ratsmomxtwo

( tree skirt )

gannet

Hurray! The rug looms my great grandmother had her local blacksmith make came by UPS yesterday!

gannet

I think I forgot to mention that I tried making a toothbrush rug a few weeks back, following these instructions. I was using old t-shirts, and was disappointed because the rug kept twisting. I found the yahoo nalbinding group (toothbrush rugs are a subset of nalbinding), and asked what I was doing wrong, to which the answer was, "using knit fabric".

So don't try making a toothbrush rug from old t-shirts. I'll be trying it at some point soon with woven fabric, and I'll post about it then. I'll also post a little movie on how to do it, because all the instructions I've found take some deciphering! Various things I've read suggest that it's easier face-to-face, and I think that a little video might be the closest to that.

In other exciting news, I'm expecting to get my grandmother's knotted shag rug loom later this week! I'll post a photo when it arrives, and will try writing up some instructions. My plan for this coming year's Christmas presents is to make everyone trivets out of recycled wool fabric, using a different rug-making technique for each one.

gannet

My grandmother is cleaning out her house, and sent me a great book on rag rugs which has a number of techniques that I haven't seen described in other books:

Handmade Rugs from Practically Anything
by Jean Ray Laury and Joyce Aiken. Countryside Press: Philadelphia, 1972. No ISBN listed, but it's LC 70-185588 (that's the Library of Congress number).

It's got instructions for how to make the rug loom that you use to make knotted shag rugs like the one my grandmother sent me, and instructions for circular woven rugs that are unlike anything I've ever seen, and blanket stitch rugs. I'm itching to try all of these things, and if I do, I'll post pictures and instructions. The latter two types of rugs look like a great way to use up old t-shirts or pantyhose/tights.

From poking around on Froogle, it looks as though you can get used copies for between 8 and 15 dollars. And I'm sure it's possible to get it through interlibrary loan, if you don't want to buy it.

ETA: Types of rugs for which this book gives instructions: machine applique, hand applique, button, cut-through, macrame and rope, jute and burlap, latched, hooked, fur and yarn (no thank you), strip. rag, hoop, rya, precut yarn and felt, carpet scrap, crochet and knit, box and frame, and blanket stitch.

gannet

Sorry it's been so long; I've been caught up in moving house. I hope to start posting more regularly soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share photos of a handmade Knotted Shag rug my grandmother just finished and sent to me:

It's a very simple process. You take two long cords and knot short strips of fabric onto them, using a knot like this:

The grey represents the two cords, and the thick black line is the strip of fabric. It's a great way to use up old clothes or fabric scraps--the pieces used for the knots are 3-4" long, and 1/2" to 1" wide. This particular rug has sentimental value for both me and my grandmother--it's almost entirely made of old sweaters my grandfather wore when he was alive. It's a very cushy rug, as the sweaters are predominantly cashmere, with a few merino and lambswool ones for good measure. I don't know if the pink one was his or not.

Anyway, as the strip of knots get longer, you start to coil it round and round like a braided rug, and sew the strips together with heavy duty thread.

My grandmother used a contraption she calls a rug loom (it isn't a loom for weaving) to make the process easier, but I doubt it's required. Her rug loom also has sentimental value, as apparently it was made by a blacksmith to my great-grandmother's design.

Here's a link to a page that has a little more detail about them; it's the Rugmaker's Homestead again, of course:

http://www.netw.com/~rafter4/knotted.htm

gannet

Have too many plastic bags? Shopping bags, bread bags, bags from buying fresh vegetables, bags used to keep newspapers dry, etc, etc.

It turns out that you can use them to make all kinds of rugs, some of which you can even throw in the washing machine.

A couple of books that I've seen on hooking rugs mention using plastic bag strips (these would not be machine washable).

You can also knit or crochet with them, and I've got some links to articles and photographs of things made out of plastic bag strips. Not all of them are rugs, and some of the things are downright scary by my standards, but they do give a good idea of technique possibilities.

bureinato mentioned having seen a braided rug made out of Wonder Bread bags and also passed on a link to some instructions for crocheting with plastic bags.

A while ago, I saw a thread on knitting rugs with plastic bags over at knittersreview.com.

That provided a link to some excellent instructions for how to cut one continuous strip from a plastic bag.

Somewhere in looking at these sites I found a link toanother method for making plastic bag "yarn". This page also has some links to patterns for crocheted rugs.

The knitted and crocheted rugs are machine washable, and apparently just keep getting softer. Don't put them in the dryer, and don't use bleach.

Have fun! If you make something, show us a picture. If you don't have web space, let me know and we'll arrange something.

gannet

It turns out I've been making the loops in my hooked rug too close together, which is making the rug curl at the edges. Not a lot, but it's definitely there, and it won't come out. I think only the middle portion is ok, which annoys me. I'm really not sure whether I want to pull out all those loops and do those sections over again. On the other hand, I don't want a curly rug.

*grumble*

I think I'll take a break from it for a few days, rip out the offending bits, and do them over. In the meantime, maybe I'll make a sampler of some other rug techniques.

gannet

I just thought I'd share a little bit of what I've learned about cutting up fabric for making rugs. This is going in the memories, so let me know if you have any additions or changes.

gannet

These are some sites on the web that may come in handy. Let me know of any that I should add.

gannet

Since unpaid users can't search for communities, here's a list that seem as if they might be of interest to rug makers. Let me know if there's others that make sense to you:

Craft communities

• craft_recipes craft recipes
• craftgrrl craftgrrl
• craftsupplyswap craft supply swap!
• crafty_bitches crafty_bitches
• craftypros Advanced Crafters

Show & Tell

• musejuice 100% Inspiration

Dying your fabric

• fiber_dyeing community for people interested in dyeing things

Fabric & Craft swap

• scrapheap The Scrap Heap
• sew_much_fabric sew much fabric!

Do It Yourself (DIY) & Making Do:

• diyculture Your Own Corporation
• frugalhearth The Frugal Hearth

gannet

The next couple of posts I'm going to make are going straight into the memories for this community. The first post will be a directory of other communities which may be useful to rug makers. The second will be a list of useful web links. If you have any suggestions, please let me know at any time and I'll add them.

gannet

I found a rag rug book at the library today:

Rag Rugs: Contemporary Projects in a Traditional Craft, by Juju Vail. Firefly Books, 1999. ISBN 1552093824.

It's got basic explanations of hooked, prodded, braided, and appliqued rugs. One of the things that caught my eye about it is that it's a lot more open to non-woolen materials than some of the other books I've seen. Now, I like wool rugs, but I'm not even a vegetarian. I'm well aware that vegans would probably not want to make a rug out of either wool or silk, so this book seems like it would be less obnoxious to them (in that it doesn't assume use of wool).

Vail's book describes using strips of plastic grocery bag, velveteen, denim.... Anything at all fabric-y. I'm actually tempted to make a doormat out of strips of plastic bag. It'd be a thrifty way of getting rid of all those plastic bags I've been reluctant to throw out.

I hope y'all don't mind the new color scheme and icon. I like brown, and the icon's a stopgap until I can take a photo of a finished rug or something else appropriate.