As a hooker who hates binding rugs but loves the hooking process I've chosen to finish binding Horse Trainer as quick as possible ~ bite the bullet so to speak. Reason because there is yet another rug calling my name...in addition to my grandson's rug. Oh yeah.... a surprise and an antique adaptation.
First thing is to prepare your edges so the rug doesn't unravel when moved or shaken over a period of time. You are seeing two rows of stitching as I'd thought of using binding tape instead of whipping. Binding tape is usually 1 1/4" wide so stitched out just 1" to ensure no foundation peeking out from under the tape.
Then after deciding a wool whipped edge it required a little more foundation to roll forward. Therefore after the heavy rug was hooked did additional stitching another 1/2" outward.
Above is cheap black cotton crochet thread purchased almost anywhere. This is what I'm using to prepare the edge for whipping with wool.
Above you can see that I've started rolling forward and using that cotton thread to PRE 'whip' the foundation in place. YES, it IS double work but I personally find it better for me to have a smooth and prepared area to whip with wool. Rather than holding the curl and whipping with wool and the curl gets unfurled to make lumps.
Am almost around the corner for the prep and tomorrow will start the wool whipping. That will be part two of this and I'll give you the formula for how much wool it takes to hook a rug.
See those wonderful little red clips holding the curl of the foundation? They are Clover Wonder Clips and wonderful for holding the edge and you don't get stuck with straight pins. BUT, they aren't cheap and I used a 40% off coupon to purchase mine.
Have a great evening and hope my Canadian friends can open their front door tomorrow. KIM, hope you enjoyed the pizza and beer as you will need that energizer bunny to get your car cleaned in the morning.
Saundra
I've been teeter tottering on the fence about how to bind Wee Folk by Vermont Folk Art. My thoughts were either wool covered cord or binding with wool strips. Frankly, I find it faster to do the wool covered cord because when I bind with wool strips or yarn it is like whipping twice. I roll the backing forward and whip with thread first and then go back over it with wool or strips. I've tried in the past to roll forward and whip in one process but I really don't care for the results because my backing starts getting slanted and then when I try to ease it back straight, there seems to be mild hills and valleys. So with the whipping the roll first with thread the whipping with yarn goes easier.
This morning I measured out how much cording I'd need for this BIG rug (24 x 47) when all of a sudden I noticed some blue wool yarn in my stash. Realizing that doing another rug with a blue border was unlikely decided to use up the wool on this project. So now my decision has been made for me and the color is right.
And I'm dragging my feet about starting because I really would rather be hooking and have this new project started. But, since my rug swap partner hasn't started hers yet (she's travelling) should take advantage of this time to bind the rug and finally put it to rest.
Well, Ben doesn't want to go walking in the rain so perhaps I'll trim the excess backing now and start the undesirable task of binding yet another rug.
Thanks for visiting.
Saundra
