This rug was brought to me by one of Edna's grandchildren, Markus Foerster. It was much beloved, but had shown some wear and tear over the years.
The first step was to remove all the stitching, fringe and hooked area until I got down to at least 1/2" of healthy backing.
This is a view from the top, you can barely see in this picture, but in addition to the large holes on the bottom edge, there was some breakage pretty much on the hemline all around. So I carefully picked away at the hooked area, and re-hooked to get a pretty edge. I also re-hooked the occasional loop that had gotten snagged elsewhere on the rug.
At Markus' request, I also copied Edna's signature, and moved it to a healthy place on the background. You can see it below on the finished rug at the bottom of this page, to the right of the dogs.
This view shows what the rug looked like fully re-hooked, and with the edge binding being added. I wrapped the burlap edge around a cord, and tacked that in place. I also decided to cover this edge with an organdy ribbon, to give the burlap an added layer of protection, without adding any more bulk (the ribbon is see-through, kind of shiny). This way, when I did the finishing hem, I didn't have to make the burlap backing (which was still pretty frayed in places) hold on to the hem stitches.
I whip-stitched all around the bound edge with a matching yarn. Then to give the delicate fibers of this rug added protection, I decided to sew canvas fabric into the backing. This will help to protect the underside of the rug from grit and sand working its way into the rug's fibers. The canvas can be easily removed should the rug ever need to be repaired again.
Important note! Never put glue or latex on the back of a hooked rug! Not only will it NOT keep the loops from occasionally pulling out, but it will make the rug impossible to repair! Because this rug had never had latex put on, it was repairable!
The New Old Rug!
Hopefully Edna's rug will continue to be treasured by many generations to come.
I would sure like to think that someday, a grandchild of mine will take the time and trouble to have my rugs repaired. It was an honor to work on Edna's rug, and to get to share a bit in the legacy that she left to her loved ones!
