Binding the Edges of Floor Canvas

Reasons for Binding

• Floor canvases are bound for wear, not appearance. Master rugmaker Diana Blake Gray prefers to leave her creations unbound and speculates that many early rugs were used without hemming the edges. Especially since early rugs were finished with varnish or linseed oil, and more recently shellac, flapping or fraying corners were less of a concern than might be the case with untreated fabric. Floor canvas often functioned more like linoleum than carpet, repelling or collecting tracked-in dirt and mud. Inexpensive in comparison with rug materials, canvas could be replaced when soiled or torn. Canvas painted with designs to imitate carpet would receive gentler treatment, like good furniture. Hemming or binding would help these canvases lie flat, keep their shape and wear longer than more utilitarian pieces.

Hemming With Glue

• To hem a canvas with glue, turn the rug face down on a covered work surface. Fold a single-fold hem approximately 1/2 inch in depth on all four sides. Cut diagonally across each corner to remove excess fabric and make corners flat. Coat the folded hem with fabric glue, press the hem against the back of the fabric and weight down with a phone book or other flat weight until the glue is tacky enough to hold the hem without peeling back. Glue should be tacky within 15 minutes. If you have enough weights, you will produce an even better hem if you can hold the whole hem down till the glue dries, which should occur overnight.

Hemming With Tape

• Double-face carpet tape also can be used to produce a neat folded hem. Make a double fold on each edge of the cloth, trimming the corners digonally as for the single hem described above. Double-face tape has adhesive on both sides. For a finished 1/2-inch hem, use 1-inch tape. Following the fold lines, make only the first fold and line up tape with the outer edge of that fold. Peel paper off sides of tape and secure the sticky side so it meets the edge and covers the first fold. Peel paper off the upper side of the tape and make the second hem fold. The two sides of the tape will stick to each other, and you will have a neat folded hem.

Hemming With Fabric

• Colored carpet binding tape is the most frequent fabric used to hem rugs and floor cloths. If you like to sew, you may wish to make bias binding from a fabric that coordinates with the canvas. Fold the tape around the raw edge of the rug so it borders both the front and back to the same width. For example, fold 1 1/2-inch tape so it will make a border of 3/4 inch on the front and back sides of the canvas. Pin the tape to the back edge. Using a large-eyed needle and button or other heavy-duty thread, attach the tape with an overcast stitch. Repeat for the front of the rug.