It's thrifty, resourceful, clever, artistic,
and useful.
It's all the best reasons to save our
too-long favored cottons,
our no longer elegant rayons,
and our sadly worn linens.
This is thrift at it's core.
Lenore MacLeod Bickley, on her blog,
Crafting a Green World suggests cutting strips
about 1 1/2 inches wide to crochet.
She recommends cutting in a zigzag all the way
through your piece, stopping about an
inch from the ends to keep a continuous strip.
 |
| (Sew together any ends at a diagonal.) |
Roll your fabric strips into nice, tidy balls.
This appears to be made of sweaters.
Such lovely colors!
Imagine this under your feet in January.
Some people prefer to braid with aids.
You may wish to try them as they prefold your fabric
for you.
I find all the extra metal too cumbersome.
You might prefer to crochet your fabric
instead of braiding it.
The photos above show both cotton and
t-shirt jersey fabric.
Here is a photo of braided polyester,
a resilient and durable fabric.
I purchased this blue braided chair pad when I was
a teenager. Even then I found it on clearance
and "had to have it!"
An early sign of style & frugality,
or the red flag of a spender?
Perhaps both.
But I still have it, enjoy it,
and even fashioned our bathroom by it!
(In this photo, my husband has just finished
our newly tiled floor. Yay, Tony!)
Above is a no sew rag rug that I found on
"Little House in the Suburbs" blog.
"Little House in the Suburbs" blog.
She teaches her grandmother's method
of braiding the whole thing together,
each row into the previous braided rows.
Fantastic tutorial, and so
Clever!
Below are directions for tying
your own shag, or knotted rug.
This one shows how to tie onto a strong laundry
clothesline.
You can purchase them at your local hardware store.
What would one of my posts be without a little lesson?
Well, interesting, maybe.
But this may be informative, all the same.
I feel like I'm ready to make a rag rug.
Or, at least to start collecting for one,
or three!
Here's to seeing your old rags in a
new light.
Cheers!
My Great Grandma used to make rag rugs from everything like old clothes to plastic bread bags. I like the fabric ones, and have planned on making one sometime....just haven't quite found that time yet. It's on the list.... :~)
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of my Great Aunt Edna braiding a rug of old pantyhose about thirty years ago. At the time it struck me as somehow distasteful, now I find that I admire her ingenuity.
ReplyDeleteI posted about plarn (plastic yarn) a couple months ago. That was a fun article!