Cotton Rugs

How do you like your cotton rugs? As cotton scatter rugs? Maybe you prefer a chenille cotton rug or cotton hooked rug. Cotton rag rugs, cotton hooked rugs and cotton shag rugs have been popular too. Whatever your preference, there’s a cotton rug for your style and budget.

The conflicting reports on the history of cotton give us many ideas as to how and when it was first used. Researchers have discovered that cotton was being used in Mexico as far back as seven thousand years. In the Indus River valley in Pakistan, cotton was being made into cloth in 3000 BC. At the same time, Egyptians were also utilizing cotton.

Around 800 AD, Arab merchants introduced cotton cloth to the European culture. In 1492, Columbus found that cotton was growing in the Bahamas. Cotton was planted in Florida around 1556 and about thirty years later in Virginia.
In 1730, Europe began to spin cotton with the aid of machines. This industrial revolution paired with the invention of the cotton gin created the cotton industry. Eli Whitney of Massachusetts is usually credited with the cotton gin in 1793 (though there is a dispute of this now). The gin made it easier to cottonup to ten times faster than by hand, turning the production of cotton material into an industry.
Why we like cotton:

  • it’s inexpensive
  • it’s versatile
  • it helps to construct the framework of rugs

The downside of cotton:

  • it wears down over time
  • it isn’t very strong
  • often heavily fertilized and sprayed with pesticides, though that’s not necessary

Cotton rugs are a commonplace item in most homes. They’re blended with synthetic materials to create high traffic, stain-resistant floor coverings. Cotton is most often used in other rugs as well as the support mechanism for the weave. It is woven in and out of itself and then other fabrics are thatched into the weave.
Since cotton is easy to produce, cotton scatter rugs, cotton hooked rugs, and cotton shag rugs are easy, inexpensive ways to spice up a decorating scheme. It can be made into cotton rag rugs and chenille cotton rugs as well for additional texture and softness.
Cotton is just very mutable for whatever purpose it needs to serve. You can have very soft rugs (chenille cotton rug) or make a thicker rug for the bathroom. Versatility is the main reason cotton has stayed so popular. It’s easily dyed into various colors or cut and sewn into complex patterns.
The problem with cotton is that if it’s not properly or carefully woven, it can break down. It’s easy to wash; so many owners will run the cotton rug through a regular laundry load. While this will help to clean the rug of stains, it also slowly loosened the tightness of the weave. The cotton begins to break down and holes and tears can occur more easily.
Cotton is susceptible to bleaching in the sun or with the addition of water and other chemicals.
But if you’re looking for a few extra touches for your bathroom or bedroom, cotton rugs can be a great, cheap way to liven things up. And while they may not last your lifetime, they will serve their decorating purposes well.
They’re very comfortable to have, so your kids will enjoy playing on them.

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