gs sewed and woven in the regular old-fashioned
rag-carpet way, the difference being--and it is rather a large
difference--that the rags must be new instead of old, and that the
colors must be good and carefully chosen instead of being used
indiscriminately, and in addition to this it must be woven in two-yard
lengths, with a border and fringe at either end. This being done,
good, attractive and salable rugs can be made of almost any color, and
suitable for many purposes. It is an industry perfectly adapted to
farmhouse conditions, and if well followed out would make a regular
income for the women of the family.

The cumbrous old wooden loom is still doing a certain amount of work
in nearly every country neighbourhood, and it is capable of a greatly
enlarged and much more profitable practice. I find very little if any
difference in the rugs woven upon these and the modern steel loom. It
is true that the work is lighter and weaving goes faster upon the
latter, and where a person or family makes an occupation of weaving it
is probably better to have the latest improvements; but it is possible
to begin and to make a success of rag rug weaving upon an
old-fashioned loom, and as a rule old-fashioned weavers have little to
learn in new methods.

This small book is intended as a help in adapting their work to modern
demands, as well as to open a new field to the farmer's family during
the winter months, when their time is not necessarily occupied with
growing and securing crops.

[Illustration: WEAVING]

It does not undertake to teach any one who buys or has inherited a
loom to begin weaving without any further preparation. The warping or
threading of it must be _seen_ to be understood, but when that is once
learned, all of the rest is a matter of practice and experiment, and
is really no more difficult than any other domestic art. One would not
expect to spin without being shown how to pull the wool and turn the
wheel at the same time, or even to sew or knit without some sort of
instruction, and the same is true of weaving.

There are many old looms still to be found in the garrets of
farmhouses, and where one has been inherited it is best to begin
learning to weave upon it instead of substituting a new one, since the
same knowledge answers for both. Probably some older member of the
family, or at least some old neighbour, will be able to teach the new
beginner how to set up the loom and to proceed from that to actu