Stripe Rugs and Carpets Innovations

Striped rugs aren’t a new innovation, Gabbah’s, many of which are simple broad striped rug designs made in bright colours have been produced by Persian tribesmen for centuries. They say there is no such thing as an original concept and fashion like the shifting sands will continue to drift and mutate in any direction that the wind blows. While a stripe rug is just that, the sort of thing a child could design, the introduction of colour and texture can make something moderately simple into a complicated and beautiful centrepiece.

The current trend for striped rugs and carpets probably stems from the introduction of the many striped wall coverings presently available. These range from simple broad stripe two-tone to complex varied width stripes in multi-coloured designs. The innovation evolves from vertical stripes to horizontal stripes to diagonal stripes and even zigzag stripes. As the wall covering evolves so too does the home furnishing accessories, curtains, cushions, throws, rugs and carpets all want to coordinate and be an integral part of the stripe revolution.

One of the problems with stripes is too many in a confined space can be overpowering the secret is to use them in moderation. Using striped wallpaper only on a feature wall backed up with striped cushions and a stripe rug is about as heavy as you should take it. When it comes to rugs and fabrics don’t forget about the use of texture, different textures even when they use the same colours can produce an array of interesting effects.

Another example of the innovative use of texture can be found in the Carved Elements rug, the design is an uncomplicated broad and narrow stripe produced in a twist textured polypropylene fibre to ensure appearance retention and durability. Each stripe element has been accentuated by a hand carving separating the colours to give the simplistic design an additional dimension.

Cyclists, men in tights

Metis Xpandx Bib Tights with G.Tex Pad

I don’t know why but the words Lycra, Xpandx, Spandex seem to bring out worst in our subconscious. Obviously the thought of the elasticised form hugging properties combined with the smooth silky feel must send subliminal messages to the brain. Even when trying to subdue the image you hear in your head the male cyclist jokingly refer to his Spandex cycling shorts or Lycra cycling tights as “budgie smugglers”. It is true to say that Lycra, Xpandx and Spandex can be very revealing and generally don’t look good on men or women with, let’s say, a fuller figure. But the benefit of the material always far outweighs the fashion statement you’re not making, especially when it comes to cycling.
While many sportsmen wear Lycra or Spandex, cycling is a road sport which puts the cyclist and his bright coloured skin tight attire right in the eye of the unsuspecting public, thus making cyclists the butt of many spandex innuendos. Seasoned cyclists won’t think twice about putting on their bright form hugging cycling shorts and tights but newbie’s to the sport, especially those with a fuller figure will often think twice before they venture out.

With winter on the horizon many a would-be Mark Cavendish will want to continue their summer cycling routines into the colder weather. This will undoubtedly mean wrapping up more to keep the body temperature constant and preventing muscle cramps. This is when a good quality set of Xpandx tights will become an essential part of cycling attire. The tight fitting garment will not only help with the retention of body heat, the compression qualities is claimed to help improve peripheral circulation in your leg muscles by aiding removal of blood lactate.

When the real cold winter weather sets in it is wise to consider warmer fabrics such as D-Robax or Super Roubaix, these still have the same body hugging compression qualities as Xpandx but are thicker and incorporate a fine inner fleece which captures and retains pockets of heat from the body while still allowing excess moisture to evaporate. One variation of tights that is worth a mention is bib tights; whilst they do basically the same job they can offer additional shelter to the stomach and lower back and the shoulder straps mean they should never fall down.

Don’t ever let the stigma associated with Lycra put you off wearing it, it’s wise to layer up in colder weather so if you need to cover up wear a pair of baggy shorts over tights or a baggy jersey on top of compression tops.

Mountain Bike Trails around Reeth and Swaledale |

Mountain Bike Trails around Reeth and Swaledale |.

Making the Most of Mountain Biking |

Making the Most of Mountain Biking |.

A rug shedding deduction for Midsomers Murders

I received a phone call from a set designer doing a little bit of detective work on rugs for TV a show. We have supplied rugs for many shows in the past including 60 minute makeover, DIY SOS, Cowboy Builders and Big Brother. But this request was more to do with counteracting the problems of rugs on a set. The program was ITV 1’s Midsomer Murders and the director was having problems with rugs shedding pile on set when actors walked over them. I suppose it wouldn’t make things easy forensic guys unless of course the victim had actually choked on carpet fluff. Don’t panic, there is no need to call in forensics for this one, the problem is actually a very simple one to overcome, particularly on a film or TV set. In true detective fashion let us look at the crime and examine the evidence.

Why is the rug losing or shedding its pile? The answer to this is basically because the yarn has been spun. Natural fibres such as wool are cut from a sheep’s back then they are washed combed and processed ready for spinning. The spinning process requires the short staple length of fleece to be spun into one long string of yarn. Although the yarn is one long length it is still made up of hundreds of thousands of short lengths of fleece.

So why does the rug shed fluff when my pure wool suit doesn’t? Your suit will be woven with a fine wool using a very tight weave where the even the very short lengths of yarn are locked in place preventing them from shedding or pilling. It is also fair to say that more open weaves like Harris Tweed which have a more open and courser finish can often pill and shed. When it comes to knitted wool garments pilling and shedding is more a dominant issue. A rug or carpet by nature is possibly the most open of all manufacturing methods and the exposed surface yarns are usually far longer than any of the aforementioned. This means it is even easier for the very short staple length of yarn to brake from the main body of the spun yarn, thus causing fluff. When the yarn stays attached it will turn into a small ball this is what we call pilling.

How can we stop wool and other natural fibres from shedding or pilling? The simple answer is we can’t, wherever there is a shorter staple length of yarn than the actual length of the tuft there is a very high probability that the yarn will break from the main tuft body. For example you will get more shedding form a long pile shaggy wool rug that you will from a short pile rug. The good news is the shedding won’t last forever and a vacuum cleaner bag full of wool from a rug is certainly not a manufacturing fault.

What are my options I do if I don’t want a rug or carpet to shed fluff? You can buy many rugs and carpets that won’t shed; this is because they use manmade BCF yarns. BCF is an abbreviation for Bulk Continuous Filament which means rather than being spun in thousands of short lengths the yarn is extruded and spun in one continuous process. This not only gives the yarn extreme strength you’d expect from a manmade fibre the added bonus is there is nothing to break off the yarn so it won’t shed either.

I have been informed that the two rugs we provided produced using a manmade fibre for a walk on part in the new series made an impressive debut performance. I don’t think they will be getting Oscars but they have stopped the director screaming blue murder about the balls of fluff on his set.

Wrap up for winter cycling

Mountain Bike in Wensleydale

A customer emailed us with a question: “Hi, Got the jacket and cycling gloves so I could wear the jacket on my Saturday ride but was really fighting to stay warm (16c 20mph wind). I was wearing a heavy base layer and the wind was coming straight through the jacket and if not for the base layer I would have been really cold. So my question is have I purchased the wrong jacket type for my winter cycling as it will get a lot colder over the coming weeks”.

The customer had actually bought a jersey with a full length zip, not a jacket, and with the best will in the world a jersey is not designed to do the work of a jacket. I know that many cyclists wear a full zip jersey as an additional layer but when it comes to wind and rain they will also have the added protection of a rain or wind jacket. When winter sets in it is important to have the right balance of clothing for cycling. This can mean many things to many people for example on Friday afternoon 21st October my brother in law and I decided to take a mountain bike ride. Our route started from Castle Bolton in Wensleydale towards Askrigg then over the hill to Swaledale and along Apedale Road back to Castle Bolton. On the first leg we travelled along the northern slopes of Wensleydale in a westerly direction head on into north westerly winds of 25mph, while the temperature was suppose to 12 to 15 degrees Celsius the wind chill factor would have reduced that significantly. However cycling into the wind means we were burning more body heat.

To cover my torso I was wearing a full sleeved Xpandx base layer under a short sleeved summer jersey and a wind proof gilet on my bottoms I wore a ¾ length baggy cycling shorts, on my feet waterproof Sealskinz socks with cycling shoes and full finger gloves to protect the hands . My brother in law wore two layers of jersey and a wind proof jacket to cover his torso, full length cycling tight under baggy shorts to cover his lower regions, Sealskinz socks with cycling shoes on his feet and to save his hands from cold windproof gloves. I also carried a compact waterproof jacket in my bag in case of rain.

While we would never make the cycling wear fashion statement, the important thing is neither of us felt the cold while on the move.

Hawaii Rugs styled with a floral tropics design

At a recent exhibition in Harrogate I stumbled upon an interesting floral rug design concept. While the design was by no means unique it did have hints of North American trends and the botanical essence of tropical Hawaii. The floral rugs designed with bold flowers much like the Hawaiian shirts and the colouring are subtly and tastefully contrasted to bring the tropics to your home. I can tell when good quality wool has been used to make a rug by the clarity of the yarn colour, cheaper yarn produces duller colours. The carving has been painstakingly etched by hand into the rug to bring floral rudiments of the design to life. As the rug is hand tufted the backing is jute.

It is difficult to say whether the rug would fall into the traditional or modern category, I think it just needs to be looked at as a rug that could look equally at home in modern or traditional surroundings. In the USA they would possibly describe the design as transitional which is a contemporary design with traditional elements.

The Hawaii rug is produced by hand in China under licence to a British Importer who is currently distributing on a very limited basis. The rug is produced in three sizes a medium sized 120cm x 180cm priced at around £200, a large sized 160 x 230cm priced at around £350 and an extra large 200cm x 290cm priced at around £480. Similar products available are Nourison Tropics Rug Collection but you can expect to pay a hefty premium for a similar design style.