Rug Making, Knitting and Bonnet
Rug Making
Who?
Miners, their wives and older children, especially the girls.
Why?
To use scraps of material from worn out clothes, so nothing was wasted. Rugs were always welcome in houses with cold stone floors, and in cold weather they could be used as extra bedclothes.
What?
The strips of material would be cut from worn out clothes and saved until there were enough to make a rug. Colours would be saved separately so that a design could be worked. The backing for the rug would be hessian, cut from the sacks used before plastic bags were invented.
Where?
In the lodging shop. At home or a friend’s house.
When?
In the evenings after the work was done. Sometimes a group of women would take their rugmaking to a friend’s house and work together. This was more sociable than working alone and one or two candles could be used as light for everyone.
How?
The hessian was tightly stretched over an adjustable wooden frame. A spike about 10cm long, called a prodder, was used to push strips of material through the hessian so that there was a loop of material on one side and tufts on the other. The prodder was made from a piece of wood or bone. A design was drawn on the hessian and the different coloured strips pushed through in the appropriate places.
Knitting
Who?
Miners, their wives and older children.
Why?
If there were a lot of children in the family, they would need warm socks and mittens in winter. Woollen socks easily get worn out at the toe and heel, so they would always be needed. Miners would need warm socks to wear in their clogs. Wool is warm when wet and this would have helped them cope with cold wet feet. Any spare items would be sold to bring in a little extra money for the family.
What?
They would have used handspun wool from their own fleeces, if they kept sheep. Alternatively, they might have bought wool to spin and knit. Knitting needles would have been made of wood or even thick wire. Usually they made small items, such as socks. Some miners even knitted baby clothes in the lodging shop. It wasn’t easy for them to get their hands clean, so the clothes they made must have been a bit grimy.
Where?
In the lodging shop. At home.
When?
Spare moments. In the evening, if there was still daylight or the candle was lit for other purposes
How?
Socks and gloves or mittens would be knitted on four needles, so that the garment did not need to be sewn up. The wool would have been much rougher than the materials we use today.
Bonnet
Who?
Girls and women.
Why?
To protect their hair because work was often dusty and dirty manual labour. It protected the back of the neck from the sun while working outdoors. Also, long hair was in fashion and they didn’t have shampoo and didn’t wash their hair very often. The bonnet also gave some protection against head lice.
What?
The bonnet is made of a double piece of cotton which will pull out flat for easy washing and ironing. ‘Whites’ were usually boiled and ‘dollied’ so they needed to be strong.
Where?
As informal every day wear.
When?
At home doing housework. At work, especially in the fields.
How?
The bonnets were designed to wash flat. The tape gathers the back to fit the head and ties under the chin. The decorated front, which varied from region to region, held the material so that it framed the face.