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Interior decorators of Tulsa, Oklahoma, have an answer to such problems. Handmade, braided, woolen rugs in any color pattern are made to order by Mrs. Gene Snyder of Turley, Oklahoma, a small town about six miles north of Tulsa.

Through co-operation with interior decorators and home furnishing stores, Mrs. Snyder has turned a hobby into a thriving home workshop business.

When Mrs. Snyder was a child, her mother taught her how to make braided and hooked rugs from rags and cloth remnants. Her parents, who were from the old country, let nothing go to waste, and her mother made and sold these rag, rugs to supplement the family income. Her father's greatest complaint was that he never had any scrap rags to use in his workshop.

Mrs. Snyder has made braided rugs for the last twenty-five years, but really got into the rug making business about four years ago. In a short while she could not fill the orders for her braided, woolen rugs, and for the last three years she has employed Mrs. Lidie V. Medlin, a neighbor, as a co-worker. They follow a regular work schedule each week.

Mrs. Snyder has a comfortable workshop connected to their modest residence. At first she made the rugs in their living room, but soon more space was needed so her husband built the well-lighted workshop which she now uses.

AN ADVERTISEMENT in the classified section of a Tulsa newspaper brought Mrs. Snyder the first business for her braided, woolen rugs. It also brought her a rejection of a probable sale that failed to daunt Mrs. Snyder. A prospective customer telephoned her residence in regard to the kind and price of rugs that were for sale. When told the price, the customer indignantly retorted that he could buy a good rug for less and abruptly hung up.

"Don't let a few rebuffs on sales discourage you, if you have a good product for sale," Mrs. Snyder advises. "Remember, you can't sell to everyone, and it takes time to get your product and your name known to the buying public.

"Enter your hobby products in the county and state fairs. The publicity gained and the contacts made in this way build for future sales." In the rug department at the Tulsa State Fair, Mrs. Snyder's rugs have taken first place for the last two years.

Since the braided, woolen rug is somewhat expensive, Mrs. Snyder makes most of her sales in co-operation with interior decorators and home furnishing stores in the Tulsa area. She leaves sample braids about eight inches long from which various color combinations can be made in the offices of these business establishments. With the customer, the decorators work out color combinations and rug sizes to match the decorations in the customer's home. In this way many of her sales are arranged by the interior decorator, and that person must have a commission on the sale. This commission is pre-arranged with the business firm on a percentage basis. The retail price of the rug to the customer is the same whether the interior decorator or Mrs. Snyder makes the sale.

AT PRESENT, the price for Mrs. Snyder's braided woolen rugs is $2.75 a square foot. She has found that it is a sound business practice to require one-third down payment when the order is placed, and have the balance due on delivery of the rug. Most of Mrs. Snyder's sales have been on a cash basis. However, through her contacts with home furnishing stores, she has traded rugs for home appliances—a deep-freeze which Mr. Snyder keeps filled with garden products and meats, a refrigerator, an automatic dishwasher, and other home furnishings.

The work time required to make a nine-by-twelve-foot rug is usually about eight full work days. A sixteen-by-eighteen rug is the largest that Mrs. Snyder has made so far. She received $792 for it.

A prospective customer in Dallas, Texas, wanted her to make a rug twenty-by-thirty feet. Since Mrs. Snyder's workshop was too small to handle so large a rug, she had to turn down the sale.

"Don't confuse these rugs with common braided or hooked rugs," Mrs. Snyder asserts. "'I use only new Australian wool blanket material—either full blankets or large remnants." She orders this blanket material from blanket manufacturers and woolen mills. Most of the blankets are full size, but with a faulty binding or a small fault which makes it a second.

These blankets and remnants come in ten standard colors and a natural or neutral shade. Mrs. Snyder orders most of her material in the neutral color and has it dyed in the colors of her choice by a dye specialist in Tulsa. The price for the blanket material varies as the wool market fluctuates. Three-quarters of a pound of blanket material is required to make each square foot of rug which, when finished, is about ¾ inch thick. This makes an extremely thick pile rug of fine appearance and long wearing qualities.

BRAIDED RUGS must be made either round or oblong in shape because the rug is made from a continuous braid starting in the center. A round rug is started in the center, and the braid is simply sewn around and around until the size wanted is reached. To start an oblong rug, subtract the width from the length of one rug, and this measurement is the length of the center starting strip of braid to double back upon. For example: a six-by-nine-foot oblong rug would have a three-foot-long starting strip of braid in the center to double back on.

To make braided, woolen rugs, the blanket material must first be cut into one-inch wide strips. These strips are from two to three yards long—depending on whether they are cut from a full blanket or from a blanket remnant. Mrs. Snyder has a hand operated machine that cuts three strips at a time. Machine cut strips are more uniform in width than those cut by hand with scissors, and by using the cutter the work is speeded up. She purchases her cutting machines and other rug making equipment from a New England firm.

Next, three strips of the required color, or mixed colors if desired, are chosen to start the braid. One end of each of the three strips is placed together and sewn firmly, as shown in Figure 1. By doubling the outer strips back over the seam, when starting the braid, the stitches of carpet warp in the seam are hidden.

To start the braid, each strip is folded making the strips ½ inch wide but double thick. Now begin the three-strand braid, but be sure that when each strip is laid over the other the raw edges are on the bottom of each lap, as shown in Figure 2. This produces what is known as the French braid. When this type braid is sewn together in the rug it is possible to hide all stitches, a feature that is essential in producing a rug of first quality. Also, remember to braid tightly because loose braid will not make a good rug.

As the braid progresses and additional strips must be sewn on, the hidden seam method, as shown in Figure 3, is used. First the strips are sewn together, as shown in Step 1, and then folded over and sewn with two stitches on each side of the seam, as shown in Step 2. These stitches show on the strip; but, by having this portion of the strip under a lap in the braid, they are hidden.

Before starting to sew the braid into a rug, the finished size and whether it is to be round or oblong must be decided. Also the exact color design must be planned.

The braid is sewn together on the underneath side of the rug with carpet warp. A large needle is used, and the sewing is done with double thread. The needle is inserted in the fold of the strips in the braid, and in this way the stitches of carpet warp are hidden. Two stitches are taken in each lap of the braid, making the stitches about ¼ inch apart. Carpet warp of a color to match the color of the rug is used where possible, but a dark brown color is found to be suitable in most instances.

A ball of beeswax is kept at hand, and the carpet warp is generously covered with wax as the sewing progresses. This waxing process strengthens and prolongs the life of the heavy thread, and is the same procedure as used by leather workers and shoe makers. All the sewing on the braided, woolen rugs is done with the beeswax coated carpet warp.

To force the large needle through the heavy material, Mrs. Snyder uses a thimble on the index finger of the right hand and also a metal protected leather palm on the right hand. This metal protected leather palm is called a "hand palm" and can be bought from awning and tent making firms. She also uses a finger stall on the little finger of the right hand to protect that finger when the stitches are pulled tight. She makes these finger stalls from the fingers of discarded gloves.

AS THE rug progresses, the braiding and sewing together must be worked alternately so that the chosen color design can be followed in the rug pattern. To finish the rug, the strips in the last six or eight inches of the braid are tapered so that the braid gradually gets smaller and does not leave an uneven break for the finish.

Mrs. Snyder uses small, short-legged tables to support the rug while it is being sewn together. The tops of these tables are about four by five feet in size and are of a convenient height for working. She starts with one table and adds others as the rug grows in size, thus providing a convenient method of supporting the rug while it is in the process of construction. Low chairs with coasters on the legs also make for convenience in working around the tables. They can be scooted along the floor as the workers need to move around the rug.

"Being able to supply color combinations that will satisfy the most discriminating customer is the big advantage of handmade, braided, woolen rugs," Mrs. Snyder explains to interior decorators. "Just show me a room in need of a rug and I will work out a color scheme for a rug that will blend perfectly with the drapes and other furnishings of that room.

"And don't make the mistake of fashioning a stock of braided rugs in assorted sizes and color patterns, because it might be months before you would find a customer with room furnishings that would blend with the colors of one of your rugs. The rug must be made to blend with the room decorations."

Braided woolen rugs are easily cleaned. The home vacuum cleaner will usually clean the rug satisfactorily. Should the rug need a more thorough cleaning, it can be done in the home with rug shampoo—just follow the directions on the container. Or any rug and carpet renovating establishment can clean the rug in the same manner as manufactured rugs are cleaned.

MRS. SNYDER also gives lessons in rug making. Should a prospective customer wish to make her own rug, she will teach the individual how to make the braid and sew the rug together. Her fee for this instruction is $5. She will then help design the color scheme for the rug and sell the customer cut strip material at $1.25 a pound for the neutral color, and $1.50 a pound for the dyed colors. In this way a customer can make her own braided woolen rug for just about one-half of the regular price.

If one is interested in home furnishings and has the ability to plan color schemes for interior decorating, handmade, braided, woolen rugs are an ideal medium for a hobby or home business.