Traditional Penny Garland Kit

Description

The Traditional Penny Garland Kit makes a 6 foot long (72″) garland of 2″ pennies.  It is done in the style of the penny rug.

The penny rug was made from your wool felt scraps by tracing coins of the day, typically a penny, and making stacks of different color and size pennies and attaching these to a rectangle of felt.

In the 1700s and 1800s a penny rug was not used on the floor but was used on your table to protect the hot wax from a candle from damaging the shellac finish on the table.

It’s double sided with various sized pennies on both sides of the stacks.

Everything you need to start is right in the package including precision cut wool felt, floss, a sewing needle and instructions.  You can even download our instructions before you buy the kit to check it out.

Rating: Apprentice – 2 Hours

This product is Made in the USA in our Shop in Colfax, California.

Instructions:

1. Assemble 96 stacks of pennies with a ¾”, 1¼”, and 1½” penny. You can use the color arrangement shown on the box cover (start with the stack in the center of the spiral in the picture) or create your own color combination.
2. Blanket stitch the medium penny to the large, then stitch the small to the medium. Repeat this for all 96 stacks.
3. Place one stack back to back with another stack of the same color sequence and blanket stitch the outer edge of the large pennies together. Repeat to make a total of 48 double sided stacks.
4. To make the garland, you simply put a tack stitch to connect one stack to the next. Do not tie off. Run the floss between the layers of the prior penny stack to the next stack to be strung and put a tack stitch connecting the new stack to the prior. Repeat until all 48 stacks are strung.

Our wool felt is Made in the USA from wool grown in the USA.  It is a blend of 35% wool and 65% rayon.

Why A Blend? 

• Our goal was to have a blend that is close to the wool/cotton blend which has been in use for hundreds of years through out the world.
• The wool/cotton blend was favored over 100% wool or 100% cotton as the combination provided much better service
  • The wool provided strength and warmth while the cotton added breathability and softness to touch.
  • It was an ideal combination for all kinds of weather and purposes.
• Rayon and cotton are almost identical with cotton being a little bit softer and rayon being more silky or shinny on the surface.

How are Rayon and Cotton Different?

• Rayon is made from cellulose, a carbohydrate plant substance, derived from wood and wood pulp which is then made into fibers.
• Cotton is made of cellulose fibers from the cotton plant.