06.10.07
Arraiolos Rugs
I can’t remember where I first saw mention of these rugs. I think I was researching long armed cross stitch for an SCA project at the time. But I know I fell in love with them as soon as I did. The needlework form is originally Portuguese, and currently they are also created in Brazil, which being the only South American country that speaks Portuguese, probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. There is a picture of a 16th century rug at Britannica Online.
The rugs are created using a long-armed cross stitch on an evenweave jute (historically it was linen) base. The fabric is usually ten threads to the inch, stitched over two threads so that there are five stitches to the inch.
The idea of having a hand stitched rug is luxurious to say the least. Last year I finally rummaged up a copy of Portuguese Rugs: by Patricia Stone (it took me 8 months to find a copy, but I jumped at it when I did), and started playing. I’ve finished a small pillow-sized pattern from the book, which I did as a test of the technique, in something I had on hand instead of the original materials. I did it on 14 count cotton aida cloth with DMC floss. It came out beautifully at about 8X8 inches (Click the thumbnail for a larger picture).
Now I need to figure out how to finish it “I’ll probably put it together as a doll’s house rug. There is, after all, still that doll’s house in my closet that needs finishing. (Have I mentioned that I have too many hobbies?)
The technique is easy and quite fun. It’s worked in long-armed cross stitch, all from the top of the fabric, weaving in ends under the stitching (and still on the front). Finding the evenweave jute for the base fabric has, however, been a bear! (and I haven’t succeeded yet, although I know it’s out there–any suggestions are more than welcome!)
Linn said,
June 14, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Oh dear. Wish I’d kept more information when my friend Leon Conrad was stitching away on one of these several years ago. He had visited Portugal and found a shop that sold the ground fabric, charts and the wools required. Long arm cross is such an elegant stitch and very appealing to folks who love order.
Marilyn Allen said,
October 1, 2008 at 10:12 am
Now, I am looking for a US connection for Arraiolos rug making. We have a neighbor who has one. She learned it in Portugal. I found a website (http://www.rosarios4.com/), but it would be so nice to have a US connection. Anyone know of any?
Custodio Matos said,
January 6, 2009 at 10:37 am
It was a surprise to us to see the interest in Arraiolos tapestry.
We are still looking for the right partners in the US to work with our Arraiolos wools and handknitting yarns.
We are currently selling directly to end user in the US our arraiolos kits.
You can visit our webpage and see our Arraiolos do-it-yourself kits.
http://www.rosarios4.com
Clare O'Keeffe said,
March 24, 2009 at 6:23 pm
I began a largish arraiolos rug (6ft x 6 ft) many years ago in Lisbon and have now determined to complete it.I bought the Oliveiro book(I do not speak portuguese!) and then the Patricia Stone book. The rug is a copy of a very beautiful one in a lisbon house. I laborously copied the pattern one wet day!
I now need to find a stockist of authentic arraiolos wool (I need one other colour) who would be able to post it to me in Ireland.
Maria said,
June 16, 2009 at 10:10 pm
If you are looking for supplies for the Arraiolos there is a shop in Lisbon which will ship out to North America. It has the jute and the Arraiolos wools they are called…Seranofil… they are great there. I do think I spelled it correctly …Seranofil or then Serranofil… if you google them it will come up on the web… they told me they ship anywhere.
Shirley said,
October 19, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Where can I get the material to make the rugs. Is there anywhere in Canada?
deRomilly said,
October 19, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I don’t know of any sources directly in Canada, but there are sources in Portugal that export.
http://www.rosarios4.com from an earlier comment is one, as is Serannofil (http://www.serranofil.pt/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/serrano/sc/productsearch.cgi?storeid=*1a4e255c80049d2b13c0662e795a95) is another.
Clare O'Keeffe said,
December 6, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Thank you Maria. Delighted to get that information and hope to go to Lisbon sometime this year to buy the rest of the wool.
Rebekah said,
December 29, 2009 at 1:21 am
All – I’m so excited to stumble upon a community of ruggies (as Pat Stone calls them)! I stumbled on Arraiolos in 2004 thanks to a friend who lived and learned in Portugal. I’m now on my third full-size rug!
I’ve used Serranofil for all of my materials…nothing beats evenweave jute and rug yarn; I ordered a dozen or so pattern books and generally request pricing for kits rather than trying to figure out how much yarn I’ll need for each pattern. Kits run about $100 U.S. for smaller rugs (3×5) and $200 for larger rugs (5×7). They include the rug base, yarn, and pattern.
My biggest frustration is that in my last rug kit, they subbed out one of my yarn colors but didn’t send enough of it. They didn’t respond to my request for the rest of the yarn, so I finally broke down and bought several skeins of the color called for in the pattern — when it arrived, I was very disappointed to see that it wasn’t the color I had stitched 75% of my rug with! I’m working on my back-up rug while I get that issue sorted.
I’m curious about the Oliveira book – are there any patterns given in it?