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Rag Rugs.1930`s.
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DescriptionRag Rugs.
Photo - Collection of the Waitaki Archive. Id 160528Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
Photo - Collection of the Waitaki Archive. Id 160528Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
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Category Taghousehold
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Date Created19th September 2022CommentsDorothy Wills
My grandmother Mary Hewison made lots of these in her lifetime
Kaylene Wright
When we were kids there was one in our bedroom I think our dad made it his grandmother had taught him when he was a boy .
Joy Beveridge
My Gran had these, they were great.
Linda King
Nana Holmes made one for me. Had it for years, loved it. Felt special she had made it for me. Wonderful lady.
Lyn Galvin
My Dad's mum used to make them She made some for us. Always had one in front of the fire
Elaine Bolitho
I remember them well as my adoptive mother had made enough to cover the kitchen/living room and bedroom floors before she was married. She cut each loop of fabric so it gave a different effect from those in the picture where the loops are uncut. It could be a good craft to revive to recycle garments instead of throwing them in the rubbish! Even used to recycle hessian sugar bags or sacks for the backing. Some years ago at the Beamish Museum in Durham I saw a young woman making these rugs.
Anne Honey
My grandmother made beautiful big rugs
Wendy Dense
Loved watching Nana Neame making these.
Miree Gibson
Yes I remember
June Griggs
I remember , as a child, helping my Grandmother make rugs like these . Some were cut and others wernt, tatty Rugs.
Pam Eddy
Yes I remember my rag mat she made me had it for years .Loved it .
Janice DaVia
Yes I remember
Jean Mehrtens
Kate Carse (McGrath) made these and we had them for years - a passage runner and smaller ones - they all had navy edges so designed!
Margaret Malloch
Our other made lots of these they were a lot of work
Lisa Richardson
Aunty May in Ahaura had a lovely one by her kitchen sink.
Sue Seymour
I remember old Mrs Hahn who lived with Betty and Vern Curtain in Ahaura always had one of these on the go!! Very colourful.
Lorraine O'Donoghue
My grandmother made a lot of them. She also had a huge wooden frame that large ones were made on. She taught my mother how to make them. We had a Bach on Bell's Osland and Mum made bunk rugs using the same method but using lighter materials. They were so cozy and only needed one on a bed. They were stored in tin trunks away from rats in between usage.
Lois Iacoppi
My Aunty Amelia had a frame in her front room and I believe her rugs live on
Ann Christie
Loved these mats
Barry Dawson Smithson
I used to make them. No waste in those days.
Doris Blanchard
I remember them being in the Bruhn household at Rutherglen.
Leslie Whitfield
Yes we had one in our home when I was young
Christine McNicol
My Grandmother made them too.
Sheryl Iraia
I remember my grandmother making them. Hers were large and heavy. It was a labour of love. She pointed out which garments had contributed to the colourful patterns.
Sheryl Iraia
Would like to know how to make them.
Gill Peters
My Mum made them in the 1940's. They made a cold floor warm and cozy.
Colleen Buchanan
Kym Murdoch - I remember these in Blackball at your Nana Murdochs house. They were fab.
Kym Murdoch
Colleen Buchanan they were
Janet Mapley
Resurrected. Bought a couple of these rugs around 6 years ago from New World in Hamilton.
No photo description available.
Helen Joan Forrest
That’s a great memory. My Nana made them. Lovely colours.
Lorraine Margetts
Yes I remember the rag rugs. Mum would cut up washed old dresses, skirts etc into pieces ready for her friend to make the rugs. We had one in our bedroom, in the kitchen and dining rooms. They were lovely and warm and soft on our feet. I wish I had a photo of them now.
Maree Lewis
I have one in my attic, made by my great-aunt May Carnahan (nee Bragg) of Picton.Linda Howard
I remember mum making some.
Doug Griffin
My Dad used to make them
Jillian Stewart
I made one when first married. It was a cut one done on hessian.
Annette Mead
My nana had them in her kitchen in blackball loved them
Heather Newby
Annette Mead yes,,, so cosy
Ken Meadowcroft
Annette Mead yes Annette she made heaps of them had them all through the house. She was good at it to.
Anna Hynes
Mum called them rag mats. Ours were made slightly different from the picture. They were rectangular and had a geometric pattern to them. Mum made quite a few for our house.
Moira Taylor
Very hard-wearing - re-cycling (long before it became a modern battlecry!)
Kay Nichols
I’ve had the strips cut out for 30 years from old curtains.
Lyn Gosling
My nana had a cut one in front of her fireplace when i was little.
Del Te Rito
I remember My grandmother from Murchison, used to make them out of old clothes. Nice and bright on her floors.
My grandmother Mary Hewison made lots of these in her lifetime
Kaylene Wright
When we were kids there was one in our bedroom I think our dad made it his grandmother had taught him when he was a boy .
Joy Beveridge
My Gran had these, they were great.
Linda King
Nana Holmes made one for me. Had it for years, loved it. Felt special she had made it for me. Wonderful lady.
Lyn Galvin
My Dad's mum used to make them She made some for us. Always had one in front of the fire
Elaine Bolitho
I remember them well as my adoptive mother had made enough to cover the kitchen/living room and bedroom floors before she was married. She cut each loop of fabric so it gave a different effect from those in the picture where the loops are uncut. It could be a good craft to revive to recycle garments instead of throwing them in the rubbish! Even used to recycle hessian sugar bags or sacks for the backing. Some years ago at the Beamish Museum in Durham I saw a young woman making these rugs.
Anne Honey
My grandmother made beautiful big rugs
Wendy Dense
Loved watching Nana Neame making these.
Miree Gibson
Yes I remember
June Griggs
I remember , as a child, helping my Grandmother make rugs like these . Some were cut and others wernt, tatty Rugs.
Pam Eddy
Yes I remember my rag mat she made me had it for years .Loved it .
Janice DaVia
Yes I remember
Jean Mehrtens
Kate Carse (McGrath) made these and we had them for years - a passage runner and smaller ones - they all had navy edges so designed!
Margaret Malloch
Our other made lots of these they were a lot of work
Lisa Richardson
Aunty May in Ahaura had a lovely one by her kitchen sink.
Sue Seymour
I remember old Mrs Hahn who lived with Betty and Vern Curtain in Ahaura always had one of these on the go!! Very colourful.
Lorraine O'Donoghue
My grandmother made a lot of them. She also had a huge wooden frame that large ones were made on. She taught my mother how to make them. We had a Bach on Bell's Osland and Mum made bunk rugs using the same method but using lighter materials. They were so cozy and only needed one on a bed. They were stored in tin trunks away from rats in between usage.
Lois Iacoppi
My Aunty Amelia had a frame in her front room and I believe her rugs live on
Ann Christie
Loved these mats
Barry Dawson Smithson
I used to make them. No waste in those days.
Doris Blanchard
I remember them being in the Bruhn household at Rutherglen.
Leslie Whitfield
Yes we had one in our home when I was young
Christine McNicol
My Grandmother made them too.
Sheryl Iraia
I remember my grandmother making them. Hers were large and heavy. It was a labour of love. She pointed out which garments had contributed to the colourful patterns.
Sheryl Iraia
Would like to know how to make them.
Gill Peters
My Mum made them in the 1940's. They made a cold floor warm and cozy.
Colleen Buchanan
Kym Murdoch - I remember these in Blackball at your Nana Murdochs house. They were fab.
Kym Murdoch
Colleen Buchanan they were
Janet Mapley
Resurrected. Bought a couple of these rugs around 6 years ago from New World in Hamilton.
No photo description available.
Helen Joan Forrest
That’s a great memory. My Nana made them. Lovely colours.
Lorraine Margetts
Yes I remember the rag rugs. Mum would cut up washed old dresses, skirts etc into pieces ready for her friend to make the rugs. We had one in our bedroom, in the kitchen and dining rooms. They were lovely and warm and soft on our feet. I wish I had a photo of them now.
Maree Lewis
I have one in my attic, made by my great-aunt May Carnahan (nee Bragg) of Picton.Linda Howard
I remember mum making some.
Doug Griffin
My Dad used to make them
Jillian Stewart
I made one when first married. It was a cut one done on hessian.
Annette Mead
My nana had them in her kitchen in blackball loved them
Heather Newby
Annette Mead yes,,, so cosy
Ken Meadowcroft
Annette Mead yes Annette she made heaps of them had them all through the house. She was good at it to.
Anna Hynes
Mum called them rag mats. Ours were made slightly different from the picture. They were rectangular and had a geometric pattern to them. Mum made quite a few for our house.
Moira Taylor
Very hard-wearing - re-cycling (long before it became a modern battlecry!)
Kay Nichols
I’ve had the strips cut out for 30 years from old curtains.
Lyn Gosling
My nana had a cut one in front of her fireplace when i was little.
Del Te Rito
I remember My grandmother from Murchison, used to make them out of old clothes. Nice and bright on her floors.
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West Coast New Zealand History (20th Sep 2022). Rag Rugs.1930`s.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 3rd Apr 2026 15:41, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/31452