How to Make Standing Wool Rugs

Standing wool rugs have been around for a couple of hundred years, certainly since the time of the American Civil War when shortages meant that people had to make do and mend. Although they look complicated and difficult to make, these rugs are easy to construct, fun to work on, and require the simplest of materials. Use a range of colors and create abstract designs, or make the rug from one color and let the design do the talking.

Pencil and paper
Paints or colored pencils
Old felted wool sweaters
Old wool blankets
Needle and thread

Instructions

Basic Standing Wool Method
- 1
  Draw and color your design on a sheet of paper. If you're making a random design that evolves as you work with the wool, just let your imagination lead you.
- 2
  Cut wool strips one-half inch wide. Don't worry about different lengths as the ends won't show once you begin putting the wool together.
- 3
  Roll up a strip like a fire hose, keeping it flat and tight as you go. Sew the next strip on with a couple of stitches and continue winding. Make this circle as small or as large as you wish. Sew the end of the last strip to the wool underneath with a couple of stitches.
Designing a Standing Wool Rug
- 4
  Make more circles of wool, of whatever size you like. Use different colors, or roll two strips together at a time for a duo-colored roll.
- 5
  Thread a long sewing needle with strong thread, insert into the side of one of the circles and push it through. If the needle doesn't reach, bring it up part-way and reinsert the needle to the other side. Sew through the circles from top to bottom, and right to left, to keep them rolled up.
- 6
  Set the circles on a flat surface and arrange them into a pattern. Form a square or an oblong, a long runner three or four circles wide or a random circular shape.
- 7
  Thread your needle again and sew the circles together. Sew the circles together firmly but without distorting the circle shapes, so that you retain your design.
- 8
  Edge the rug with layers of wool sewn around the outside, or leave them as they are. Check that all fabric strips are sewn in all the way round the perimeter to avoid their coming loose.
Beaded Standing Wool
- 9
  Roll a 2- to 3-inch strip of wool into a slender cylinder or "bead." Catch the end with a stitch to hold it.
- 10
  Make a string of these beads by joining them together in a line. Use a couple of firm stitches between each bead.
- 11
  Wind the line as you would the wool circles, to form a tight, flat rug. Fit them snugly and sew them to each other as you wind them.

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Rugs

How to Make Standing Wool Rugs

Instructions

Basic Standing Wool Method

Designing a Standing Wool Rug

Beaded Standing Wool