Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

Woven rag runner, ca. 1930 (Shaker Museum 1984.5.1); rag rugs popular in the US from the 1830s

Object · not yet checked at the source

Made by: Sister Alice Smith, Church Family, Hancock Shaker community
Date: ca. 1930 (object); 1830s (popularity, per museum)
Place: Hancock, Massachusetts
Held by: Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon
Number: 1984.5.1
Materials: cloth strips, cotton warp
Themes: Rug-making techniques, Hooked & handmade rugs

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Sister Alice Smith, Church Family, Hancock Shaker community. Woven rag runner, ca. 1930 (Shaker Museum 1984.5.1); rag rugs popular in the US from the 1830s, ca. 1930 (object); 1830s (popularity, per museum). Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon, 1984.5.1. shakermuseum.us/object?id=4222.

Research notes

How it works: textile scraps are cut into strips, sewn end to end and used as weft in plain weave on a loom, so the pattern comes from the changing rags (Shaker Museum). The museum says rag rugs became popular in the United States in the 1830s as a cheap, practical floor covering. Shaker rugs often have symmetrical colour patterns and taped or stitched edges. This object: a runner with S- and Z-twist rag wefts in a repeat pattern, plain woven at 8 warps and 8 wefts per inch. Donated by Faith Andrews, 1984. Scandinavian parallel (trasmatta): only dealer sources were found. They say little is known before about 1900, rugs were woven on home looms about two feet wide in winter, and powder dyes arrived around the end of the 18th century. That part is unverified. Sources: https://shakermuseum.us/object?id=4222 · https://www.dorisleslieblau.com/the-history-of-trasmattas-the-swedish-rag-rugs/ · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_carpets_and_rugs Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.