 yds. 
 of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No. i. 
 
57 
 
 NO. 12. RICH NAVY BLUE 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 
 Use full pint measure of dark blue dye to 6 yds. of 
 goods. 
 
 Mordants : i oz. sulphuric acid, 3 oz. Glauber salts. 
 Boil i hour. 
 
 NO. 13. DARK PERSIAN BLUE 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 Use 10 tablespoonfuls of dark blue dye, 6 tablespoon- 
 fuls of green dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as in No. 12. 
 
 NO. 14. GOBELIN BLUE 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 Use 6 tablespoonfuls of dark blue dye, 4 tablespoon- 
 fuls of green dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as in No. 12. 
 
 NO. 15. LIGHT GRAY BLUE 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 Dissolve oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 Use 2 tablespoonfuls of dark blue dye, 4 tablespoon- 
 fuls of green dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 Mordants : Same as in No. 12. 
 
NO. 1 6. LIGHT SAGE GREEN 
 
 Dissolve oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J 'oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 10 tablespoonfuls of green dye, 2 tablespoonfuls 
 of bright yellow dye, and i tablespoonfuls of dull red 
 dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No. i. 
 
 NO. 17. LIGHT OLIVE 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 1 6 tablespoonfuls of green dye, 4 tablespoonfuls 
 of bright yellow dye, and 3 tablespoonfuls of dull red 
 to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No. i. 
 
 NO. 1 8. DARK MOSS GREEN 
 
 Dissolve 2 level teaspoonfuls of green in i pint mea- 
 sure of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Use full pint measure of green dye, and 15 table- 
 spoonfuls of bright yellow dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : 3 oz. of Glauber salts and i oz. of sul- 
 phuric acid. Boil } of an hour. 
 
59 
 
 NO. 19. GOLDEN BROWN 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 20 tablespoonfuls of dull yellow dye, 5 table- 
 spoonfuls of dull red dye, 15 tablespoonfuls of green 
 dye to 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as in No. 18. 
 
 NO. 2O. DARK BRONZE 
 
 Dissolve J oz. of green in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve oz. of dull red in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve i oz. of dark blue in i pint of water. 
 
 Dissolve \ oz. of bright yellow in i pint of water. 
 
 Use 8 tablespoonfuls of green dye, 12 tablespoonfuls 
 of dull red dye, 4 tablespoonfuls of dark blue dye to 
 6 yds. of cloth. 
 
 Mordants : Same as No. 18. 
 
 Redip in 4 tablespoonfuls of green dye and 5 table- 
 spoonfuls of bright yellow dye. 
 
 Mordants : Repeat the one above. 
 
 These formulas can be taken as the basis of many 
 other tones and shades which can be secured by a 
 slight alteration of proportions. By adding a trifle 
 more dull red, green, indigo or drab liquid dyes, a 
 color can be darkened. By using less of these than 
 the formulas call for, the colors will be lighter. By 
 using more of dull or bright yellow a color can often 
 be made richer without darkening it. Beginners are 
 cautioned against making changes until they become 
 
6o 
 
 familiar with the dyes. In making new experiments, 
 try them on yard lengths, carefully subdividing any 
 given formula for both dyes and mordants, and increas- 
 ing the proportion of any particular color desired. If 
 the cloth should fail to take up the dye properly after 
 boiling the full time, increase the quantity of acid, lift- 
 ing the cloth out when adding the acid to the dye 
 bath. 
 
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