We would like to wish a Happy St Patrick’s Day and offer this small project as a gift to you. St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, so this miniature door mat has the ‘welcome’ in Irish Gaelic.
Approximate finished measurements: approx 2-inches/5 cm by 1¼-inches/3 cm
Materials required:
Tapestry needle; 25 metres crewel wool (such as Appletons Old English Crewel wool) in background colour; 15 metres crewel wool in contrast colour for letters and edging; 2 metres crewel wool in contrast colour for shamrock; 3-inch/7.5 cm x 2-inch/5 cm piece of 18 count tapestry canvas; permanent pen or laundry marker to transfer the design to the canvas; piece of felt slightly larger than finished rug for backing rug; scissors.
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Tracing the template
Print off the photo below
Lay the piece of tapestry canvas over the template and using the permanent marker trace the outlines of the rug and letters onto the canvas. There should be a gap around each side of the rug outline, which will be folded under the rug at the end of the project.
To work French knots
1. Bring needle up to right side of canvas, twist wool three times round needle.
2. Pull needle through gently, holding thread down with left thumb to form a loose knot. Insert needle in canvas one thread of canvas away from place it came up. This is best done in a random fashion, as lines of French knots will make the work curl up. The looser the French knots the better the rug will look.
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To work the rug
1. Work the dark green border first. Then lettering at centre of rug and outline of shamrock. Work the French knots inside the shamrock. The background is then completed last.
2. Cut a length of wool (this should not be too long i.e. maximum 20-inches/50 cm, as the wool will become weakened and knot easily as it is pulled through the canvas) and thread needle.
3. Following lines on canvas, outline the colour to be worked with a line of French knots.
4. Fill in the outline using randomly aligned French knots. It is easier to fill in the corners first and work towards the centre. Any gaping holes can be filled in when the filling is complete. Do not make the French Knots too tight or too close together, as this causes the canvas to roll up and it is difficult to flatten again. You will also run out of wool before the rug is finished.
5. When all the colours have been filled in with French knots and you are satisfied all the canvas has been covered, small holes in the work can be left to show ‘wear’ proceed to step 6.
6. Trim around edge of worked area of canvas leaving roughly a ½ inch/0.75 cm margin. Fold this in towards centre of work and pin in place. Carefully fold the canvas at corners.
7. Cut backing fabric to size and oversew in place.
8. Place finished rug, in a plastic bag to protect it, under a fairly heavy object (for example a book) for 24 hours to flatten rug. Make sure the heavy item does not flatten the French knots too much.
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© Copyright Frances H. Powell 2019
All rights reserved.
This design and project is for private use only and may not be reproduced in any form, or reproduced for commercial gain including selling any item made up from these designs without written permission from Buttercup Miniatures.
Reproducing or transmitting this design or project by any means, for any purpose other than for personal use, constitutes a violation of UK copyright law.
This design was originally sold as a kit on our web shop from 2007 to 2015
For scale information: the UK Penny coin used on the photos is just slightly larger than a US Cent coin. The actual diameter is ¾-inch or 2 cm. The UK penny coin sits just inside a European (Euro) 5c coin