Embroidered rug dying

The dyes for embroidered rugs and the early hooked rugs were, of course, the same as those already listed.

There are so many blacks and browns and dark neutral shades in the old pieces because much of the men's and women's cloth­ing which went into them was dyed dark, practical colors. Red scraps were plentiful because of the ubiquitous red flannel un­derwear.

The soft creams and now yellowed whites were undyed ma­terial. Green was less common, and blue quite rare, perhaps because indigo—the best blue—was not a common dye.

Time has softened and mellowed all the old rugs. At the base of their pile, hidden from the light, you will always find brighter color. They are more beautiful now than when they were new.

No two batches of dye were ever exactly the same, and this Unintentional variation of color gives added charm.

Hand-knotted rugs, such as were made in the Orient, Spain, France and England were never produced to any extent in the United States.

A few attempts to establish factories, including a branch of the Royal Manufactory of Wilton, failed.

American labor costs have always been so comparatively high that it is impossible to meet foreign competition on fabrics that require so much time to make.