Plaids'n Lace..The Tale of an Unusual Penny Rug

I receive many questions on the making of

penny rugs and although I have stitched and

designed rugs for over 20 years.

I am not an expert, but I do know

There are no 'right' or 'wrong' ways to stitch a 

penny rug.

This rug was stitched for an upcoming video on 

'Questions and Answers'

on cutting, stitching, threads etc.

If you have questions please leave a comment

on my blog and I will 

do my best to include your answer

in the video

My original 'sample' rug above has 

many 'flaws', it is much easier to show

'what not to do' and how to correct

the problem rather than to show a 'near' 

perfect rug then explain how it will 

look if you skip steps or 

techniques.

It is a very simple rug to stitch.

The stitching and techniques are the same as

the videos showing the candle mat construction

just add a few more rows of pennies in the

center for the length of the rug and then

adding rows to size the rug.

To view my Youtube Videos

CLICK HERE

Threads are my age dyed string as

 used in most of my kits.

The stitch is almost the same as the regular

blanket stitch with the exception of 

inserting your needle on an angle to

make the 'v' shape instead of the 

regular up and down of the blanket stitch.

There are many tutorials available 

if you google 

Closed Banket Stitch or 

Closed Buttonhole Stitch.

What a difference the stitch makes to 

the look of this rug!

It reminds me of lace.

It looks a bit 'elegant' although..

One doesn't really think of 'elegant'

when working with plaid woolens.

Yes, those pennies are all plaid woolens 

from the leftover scraps of the 

plaid bundles previously

 offered for sale. 

A regular blanket stitch would not give

this rug the same 'look'.

Solid colour pennies, even with the 

closed blanket stitch,

would not give this rug the same 'look'.

To stitch this rug showing predominately

the plaid fabrics in the pennies,

use a thread and stitch that 'blends' or 

softens the look of the fabrics and/or

colours in the rug.

A two strand DMC floss would

stitch a completely different style

rug using the exact same

 pennies in this kit.

Different shades of floss.. again

another look, however, I would not

recommend different shades of thin

or heavier threads because there

comes a time in a rug design

when 

'too much' 

is 

'too much'

Too much colour, texture etc.

Tone down fabrics and/ or colours by

making the thread and stitch the main

design focus of your rug.

Tone down the threads and stitching to

make the colours of the pennies the 

main focus in the design.

Simple right?

It definitely IS fun

to experiment with threads

 and stitches.

This very easy and simple kit

is now available in my

Etsy Shop

until the new

Applique Kits are ready.

Kits are complete with

pre cut plaid pennies

base and lining cottons and

a generous amount of my

age dyed string thread.

A large runner measuring

approximately 

12 by 23 inches.

Just open your package

thread your needles and

enjoy the stitching!

Remember..

thread is anything that is 

strong enough to stitch, be it

a frayed piece of fabric, yarn,

burlap, or a ball of common string.

Fabric for pennies is just that..

wool, cottons, synthetics.

The 'look' of the fabric makes

your design and not the

content label.

Most of all, have fun

think creatively.

Again, if you should have

any penny rug questions

please leave in the 

comments

I'll do my best to help!

Happy Stitching!

cee