I've had a box of wool fabric sitting around from my rug braiding days and decided to put it to use by making a "penny rug" with some of it. I've been admiring the penny rugs I'd seen on various crafting websites and blogs and decided it was time to try making one myself. I love chickadees and thought they would be a good theme for my first "rug".
Penny rugs got their name from the round "pennies" or circles that made up the first penny rugs. In the 19th century, wool scraps from worn out clothing that was too small to be recycled in other ways, was cut into various sized circles and then sewn together at the edges and then sewn onto a burlap backing to make rugs. Today they have evolved into decorative table runners, wall hangings and candle mats.
My "penny rug" is a candle mat or center piece for a table. The top photo shows it being used as a mat for a table lamp. It is traditional to use the blanket stitch to stitch the rug together and I found that it went fast and that I really enjoyed the stitch. Good thing, because this little rug required a lot of stitching!
