He said: 'This rug, fashioned of various bright-hued silks of
orange, purple and crimson, a bright maze of rich colors, without any
recognizable figure or design, reminds me of the description of the
'Prayer Carpet' or rugs of the Mohammedans. They are composed of
rich-hued silks of purple, ruby and amber. 'Tis said their delicacy of
shade is marvelous and was suggested by the meadows of variegated
flowers.' But this is a digression; you wished directions for making
the rug.

"Use tiny scraps of various bright-hued silks, velvets and satins, cut
about 3-1/2 inches long and about one-half inch in width. Ends should
always be cut slanting or bias; never straight. All you will require
besides the silk scraps, will be a ball of common cord or twine, or
save all cord which comes tied around packages, as I do, and use that
and two ordinary steel knitting needles. When making her rug, Aunt
Cornelia knitted several strips a couple of inches in width and the
length she wished the finished rug to be. The strips when finished she
sewed together with strong linen thread on the wrong side of the rug.
She commenced the rug by knitting two rows of the twine or cord. (When
I was a girl we called this common knitting 'garter stitch.') Then,
when commencing to knit third row, slip off first stitch onto your
other needle; knit one stitch, then lay one of the tiny scraps of silk
across or between the two needles; knit one stitch with the cord. This
holds the silk in position. Then fold or turn one end of silk back on
the other piece of silk and knit one stitch of cord to hold them in
place, always keeping silk on one side, on the top of rug, as this rug
is not reversible. Continue in this manner until one row is finished.
Then knit once across plain with cord, and for next row lay silk
scraps in and knit as before. Always knit one row of the cord across
plain after knitting in scraps of silk, as doing this holds them
firmly in position. Of course, Mary, you will use judgment and taste
in combining light and dark, bright and dull colors. Also, do not use
several scraps of velvet together. Use velvet, silk and satin
alternately. Should any scraps of silk be longer than others after
knitting, trim off evenly so all will be of uniform size. When her rug
was finished, Aunt Cornelia spread it, wrong side uppermost, on an
unused table, covered it with a thick boiled paste, composed of flour
and water, allowed it to dry thoroughly, then lined the