#maecolburn

Rag Rug Study Group is a research project that facilitates dialogue about textiles produced using worn, surplus, and discarded materials. We advocate an expansive definition of ‘rag rug’ that includes reworked textiles in all techniques including weaving, knitting, quilting, embroidery, crochet, mending, and sewing. We have a mailing list, host in-person events, and manage an online archive of the work we study.

spælsau Norway’s traditional breed. Spælsau have a fine inner coat appropriate for clothing, and a lustrous outer coat rich in lanolin and appropriate for outerwear, carpets, and tapestries. The Vikings also used it for sails. The breed went into steep decline when industrial mills replaced hand spinning in the nineteenth century. Like the Navajo-churro, spælsau are considered a heritage breed. 

The second week is devoted to cutting and stitching. Similar to the way a Chanel jacket is constructed, the lining is stitched to each pattern piece before the pattern pieces are stitched together into a jacket. The stitching technique is called spilesaum (similar to a baseball stitch).

“Our hope is to recover the knowledge of weaving and fulling vadmel in a way that suits modern life, using spælsau yarn of sufficient quality. Vadmel can be made in such a way so as to be soft enough for babies or coarse enough for a saddle blanket, but we must have the knowledge to decide which yarn to choose, which weaving technique to use, and how long the fabric should be fulled in the stampa. Making a garment of vadmel is, indeed, an enjoyable thing to do. The material does not ravel and needn’t be hemmed. It is easy to shape with a steam iron. The weaver that makes a length of vadmel cloth is a lucky weaver.”

churro The Navajo-churro are the first domestic breed of sheep to be developed in North America. Brought by Spanish colonizers in the fifteenth century, the breed adapted to the North American landscape through the of stewardship of Navajo and Hispanic shepherds. Their fleece consists of a fine inner coat, and a coarse, lustrous outer coat appropriate for rugs, upholstery, and outer garments. Once prevalent, the Navajo-churro is now increasingly rare in North America, and is considered a heritage breed.

The guide harkens back to New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State, the classic NM touring guide first published in 1940 as part of the Work Projects Administration’s (WPA) American Guide Series. Like the NM Fiber Arts Trails, the American Guide Series targeted the “remotest corners of America,” and aimed to assure “maximum employment among all sectors of society,” encouraging a “sense of independence” among involved communities. While the WPA guide was developed in response to the Depression, the Trails just preceded the recent economic downturn [of 2008]. Both hinge upon the idea that the economic health of a region is contingent upon visitors’ support of local enterprises.

I’m lifting. I’m carrying. I’m dragging. I’m walking around. I’m bending up and down. All of that is a form of self-expression because you’re making all these small decisions for yourself. You’re applying your own ideas and concepts second-to-second. It sounds like mundane stuff, but oddly enough for the modern person, this is new terrain – at least for me – to have a total flow out on a land base, being out on 45 acres of organic farm, working.”