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Learn about Toothbrush Rugs |
Bohemian Braid rugs, Swedish Braid rugs and
Naalbinding rugs have all been referred to as
"toothbrush" rugs. These rugs are very similar
in their construction and are traditionally made
with a tool that was the flat handle of a wooden
toothbrush. A toothbrush was used for rug making
because it could be adapted for this purpose.
To create the Swedish and Bohemian Braids, both
a notch and a hole had to be cut in the handle
of the toothbrush, but for Naalbinding only a
hole needed to be cut. Button hooks, crochet
hooks or lacing needs can also be used to make
Swedish and Bohemian braids.
All of these "toothbrush" rugs are made from
short strips of fabric (rag strips) using a
method wherein the strips are laced through the
loops of strips and drawn through the rugs. What
differentiates the three types of rugs from each
other is the pattern of the loopings and
lacings. In fact, different patterns can be
formed even amongst the three different
techniques.
Bohemian Braid rugs are also called Beggar's
Braid and they are made by a sequence of loops
and knots which appear quite simple. The
traditional rugs of this type are made with
short strips of cotton fabric. The front of the
rug looks like a flat wrap rug with a
basketweave texture, whereas the reverse side of
the rug has a braided appearance. The rug
becomes so stiff, that it doesn't seem as though
it is made of light weight cotton strips.
The modern bohemian braid rugs are not
toothbrush rugs and are made with continuous
strips of fabric. It looks like the traditional
Bohemian braid, but should probably be
classified as a type of chain braid. This rug is
also very stiff, but it can be adjusted to use
with yarns.
The Swedish braid rugs are made like the
traditional Bohemian braid, however, they are
worked from two laced loops rather than one.
They also look somewhat different from Bohemian
braid rugs in that the front texture of a
Swedish braid rug resembles a coiled basketweave
and the reverse side is a sequence of knots
which are close together.
Naalbinding rugs are made using a similar
technique to the Swedish braid rugs that
actually originated in Scandinavia. They are
worked with short strips of fabric which are
worked in a sequence of loops. This technique
was first used to make durable mittens from
yarns that had been recycled from worn out
sweaters or other knitted items. These types of
rugs are not stiff like the other toothbrush
rugs because they are formed by twisting one
loop around the thumb, thus forming a stretch in
the rug. These rugs appear very similar to
braided-in rugs. |
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