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Rug Braiders International
formerly known as the Valley Forge Rug Braiding Guild
Online Classes
Classes from "beginner" to "advanced" are available for rug braiders via Zoom.
Scroll down to see all the class options!
Classes are $5 off for members (see coupon under "Members Only" tab's info).
Classes range from one-time events... to weekly sessions with Homework!
Payment options: Paypal, Credit Card, or Check/Money Order (US only).
Beginner Classes
Intermediate Classes
Hit or Miss 5-Strand Oval Rug
4 Fridays over Zoom @ 1 pm EST
May 9, May 23, May 30, & June 6, 2025
Confident Beginner to Intermediate
Instructor: Christine Manges
Description: This class will teach you how to braid and lace five strands into an oval, and play with colors in a hit or miss pattern! There are some significant differences in lacing a 5-strand oval from lacing a 3-strand: the "double corners" are different, the skip-counts on curves are different, the taper is different. An optional 5-strand butted row will be taught in the last class.
Cost: $80 for 4 sessions (recorded for later viewing).
Supplies needed: 4.5 yards of mixed fabrics for a 2' X 3' rug. Bright colors! Make sure you have a mix of light, medium, and dark. When working with 5 strands, you CANNOT FINGER-FOLD. Your options are: 5 Braid-aids, pre-pressing, or pre-sewing strands to get ready for braiding. (Instructor uses braid-aids; purchase two sets of 3 braid-aids from Halcyon Yarn or Country Braid House for this method; other methods welcome in class).
Prerequisites: Must have made one chair pad or oval rug prior to this class.
Folds: Teacher uses Left Opening Folds. Right Opening braiders are welcome, but all lacing diagrams will be from the FRONT of the piece.
Instructor experience: Christine has taught many classes on rug braiding online and in person. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and too many pets.
6-Braid Spiral Chair Pad
3 Fridays over Zoom @ 1 pm EST
June 13, June 20, & June 27, 2025
Confident Beginner to Intermediate
Instructor: Christine Manges (chair pad above left made by Anna Wilks)
Description: Working with SIX braids at once, learn how to arrange and lace the braids together to create this beautiful swirl! Follow the red/white/blue pattern with intervening black braids, or choose your own rainbow of six colors. Finish the braids with blunt endings, OR continue the braids into a larger project, as shown in photo above right.
Cost: $60 for 3 sessions (recorded for later viewing).
Supplies needed: 1/4 yard of 6 fabrics for chair pad. If you plan to use black as one strand within the colored braids, as shown above left, then you will need more black.
Prerequisites: Must have made one chair pad or oval rug prior to this class.
Folds: Teacher uses Left Opening Folds. Right Opening braiders are welcome, but all lacing diagrams will be from the FRONT of the piece.
Instructor experience: Christine has taught many classes on rug braiding online and in person. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and too many pets.
Linking Circles: Tetracuspid, Triangle
4 Fridays over Zoom @ 3 pm EST
May 9, May 16, May 30, June 13, 2025
Intermediate
Instructor: Christine Manges
Description: Inspired by the rugs created for the Rugs=Food=Love Project, learn to braid the linking elements (tetracuspid, and triangle) that enable lacing multiple circles together. Triangles are used to lace three circles together; Tetracuspids are used to lace four circles together. Braid at least five 9-inch circles if you wish to practice lacing circles together, or just learn to braid the linking shapes for future rugs.
We'll also cover how to braid the fancy elements at the edges of the green rug, above, and review multiple options for arrangements of circles into rugs (for those who like math, we'll touch on "circle packing").
Cost: $80 for 4 sessions (recorded for later viewing).
Supplies needed: Small amounts of wool are needed for triangles; tetracuspids are made of two rows and require about 1/4 yard of wool. 9" circles, if you choose to make them, are about 3/4 yard of mixed fabrics.
Border for the green rug above requires 3 yards of mixed greens.
Prerequisites: Some experience with the Triangle Butt will be helpful to you, but it will also be taught in class.
Folds: Teacher uses Left Opening Folds. Right Opening braiders are welcome, but all lacing diagrams will be from the FRONT of the piece.
Instructor experience: Christine has taught many classes on rug braiding online and in person. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and too many pets.
Advanced
ZigZag Chair Pad
Fridays over Zoom @ 1 pm EST
April 18, May 2, May 16, 2025
Intermediate
Instructor: Christine Manges
Description: This 3-session course will teach you to braid a dramatic chair pad with rows upon rows of zigzag patterns. Created using a combination of careful lacing and double corners treated as straight braids, this chair pad starts with the double-star center found in the Killer II Chair Pad, and continues the zigzags. Look carefully at the rows of red and yellow ZigZags, and you'll see that they never stray from the zigzag pattern. We'll cover how to use double corners to prevent the wrong colors from touching. The Triangle Butt will be reviewed in detail, as this is the best butting method for small spaces between corners.
Cost: $60 for 3 sessions (recorded for later viewing).
Supplies needed: Choose two colors of fabric that contrast strongly with each other in value, one dark and one light. The dark can be one fabric or many, but all should be the same value. The light can be one fabric or many, but all should be the same value. The fabric weights must be the same!!! 1 yard of lights; 1 yard of darks.
Prerequisites: Some experience with the Triangle Butt will be helpful to you, but it will also be taught in class.
Folds: Teacher uses Left Opening Folds. Right Opening braiders are welcome, but all lacing diagrams will be from the FRONT of the piece.
Instructor experience: Christine has taught many classes on rug braiding online and in person. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and too many pets.
Teacher Classes
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