Toothbrush Rag Rug Progress Days 1, 2, & 3

Day 1

Day 2 & 3

It's already big enough for Melody to sit on, but I want it big enough so she can play on it. Each day, she checks on my progress and exclaims in delight to see a new fabric/color added. Then she likes to tell me that I am taking "forever". The kid needs to learn some patience. Lol.

It's been a lot of fun picking out fabrics from my collection. What a great way to use up the fabrics that I will never get around to sewing with. I love how simple the technique is and that there is no pattern to memorize or look at.

For those of you that want to give this a try, these videos via Etsy are a good starting point. But she doesn't talk about increasing which is important if you want your rug to lay flat. Day to Day Adventures has a 4 part tutorial on how to make a oval rug and where to increase. After you do this for a while, you will get a feel for when you need to make increases. It's best to do this on a flat surface so you can check to make sure your rug is flat.

There are so many ways to make a rag rug. The more I search, the more techniques I find. If you know how to crochet, Sugar Bee Crafts and Vintage Chica have crochet tutorials. Crazy Mom Quilts knitted a rag rug with the selvedges that she has collected from her sewing projects. If I have more time some day, I want to make a braided rag rug. Homestead Weaver and Little House in the Suburbs have tutorials on a no sew braided rag rug. Moda Bake Shop has a tutorial on a hand sewn braided rag rug. If hand sewing is not your thing, Crafty Captain has a faster technique by using the zig zag stitch on a sewing machine to join the braids.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Trying Something New

There are some days that I am itching to try something new. Often it's triggered by seeing something on the internet that peaks my interest. Then I scour the internet and fall down the rabbit hole into information and inspiration overload. Other times I call it Crafter's ADD. Wave something new or shiny at me and I am immediately distracted. Most of the time I curb the desire to start something new by allowing myself to browse the internet to my heart's content. After that, I remind myself I still have 10,000 work in progresses that I have neglected. Then there are times that I give in because the desire stays with me for days and weeks. Hey, we all have our weak moments. I am only human.

 This week, I decided to indulge in a few small projects. I saw some pretty woven squares and rectangles on a Pinterest board that uses small hand looms like the Weave-its or Weavette. (No, I do not have a account. I already get distracted enough. I don't need more temptation.) I noticed it was not woven the same way as I usually use those looms. It was warped like a regular loom with warp threads running just up and down. Of course, I immediately wanted to experiment and give it a try. That little square above was my first go at it. Not bad, but I need to experiment further. I was satisfied that I gave it a try so now I can move on.

I am not sure how I found out about Rag Rugs. I saw a colorful rug online and boom, I fell down the rabbit hole head first. I spent a few days researching techniques and different styles of rag rug making. The technique that I came to focus on is called Toothbrush Rag Rug or also called Nålebinding. Basically, if you can make knots, you can make this rag rug. I happily dug through my collection of fabrics and ripped up strips of fabric. Since I didn't have a toothbrush handle that I could cut up, I took a large paperclip and altered it with pliers and electrical tape. It works great as a "needle". With any craft, there are many ways to go about doing something and it takes a lot of trial and error to find a technique that produces the results I want. I made mistakes along the way, but I think I have the look I want and the rug is growing and growing. Okay, enough writing. I need to get back to my new obsession rug making.

Have a great weekend! And go out and try something new. :-)