Needlessly long lengths of wool should be avoided, about 2 feet being ample. People have been known to use yards of wool in order to avoid having to make a join; this is unwise.

When two or three lengths of wool are being used together in the needle these must lie neatly side by side along the edge, and a frequent turn of the needle will keep the wool from twisting and ensure the desired flat appearance of the plait. Attention to this small detail will make all the difference to the look of the finished edge.

The needle eye should ideally be moved along the wool every few stitches in order to avoid "roughing it up", so it is better to use two lengths rather than one long length doubled. Since, however, this procedure entails pulling four thicknesses of wool through the holes, the latter method is the lesser of two evils if the wool is rather thick. The same thing applies to the way in which the wool should be threaded through the needle when it comes to working the main rug stitches.