Holey Broadloom

     Sacrebleu, the dog chewed a hole in the rug.  This is the second hole.  The first time I thought she was licking the coffee table leg.  On closer inspection, I realized she was pulling out the pile around the leg.  I moved the table over a smidge and covered the damage.  The other day, I heard a snapping sound.  The little mutt lifted the edge of the area rug, and it snapped back against the floor each time she pulled out some yarn.
     I had been thinking about how to fix rugs since the first episode.  I couldn't hide the damage this time, so I had to come up with a solution or buy a new rug.

There's a lot going on in this rug - so many colors.  If you look hard, you'll see the little
perpetrator on the left side of the sofa

     It struck me that embroidery floss comes in every color under the sun.  Embroidery floss is cotton, and my rug is wool.  Embroidery floss also has a sheen.  Still, it might work.  I took the fibers I had pried from the dog's jaws, and I went to Joann.  I found a color that was pretty close to Chewed Area #2.  Chewed Area #1 was black.  I decided the first repair would be Chewed Area #1, the spot under the coffee table leg.  If I made a mess, I could slide the table back over it.  Things turned out okay, so I had the courage to tackle the dog's second transgression.

I threaded a carpet needle with all six strands of embroidery floss.  I poked the needle down through the rug and brought it back to the front side a short distance from the first hole.  I cut the floss and knotted it.  I did this lots of times until the bald spot was filled with long fringe.

Getting there.

Done.  Time to trim.  I used a comb to blend the fibers as I trimmed.

Not a perfect match, but good enough.  If you're not looking for it, you won't notice the repair.

Here's how Chewed Area #1 turned out:

Not so big as Chewed Area #2

Now I can move the table!