Cladia Tanner: Rag Rug Weaver
Claudia Tanner owns five looms, including one that is 110 years old. She uses them to weave old, traditional rag rugs.
Traditionally, every type of fabric was saved,
Tanner said. Old fabric pieces and clothing were taken to a weaver to be woven into rugs.
Tanner often uses mill ends — cloth that is left over from fabric mills.
Tanner, 35, started weaving about two years ago. Her husband's uncle felt like he was going crazy with nothing to do after retiring from a mill in Pennsylvania. His wife solved the problem by buying him a loom. Tanner took over the loom, including a weaving business, when the uncle's health failed. She brought the loom to Florida 10 years ago and now weaves from her home.
Rug widths depend on the loom used. On the old loom, they can be 42 inches. On the other looms, they can be 30 inches wide down to placemat sizes.
I believe that people are returning to the simpler things in life and that's one reason the rugs are gaining in popularity,
Tanner said. Clients bring sheets or material to me which is shredded prior to weaving. Even towels can be shredded to match their decor.
Depending on the length and weight of the rug, fabric is shredded by cutting it into strips using scissors or a rag cutter.
Some rugs are planned so each strip goes across the width of the fabric. On others, known as hit-and-miss rugs, the ends of the strips fall within the width.
The leader on the loom has a comb, which strings run through to tighten up the fabric and hold the ends in place. Tanner has a variety of colors of string available.
Tanner has made a rug in the colors of Southwest Airlines and another one from neckties. One client brought her deceased son's clothing to Tanner to be made into a table runner.
In the past, Tanner has traveled to North Carolina to sell rugs. Most are sold by word of mouth.
It would be great to be the 'local weaver' — the one people know is there and the one who can make special things for them,
Tanner said.
She says weaving is just cool
, a lot like gardening.
People have been weaving for thousands of years,
Tanner said. Weaving is noisy and has a click of a clock. It puts one into a calm state of mind.
Weaver creates rugs from fabric — Orlando Sentinel