Rag Rug

http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/03/recycle-tutorial-woven-rag-rug.html

Recycle your old bed sheet into a lovely woven rag rug.

Thank you for all the great feedback for liking my Braided Rag Rug. I understand that not everyone has a sewing machine or/and able to sew, so I created this no-sew version for the non-sewer who like to recycle their bed sheets or de-stash their fabrics to make this feet cozy Woven Rag Rug. This tutorial doesn’t require any loom for weaving; just use a sturdy corrugated carton box from your recycle pile.

I hope everyone can do their part on greening the Earth again and reduce the rubbish that loaded the landfill. By the way, I gave the braided rag rug to my mum and she loves it so much, she is going to dig more old bed sheets out from her storage, which means I will have another bunch of supply to recycle. I need to scratch my head for more stuff to make from them.

All you need to make this Woven Rag Rug are:

Material

1. Old bed sheets (3 king size flat sheets, more if you have fitted sheet)

2. Sturdy corrugated cardboard of your preference size (mine is 28 x 20″)

3. Tapestry needle or masking tape

5. Scissor

You might want to refer to the braided rag rug for some basic preparations for stripping and how to join the strips.

Mark the short side of the cardboard 1/2″ apart and 2″ down. Leave the edge for 2″ wide so that the cardboard is not being weakened.
Cut it to create slots for gripping the fabric strips.

Cut or tear the old sheets into 1″ or 2″ wide strips. Arrange 12 or 6 strips into each slot, leaving 6″ extra for each end.
Alternate the colors between the slots to create some color patterns for the woven rag rug. You will be surprised how it turns out.
Reserve some strips for the weaving.

Take a strip and slot it into the eye of a tapestry needle and start weaving.
If you don’t have a tapestry needle, you can tape a masking tape the end of the weaving strip, this will make it easier to go through the warp strips.
Secure the tail end in the first slot.
Begin by passing through the weaving strip at the bottom of the first bunch, then on top for the second bunch, and bottom again for the 3rd bunch and so on….
Until you reach the last bunch, rotate the cardboard and continue weaving for the next row. If you ended the weaving strip at the bottom of the last bunch, then begin your second row at the top.

Since there are 12 strips in a slot, make sure you have all the strips weaved.
Pull the bunch vertically a little to straighten up the 12 strips as you go.
Repeat this until you complete the whole piece.

Weave the last row in opposite direction by creating a crisscross, pull the weaving strip and tie the warp strips in place.
Do the same on the other end of the rag. Join a new strip to sew and tie.

Hide the weaving strip in the warp strips by passing through the strip within the weaves.

Take the woven rag rug out from the cardboard by lifting all the strips from the slots.

Trim the end to the length of bout 4″ or to your preference.
~COMPLETE~

http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/03/recycle-tutorial-braided-rag-rug.html

Recycle Braided Rag Rug
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My mum threw me 2 bundles of old bed sheets she found during spring cleaning. She knows that I love to recycle and able to make something good out from them. In support of the Earth Hour campaign, I am going to spend the whole March making recycle handmade and will switch off my lights for 1 hour on March 27, 8:30pm. Hope you will do so too

The first idea that came across my mind was rag rug, yes, with all this rotten bed sheets I can make lots of rag rugs. I stumbled upon some rag rug tutorials before, and this one really caught my attention, Moda Bake Shop’s braided rag rug. I like their idea to braid the fabric strips and sew it into a rag rug. Since I did it a little different from them, here is my version, a versatile and strong rag rug that can be used for many years, just like my granny’s rag rug.

I love the touch of this braided rag rug….. it is rough!!! My mum loves to rub her feet against floor mat, so this should fits her right. I will send this back to my mum, she is going to love it!!!! I will make one for myself, I need one to comfort my feet too…. I inherited this habit from her… :mrgreen:

Let’s go and see how I make this 22″ x 16″ oval shape braided rag rug

Materials:

1.Old bed sheets (3 king size should be enough to make 3 rag rugs)
2. Scissors
3. Pencil and ruler
4. Safety pin and pin
5. Sewing machine and threads

Mark the edge of the old bed sheet, 1″ apart. Snip and tear to the end. Do it on warp or weft direction of the bed sheet not the bias.
My mum’s old bed sheets are quite tattered at the center part, so, I just utilized the area 1 to 1.5 feet from the edge. I saved up the center part to make the base for the rag rug.

A bunch of it waiting for tidying up. Don’t worry about the frays, they will be gone in the next step.

Remove all the loose threads along the strips, they normally are those vertical threads that came off when you tear the fabric.

Roll up the strips into ball, don’t join the ends, just roll it up and get ready for the next step. I made 3 from different bed sheets, so that I will get some pattern when I braid the strips.

Stack 3 strips and make a few stitches at the end.

Secure the end by pinning it down with safety pin to somewhere you feel comfortable to work at. I pinned it on my ironing board. Curtain should do well too.
Start braiding till you come to an end of the strip.
Arrange the strips to end at different length so they don’t join at the same point and make the braid bulky. Cut the length if necessary.
Loosen up the other ends when they get tangled up. This is the reason why I advise not to join the strips before braiding. Short length is easier to loosen up.

When come to the end of a strip and need an extension extension, fold the end of the strip at about 1 -1.5″ from the edge, make a small slit vertically. Do the same to the new strip.

Put the new strip on top of the existing and pass the tail end through the slit holes.

Gently pull the strip until is goes all the way to the other side. The end of the existing strip goes through it as well.
Tug it a little to tighten up the joint. Continue to braid.

Braid the strips till you have a substantial length for the rag rug, 10 yard or so. Just an estimation will do, if you don’t have enough, you can always braid again later.
Set aside.

Prepare the base.
Fold the center piece of the left over bed sheet after all the stripping, to a size of about 23″ x 17″. I place an old curtain at the bottom to further reinforce the rag rug, you can do without it if your bed sheet is not as tattered as mine.
Tack stitch to secure all layers.
Mark 1″ square on the base, to have 22 squares x 16 squares (with 1/2″ seam allowance for the sides). This is useful during sewing the braid strip to the base, so that you will know if your rag is going out of the shape.

Place the braid at the center 6 squares width wide, coil and go around the first strip. Hide the head end of the braid when your rounding strip reach there. Pin to secure.

Sew the side of the braid with zigzag stitch so that the braid join up side by side.

Continue to sew until you reach the last square.

Cut away the extra base.

Sew the braid under the base. Hide the end. Complete!

Besides the exquisite top, you will have a scenic base with all the zigzags go around in oval…. This make the rag rug reversible, one stone two brids!!!!