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Balanced Rug (vintage Kentucky Rug Yarns): vintage crochet pattern
A white rug worked in single crochet from a colour chart, with small blocks of red, blue, green and yellow placed symmetrically, then edged with one round of each colour. Originally published as "Balanced Rug" in Kentucky Rug Yarns Vol. 5: Rugs by January & Wood Company, Maysville, Kentucky, it is now in the public domain.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky (#6) |
| Yardage | 1134–1260 yd (1037–1152 m) |
| Hook | 6 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. Suggested from the printed width: about 7 sc = 4 in (10 cm), which puts 40 sc across 22 in. The row gauge is not printed and the row count is not stated, so work to the length you want. |
| Finished size | Approximately 22 × 35 in (56 × 89 cm) |
| Time | about 2 hours |
Materials
- Bulky (#5) rug yarn, worked with two strands held together throughout. Two strands of bulky rug yarn behave like a super bulky (#6) yarn.
- Yardage: the book's Kentucky Soft Spun Rug Yarn came in 70 yd skeins (printed in the original); 18 skeins = about 1260 yd (1152 m). Because the yarn is used double, the strand length used is half of this. Check the label of your substitute yarn.
- Colours: 10 skeins white (main), 2 skeins each of red, royal blue, green and yellow.
- Original hook: size J.
- Hook: Start with 6 mm (US J-10) and change size to match the gauge.
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 1260 yards of weight #6 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Caron Simply Soft · 100% Acrylic
315 yds per skein · High-yield yardage, silky no-scratch texture
4 skeins required
approx. $$21.96 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- single crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
Notes before you start
- Source: "Balanced Rug", Kentucky Rug Yarns Vol. 5: Rugs, January & Wood Company, Maysville, Kentucky. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: 10 skeins white rug yarn;; 2 skeins red rug yarn;; 2 skeins royal blue rug yarn;; 2 skeins col. green rug yarn;; 2 skeins lemon yellow rug yarn;; size J crochet hook.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: The original is written in US terms; abbreviations were updated to modern style (s c → sc, d c → dc, s d c → hdc).
- Modernisation note: The original prints the first row as "Ch. 41—sc. in 2nd ch. from hook and in each st. across"; "st" there means a chain, so it is written as "sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across".
- Modernisation note: The stitch count (40 sc) is our arithmetic from the printed ch 41, not printed in the original.
- Modernisation note: The original writes out rows 1 and 2 stitch by stitch as a worked example and then tells you to follow the chart. Those two rows are not repeated here because they only make sense against the chart, which is printed as a picture in the book; the carrying method they demonstrate is given as a step instead.
- Modernisation note: The colour chart itself is a printed grid in the original book and is not reproduced here. Check the chart in the source book for the placement of the coloured blocks.
- Modernisation note: "Cut yarn" and "break off" are written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join".
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions and the suggested stitch gauge were added; they are not in the original.
- Modernisation note: Hook letters from this period were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.
Row progress: 0 of 5 done (0%)
Rug
0 of 5 done- Foundation: With colour 1 (white) and two strands held together, ch 41, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn. (40 sc)Mark row complete
- Follow the chart from here: each square on the chart is 1 sc, and the chart colours are 1 white, 2 red, 3 blue, 4 green, 5 yellow.Mark row complete
- Carry a colour that is needed again soon along the top of the row and work the next stitches over it, so it is in place when you come back across.Mark row complete
- When a colour is not needed for several rows (the original notes that colour 2 is not used again between rows 4 and 17), fasten it off and join it again where the chart needs it, rather than carrying it that far.Mark row complete
- Continue in sc, one row per chart row, ch 1 to turn each row, until the chart is complete.Mark row complete
Working on:
Foundation: With colour 1 (white) and two strands held together, ch 41, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn. (40 sc)
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Balanced Rug (vintage Kentucky Rug Yarns) pattern is in the Retro Crochet Rugs
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Border
- Finishing
Included with 25 patterns for $12 — $0.48 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Balanced Rug pattern from?
It was published as "Balanced Rug" in Kentucky Rug Yarns Vol. 5: Rugs by January & Wood Company, Maysville, Kentucky. The publication is in the public domain in the United States; this version is transcribed and modernised by crochetpatterns.io.
What yarn or thread do I need for the Balanced Rug?
super bulky (#6) yarn. Original: 18 skeins of 70 yd (printed) = about 1,260 yd (1,152 m), used double.
What hook should I use?
Start with 6 mm (US J-10) and change size to match the gauge. Gauge: Not printed. Suggested from the printed width: about 7 sc = 4 in (10 cm), which puts 40 sc across 22 in. The row gauge is not printed and the row count is not stated, so work to the length you want.
