Friday, August 26, 2011

Turning a Rag into a Rag Rug

 
Back in July, in the midst of my unplanned summer vacation, I discovered the rag rug.  To me, this rug seemed to be the perfect upcycling project - one that has been around since the 1800s.  As with most things these days, I immediately turned to pinterest to get my visual fill of these beautiful and simple rugs.

diy rag rug tutorial

Knowing that I would need a lot of fabric (and that a lot of fabric can quickly become costly), I headed to Goodwill in search of sheets. Let me just tell you that Goodwill sheets have now become my go to for all things that require fabric. I bought one king size flat sheet, one queen size fitted sheet, and two queen size flat sheets for a total of $8.  That's a heck of a lot of fabric, let me tell you!

sheets upcycle rug diy

With three of my four sheets being white, I decided to dye two of them with RIT dye. That was quite an afternoon adventure...feel free to read all about it here.

rag rug tutorial diy

Armed with my beautifully dyed sheets (unfortunately the aquamarine color turned out more of a baby blue), I began the boring task of cutting them into long strips. 

rag rug tutorial sheets diy

If you look at the lower right-hand corner of the sheet below, you'll notice the notches I cut. Each strip was about an inch wide - I learned the wider strips provide hefty rows on your rug but are difficult to crochet while the skinnier strips result in puny rows but easier crocheting. Inch wide strips seemed to be a nice compromise.

diy rag rug tutorial

Another tip is to roll your strips into a big ball. It helps to keep everything organized, unknotted, and tidy.  To begin crocheting the rug I followed this video from Sugar Bee Crafts. It's super duper easy - basically you are making a chain of the most basic crochet stitch. I assure you you can do it even if you have no crocheting background.




 Here is my chain of single stitches.  If you want a circular rug, follow the directions in the video regarding twisting it on top of itself. I decided to make an oval rug so I made a longer chain of stitches and then doubled back.

diy rag rug tutorial

The next 500 steps are all the same - check out Sugar Bee Crafts' other video to see what that stitch looks like:



 After several rows of crocheting, here is what the rug looked like. I was very disappointed once I took a step back - it was looking more like a nursery rug rather than a bold rug intended for my kitchen. I blame the aquamarine dye that turned baby blue.

tutorial rag rug upcycle diy

It definitely needed a bolder color to offset the pastel color theme so I found a red and blue striped sheet to try to incorporate.

rag rug using sheets

Interestingly, I needed only three rows of this bolder sheet to offset the pale rug and bring some life into it.  It took me three days of crocheting to complete the project and I must tell you that a marathon of Gilmore Girls definitely helps while you sit crocheting circle after circle, row after row.  I myself chose season two as the background for my rag rug.

goodwill sheets into diy rag rug

That is how you turn rags into a rag rug.  It was much easier than I expected and I think I may be making another one come winter when I'm holed up in the apartment with nothing to do but watch another Gilmore Girl marathon.

diy rag rug tutorial

43 comments:

Unknown said...

It turned out so awesome! I might have to get on the ball and make myself one (or a few).

Jacqueline said...

Your rag rug looks great!

Dawn said...

Wow! I really like it. What size did it end up being, and do you think it can be washed or is it to bulky? I think I need me one:)

jacky @ small garden love said...

What a great idea! It came out very nice.

sstone said...

I never thought of crocheting one. I love it! I might try it! I'm a new follower from the Friday Hop:)

Lindsay said...

This is amazing! I can't believe you made this! Love it all, really! I would love to have you share this at Show & Share--http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/2011/08/show-share-2.html

Jill said...

I've wanted to make a rag rug--I love the idea of buying and dying Goodwill sheets.
It's amazing how much of a difference adding a few rows of the striped fabric changed the look of the rug.
Thanks for the tutorial!
--Jill
http://jillmadeit.blogspot.com

The mum of all trades said...

That looks fantastic, it turned out so well. I love your blog by the way, just discovered it!

S said...

That turned out great! I love how the red shakes it up a bit. I've been putting old T-shirts aside (grey, white, peach) to make a rug for our bathroom this winter when we're in hibernation mode. Nothing like crocheting in front of a warm fire!

gena said...

LOVE this ! I'm definitely going to try it for my sitting room - I'm a hooker from way back, but just with yarn, it should be fun to try with fabric strips !

gena

Mandy said...

looks fabulous...xxx

Rebbie said...

I love how it turned out. Paris and her life coach would be so proud.

Delaney said...

I love this!

Lindsay said...

Just wanted to let you know that I featured this today! Congrats! Grab a button if you'd like!

http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/2011/08/show-share-2-features.html

April said...

Omg! I have been looking for a tutorial on this! Thank you! Can't wait till I get to try it!

jess@balancing the dream said...

wow! This is absolutely amazing!! It must have taken a lot of patience!! great job! and thanks for stopping by my blog!!

Hope Sewell said...

This is amazing!! Found you on Singing Three Little Birds!
www.hopesewell.com

Becky @ Becky's Place said...

I, too, was looking for a tutorial on rag rugs. I received one as a Christmas gift some years ago from my brother-in-law's girlfriend (at the time)and still have it today at the foot of our bed. Don't know if it was addressed already, but someone asked about putting it in the washer - yes, you can and it'll be perfectly fine.

Lynne said...

Beautiful! I imagine it must have been hard on the wrist to crochet. Love it!

Lindsay @ Delighted Momma said...

You are brilliant!! I love this!

Missy Shay said...

This is great, I've been wanting to make one for my kitchen, I had no idea you crochet them!

Havalah Turner | Sisters, What! said...

love this. need to try this soon

memakingdo said...

I love your rug. I have had this on my list to do for a while. I really need to make one. I featured yours today. http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/2011/08/rags-to-rug.html

Chef in Training said...

love this rug! It turned out great!

I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training! Plus there is a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
-Nikki
http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com

Sara said...

I AM going to make one of these one day! I love it!

Mandy Beyeler said...

thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday - you were featured today! - - AGAIN!! yep, you're on twice :)
-Mandy, www.SugarBeeCrafts.com

Tanya Anurag said...

Looks great!

We have a link-up party going on - Tea Time Thursdays @ Kreative Korner. I would really appreciate if you'd link up some of your awesome posts there. Hope to see you at the party.

http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/2011/08/tea-time-thursdays-4.html

Laura Beth said...

Your rag rug is INCREDIBLE!!! I can tell it was a labor of love...job well done!! I'm featuring your creation at Blogland's Fabulous Friday Finds!!

www.astepinthejourney.blogspot.com

Delaney said...

You've been featured on Fabulousity Friday at Sweet Tea Serendipity. Come check out the post & pick up your award: http://sweetteaserendipity.blogspot.com/2011/09/fabulousity-friday-11.html

NTscrap. said...

Thanks for inspiration!!! Thanks for detailed pictures. I badly know English :)

Anonymous said...

Dude, you are my kinda girl. Too bad you don't spell you name with two i's like I do! Found one project I really wanted to do on your site - the paper crane mobile, and I look over on the right sidebar and there are three others I've been searching for! Yay!
You've been added to my favorite budget DIY decor blogs!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kristen, love your rug, you inspired me to make one. I am having trouble though, I can't seem to keep the rug flat & am having trouble making a circle. I've looked @ the vidio you posted several times & am getting nowhere. Any suggestions?! Thanks~~~Kim

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