The worst of having a house papered and painted a fresh colour is that it means getting all the furnishings to match, and carpets, hearthrugs, curtains, etc., are expensive items, if you have to buy them. But one must have a change in the doll’s cottage sometimes, so suppose, to-day, you learn how to make a pretty carpet and hearthrug for it.

You can make your carpet and rug of whatever shades you like, and it would be best to choose colours that will go nicely with your wall paper. For instance, if the sitting-room of your doll’s cottage is going to have a paper with pink roses and green leaves on the wall, you had better decide to have pink and green for your carpet and rug. If you have yellow walls, a carpet in a lovely shade of brown, and just a little yellow in it would be delightful. Of course, if the doll’s cottage has white or cream walls, you can choose whatever colours you like for the floor.

Let us make this little rug first, as this is a particularly easy pattern. Cream Congress Canvas has been used for this, and on page 78 there is a picture of a little bit worked on canvas, that you may see which way the stitches go. This rug measures 4 inches long by 2½ inches wide when finished, but it does not matter at all what size you make it. This has been worked in Baldwin & Walker’s Ladyship 3-ply Fingering, pink and green. This is a lovely soft wool to use.

Commence by turning the canvas in all round and tack it. Run the pink wool up a little way at the back of the canvas, leave a loop at the end, then start the first row between 2nd and 3rd threads from the left side, * pass the pink wool under 1 thread of canvas; then over 6 threads and under 2 threads 6 times, now over 6 threads and under 1 at end of canvas, leave a loop at end, and start the next row between the next two threads of canvas. *

Work four more rows from * to *.

6th Row.—Pass the pink wool under 1 thread, over 2 threads, under 2 threads, over 6 threads 6 times; now under 2 threads, over 2 threads, under 1 thread. Work 4 more rows like this. Repeat from 1st row to 10th row until the work is the right width.

Turn the canvas round and work the green wool across the canvas left between the pink wool.

1st Row.—Start between the 3rd and 4th threads from the top and the 6th and 7th threads from the side.* Pass the green wool over 6 threads and under 4 threads twice, then over 6 threads, slip thread on to next hole at the back of the canvas. Work 2 more rows like this from *.

4th Row.—Start the 4th row in the same hole as the 1st pink stitch of group ends. Pass the green wool over 5 threads, then under 4 threads and over 6 threads three times, now over 6 threads, slip the thread at back to the next hole for next row.

Work 2 more rows like this. Oversew the 2 threads at the end of the rows with green wool, and twist the wool over the single thread at the end of the fringe loops.

If there is any difficulty in counting the threads when working the green across, look at the back of the work.

Repeat the 6 rows until all the canvas between the pink threads is covered.

If you want to use the design for a carpet you can make it larger and square-shaped, or here is another design that is thicker, and will therefore be softer and nicer for the dolls’ feet.

This twisted pattern is also shown in the shape for a rug, which measures 5 inches long by 3 inches wide, but it can be made whatever size and shape you like. It has also been worked on Congress Canvas, with Baldwin & Walker’s Ladyship 3-ply Fingering. The colours used are light green for the twisted pattern, heliotrope for the star in the middle, and dark green for the darning. With this carpet a paper with pansies or violets would look very pretty.

Here again little samples of the stitches have been worked on canvas, that you may see clearly how they are done.

The twisted pattern is worked in satin stitch over 4 threads of canvas.

You will see this stitch is described on page 71, and if you look at the pattern carefully, you will get the twist over and under quite right. To make the corners, work the stitches over 3, then 2, and 1 thread, then over the middle, work the other side of corner over 1, 2, and 3 threads, finish over 4 threads into the same hole as the last stitch, over 4 threads on the other side of the corner. Look at the pattern on the canvas as you work this out, that will also show how many stitches to do, and the way they are arranged.

For the star in the centre, work from corner to corner twice, crossing the thread in the centre, then another stitch from the centre hole on the top to the centre hole at opposite end, and another across the centre.

The canvas between the twisted pattern is darned, that is, pass the thread over 2 threads of canvas and under 2 threads—this also is plainly shewn on the coarse canvas.

Work blanket stitch into every hole around the edge.

A square carpet of this design, with a small rug of the In-and-Out pattern, would look very well, but you would have to use the same colours for both, of course. The carpet could be fastened to the cottage floor with small drawing pins.

Here is still another kind of rug that you can make. It is also worked in Baldwin & Walker’s 3-ply Ladyship Fingering on Congress Canvas, and the colours that have been used are pale blue, grey, and violet. A row is worked in each colour until the rug is large enough. This little hearthrug shown measures 4 inches by 2 inches, but you can make it as large as you like.

The rug is worked in satin stitch for the 1st row, the stitches are upright, over 4 threads, but each fresh stitch is started one thread lower, and of course finishes one thread lower. The next row is worked across, also over 4 threads, each stitch is started one thread farther back than the one before, and finished in the same hole as one of the stitches of the row before.

If you look at the two little specimens that have been worked, I don’t think you will have any trouble over this. You will notice that when you come to the edge, and want to finish off straight, you have to take your stitches over 4 threads, 3 threads, 2 threads, and then 1 thread.

The edge of the rug is worked in blanket stitch.

This Poem was written over a hundred years ago.