Tuesday Tutorial ---- Penny Rugs and the Blanket Stitch

Penny rugs date back to the 1800"s.   Frugal women used wool fabric scraps to make table mats,  mantle covers and even bed covers.   They were called penny rugs because they used coins as a template for cutting their pieces out.

The main stitch you need to know to stitch a penny rug is called a blanket stitch.    It looks like this:

There is a video here that will take you through the steps to make this stitch.   It is a great stitch for a lot of other things besides penny rugs.    http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/buttonhole-stitch-video-tutorial.html

You can find the basic instructions for making a penny rug here.  http://pennyrugsandmore.blogspot.com/2009/05/makings-of-penny-rug-by-colleen.html
 

She also has a tutorial to make this penny purse on her blog.   http://pennyrugsandmore.blogspot.com/2008/05/penny-purse-tutorial.html

These penny rug coasters are an easy beginner project.    http://weefolkart.com/?q=node/150

 

The blanket stitch is a versatile stitch and can be used as an edging on a lot of other projects.     Use it to edge a sweatshirt jacket,   a baby blanket,   or to applique one fabric on to another.