the making of: hemp rugs

The fine finished hemp rug can be deceiving—it’s actually made completely by hand from raw hemp fibers.

Its tonal burnished brown effect is achieved with a blend of unbleached, undyed hemp fibers that yield a warm variegation depending on when they were harvested.

Yarns are woven and handknotted in a labor-intensive process that can take one week to create one rug.

Below are the step by step processes including a final wash that lends a subtle sheen and amazing softness.

Prepping natural yarns for weaving by making smaller bunches from the large mill bunches.

Since hemp is a strong and rough yarn in its natural state, the yarns are set on a machine for washing which will remove smaller fibers making it softer, cleaner and neater.

Weaving the rugs.

Washing the woven rugs to further soften the final version.

Finishing stages of trimming the pile and edges.

the making of: tie dye rug

Above, hand-tufting and finishing the natural wool pile—the base of a tie-dye rug—then prepping the rug for dyeing.

After dyeing, rinsing, and blocking, a latex backing is added above. Below, four tie-dye rugs shown side by side—each unique in pattern and color variation—ready for inspection, wrapping and shipping.

the making of: dangerous liasons

Designed by Legendre+Rutter to pay homage to the 2009 theatre poster for the Canberra Repertory Society production of the 18th-century tale, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”; Chicago designer Lance Rutter’s original illustration and lettering achieved its rich coloration and detail with a unique process that included rendering every line with a brush pen and printing directly on bright red paper.

Hand-tufted—in reverse, then backed—using Indian and New Zealand wools, each dangerous liaisons rug takes approximately two days to produce. Execution of the design is a tribute to the talent of the craftsmen who interpret the original illustration into a tapestry using just six yarn colors.

To fully appreciate the drama of the design, contact your local hardware store for hardware to hang one on a wall as artwork.

how to: create a FLOR area rug

Supplies:
1. a layout, design, or sketch
2. FLOR tiles and FLORdots as needed
3. straight edge metal ruler or level
4. sharp carpet knife or box cutter
5. clean, flat surface for cutting

hint: leave nothing to waste and create a design that uses all cut pieces—and hang on to extra pieces, even mistake cuts, so they can be used/reused somewhere else.

Directions:
1. Carefully measure, twice, the floor space to be covered.

2. Create a grid of squares based on a 10:1 ratio of the floor space and sketch design as desired.

4. Cutting tiles: on a clean, flat surface—protected by thick cardboard—lay the tiles face down; with a metal straight edge, mark the cut needed and score the tile a few times using a sharp carpet knife until it cuts completely through the tile.

5. Use FLORdots——one-sided, non-toxic adhesives that stick to the bottom of each tile, sticky side up—to securely attach tiles in their proper position.

hint hint: remember the design will be a mirror image when cutting and attaching dots.

FLOR’s Recycling Program:
CB2 customers can simply bring any old CB2-purchased FLOR tiles to any CB2 location and we will return them to FLOR for recycling. Customers who do not live near a store—or didn’t buy their tiles at CB2—can still participate in this program by following these 3 easy steps:
1. Box them up. FLOR does not supply boxes to return the tiles, so they recommend using a strong cardboard shipping box. If you are receiving a shipment of tiles, or brought quantities home in their boxes, keep the box for future returns if possible.
2. Contact FLOR/Customer Care—once the tiles are boxed—at 866.281.3567 or www.flor.com. FLOR will then send a pre-paid shipping label for each box.
3. Drop off labeled boxes at any UPS store.

the making of: shag rugs

‘Shag’ rugs refers to how they’re made but not what they’re made of. So like other carpets or rugs, basically any material that can be woven can be used—synthetic fibers like nylon or rayon, or natural fibers like cotton or wool.

from this, undyed woolen yarnsto this, a finished lounge shag rug

For centuries, the ‘original’ shag rug—the flokati—has been made of tangled goat’s wool in Greece. Traditionally made without dyes they’re notoriously known to be the natural, virgin hue of the wool. More recently however wool shags can be found in any color or mix of colors.

To make a shag rug, strands or yarns of material are loosely woven—horizontal weft through vertical warp yarns. In contrast, standard pile rugs are more tightly tufted, ie. yarns are ‘passed through’ a woven cloth backing, usually with more and thinner yarns per square inch making them more dense and crew-cut like.

Typically manufactured by making loops in the weaving process, shags yarns are then trimmed at a longish length, ie. creating a deep-pile, that gives the rug a lush and shaggy look. And when the weaving is completed, the warp yarns are cut from the loom and those vertical edges are finished.