Yay! Ragrug's finally done!

[Cuddlefish]

It nearly broke my fingers, I have rough spots and hard skin on both hands, if there's such a thing as 'crocheter's lung', I'm certain I have it now, the dust it's produced in my livingroom is knee high, and it's taken up a couple of weeks that I would rather have spent doing interesting experiments and stuff for my self. But it's for a friend, so it's worth it. It feels really good to be done with it. :yay

I know it's just a ragrug, but it's the biggest one I've ever done, and with all the trouble it's been, I still want to show it off. ;)

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6218/rug39ix.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/3585/rug25lz.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2378/rug17du.jpg

[PaganBaby69]

Hi Cuddlefish, That is beautiful! How many pounds of material, what size hook and did you rip the fabic yourself or buy the pre-cut?


PaganBaby69

[Katchkan]

Hey you have every right to be proud of that.:yay :clap :yay They are hard work. I did a round one once that was 6 ft in diameter and that was one of the hardest jobs I ever did. :eek So Be very proud of your accomplishment. :hook

[faithpa76]

It looks great!! You should be proud of it! :yay

[Cuddlefish]

It was a 5.5 mm hook, and it weighs about 5 kilos.

You can buy pre-cut? :eek I don't think we have that, I don't know it, anyway. I cut and ripped it all myself, hence the dust and the crocheter's lungs. :)

[deneen]

Looks great!

[PaganBaby69]

Hi, I know in the US you can get fabric on rolls here:

http://www.millends.com/

Maybe there are similar businesses in your area.

PaganBaby69

[Cuddlefish]

Wow, that's such a cool idea. But I really don't think we have it, I've never come across it.

But I'm used to ripping fabric myself, and I also like to use old clothes that way. It's fun to know that in that rug, there's a Nepalese dress I bought at a festival, a t-shirt I never wore because it had a butt-ugly print, some of my grandmum's old curtains, some of my old favourite pants and so on. It makes the rug more personal, and it makes me feel all environmentally correct not throwing old clothes away. :)

[irikel]

I like it ...I like it! Looks great and you be proud of any project big or small, every project is worth it!:hook I know that feeling....if you check out my 63 square afghan you'll see what I mean. I am proud of it !:clap



http://360.yahoo.com/irikel2

[shelain22]

Ok, a few questions.....

1. How do you rip up old jeans to do something like this? Is there a specific way or do you just rip em?
2. Where can I get a pattern for round rag rugs? Or any for that matter?I have NO carpet in my house and we cant afford an area rug so maby this would work.
3.can you use different materials for the same rug? If I have a blue million kids clothes, (4 kids) that dont fit them anymore, can I use all of them togeather?
4. Do they have to be ripped the same width?

Thats all I think:think

[twoqtgirls]

Wow that is awesome! I need to make one!

[yarncat]

Neat rug!

[rebeccav]

very nice! love it :cheer :clap :cheer

[DesertCrocheter]

I have been dreaming about making a round rag rug, but I am no where near ready for that. Your's is just gorgeous!! You are justifiably proud of yourself (crocheter's lung notwithstanding). :cheer :cheer :cheer Patty

[Cuddlefish]

I like it ...I like it! Looks great and you be proud of any project big or small, every project is worth it!:hook I know that feeling....if you check out my 63 square afghan you'll see what I mean. I am proud of it !:clap

http://360.yahoo.com/irikel2

Yeah, that's a cute afghan. Very nice!

[Cuddlefish]

Ok, a few questions.....

1. How do you rip up old jeans to do something like this? Is there a specific way or do you just rip em?
2. Where can I get a pattern for round rag rugs? Or any for that matter?I have NO carpet in my house and we cant afford an area rug so maby this would work.
3.can you use different materials for the same rug? If I have a blue million kids clothes, (4 kids) that dont fit them anymore, can I use all of them togeather?
4. Do they have to be ripped the same width?

Thats all I think:think

Actually, the jeans and that kind of tough material I cut with scissors, there's no way it can be ripped. Cutting takes longer, but it makes it possible to use more different kinds of fabric.

If you want to make a round one, you can just use a pattern for a round potholder, or any round, flat item, and then just upgrade the hook according to the size of your fabricstrips. It takes a bit of experimenting, but it's not too tricky.

I always use different materials because I like the rugged look that produces, and it's never caused me any trouble afterwards. I think the trick is that most of the fabric has already been washed several times before, so it's all shrunk as much as it's going to. That would also be the case with your kids' clothes.

The width of each strip depends on the sort of fabric; if it has much elasticity it has to be a bit wide, is it thick it should be a slim strip, is it maybe getting fragile from wear and washing that should also be a wider strip, and so on. You just have to judge that as you go along. Most strips I make are between 1-2 cms, depending on the kind and quality of the fabric.

Have fun trying it out! :)

[dogymom]

Wow! Beautiful!

[Qmare]

:hook Nice job. I just finished a table runner and it took what seemed like forever so I can imagine that rug took quite a bit of time! And, I can totally relate to the crocheter's lung!!!:lol My eyes run, I sneeze, I choke and everything around is covered in dust! I cut my fabric strips but I still get a ton of dust!


Cheers! :clap

[Cuddlefish]

Thanks. :D

I had to remove dust almost every day (SO not in my habit ;) ), and everytime the dustcloth would have a big, lightblue pile-up of dust on it.

I think my boyfriend was as relieved to see it done as I was. :lol

[kusine]

Wow! What an incredible amount of work - but it looks like it was worth it.

[Cuddlefish]

It only took some three weeks, although it felt a lot longer. :lol

I made it for a friend of mine, who has a blue and green kitchen. She's very particular about the style in her home, so I was really pleased that she asked me to make her one. She's going to pay something to a fundraiser I'm helping with, in return. I love when things can work out like that. I'm really looking forward to giving it to her.

[jacqui]

That rug is wonderful. I made a round one and donated it to be used in the craft cottage at the local historical village where i volunteer. It looks really authentic. I enjoyed making it but they get very heavy and when you wash them you can barely lift them. So i found i had to use a childs plastic swimming pool in the backyard to wash it in and two people to lift it over the fence to dry!:eek How heavy is yours? The most work i found was cutting and ripping the material the crocheting didn't take long. Although i did'nt sew my strips together i cut a slit in each end and joined them that way as i was'nt worried about threads and rough edges showing on mine. I enjoyed doing it but won't make another unless i really want one. I had a lot of requests to make them for people who don't understand the work involved. So i told them if they cut all the strips and joined them i would crochet it. No prizes for guessing no one wanted one then. lol:lol Yours is lovely enjoy!:hug :hook :cheer

[Kimberly]

Oh wow! That is amazing! I had never thought of doing that! I have a TON of old clothes back in the US that would be perfect for this....they have been sitting in boxes for almost 3 years...don't think that I would miss them if I reclaimed them into a rug!

Congratulations on a wonderful looking rug!
:clap :hug :cheer

[Cuddlefish]

It's the perfect way to get rid of old stuff, especially the kind you're a little bit attached to, and don't want to throw away.

It already weighs about 5 kilos, so it'll be impossible to log around when it's wet. But I'm pretty sure it'll still fit in her washing machine, so it should be alright. Anyway, she's the one who wanted it to be almost three meters long, not me. :P

Thanks for the nice comments. :hug

[EZLIVIN]

Beeuutifulll!!!!!!

I can only imagine how much your hands must still be in the "crochet pose":hook
Did you sew each peice of material before you crocheted with it! :sew If you didn't how did you keep the frayed ends from sticking up when the rug is done?
I have always loved those rugs because it brings back memories of going to meme's.

[Cuddlefish]

I didn't sew anything, because I think it's part of the charm of rag rugs that they look rugged and have some ends and corners of fabric sticking out. Especially when they're made from so many different kinds of fabric. As long as they're attached properly and don't come lose, I don't mind if a bit of the ends are showing. :)

Incidentally, my friend who's getting the rug has a kitchen that has a kind of oldfashioned look. She likes to mismatch china and mix colourful sets up deliberately, old and new together, and just use whatever she thinks looks nice. She has some amazing antique pieces, lots of coloured glass items and such. I think she thinks that having a rag rug is just the perfect extension to that deliberately random looking style.

[Swayde]

That is so cool looking. I never knew those were made with crochet! I am so going to have to make one some day =)

[jacqui]

If you want to be fussy or are going to put it into a competition you can buy a little gismo that you run the strips through and iron. So the strips look a bit like bias binding then you sew the lengths and each strip so the edges are all neat and no threads show.To me thats a pain in the ... and defeats the purpose. They are supposed to look raggedy thats the charm of them in my opinion.

[elicrochet]

Don't quilters have a special tool they use to cut the fabric? So you would not have to rip it up and not as much dust.
The rug is beautiful you should be proud of your hard work !!:D

[jaclim]

I like it a lot! It looks so classy! I love the colors!

[Eugenie]

I have been thinking about trying one too but am worried about durability and the difficulty of keeping it clean. I have heard that my grandmother used to make these kind of rugs but she sewed the fabric strips into "tubes" before crocheting. No way do I have the patience for that :lol

She did it so that they would hold up better and be easier to wash.

[Cuddlefish]

I've never sewn mine. I had some I washed 20 times, and they were just fine. Eventually they faded so much though, that I ripped them and made them into new ones. The biggest one that came out of that I still have in the middle of my livingroom, and it's probably been washed at least 10-15 times already. It has a small tear, but it's easily fixable, it should be good for several years more. :)

[chickpea67]

This is fabulous looking!

Shelain--since kid clothes are tiny I'd think you could sew the ends of the strips together so that you're not constantly joining new pieces. I think a rug made from all your babies' clothing would be a treasured heirloom!


Do you really onlycut them 1-2 cms?? Thats so tiny!

[Cuddlefish]

It depends on the kind of fabric, of course. But the hook I use isn't all that big either, it's 5.5 (I'm not sure what that is in US terms).

Btw, a way to avoid too many loose ends and fragile strips in a single row is to avoid cutting through the seams when you cut clothes. I always cut each piece free from the seams, and then rip/cut it. It may seem obvious, but it was a mistake I made in the beginning, not realising that strips that had cut seams in them may eventually come apart. And even if they stay whole while they're in the rug, they'll almost certainly come apart if you try to frog it later. :blush

[TepperWear]

That is so beautiful. I'm in the process of making one in the round out of sheets. But I'm not happy with ripping them. The ends get stringy, so I'm going to get a rolling knife, that quilters use, which cuts through several pieces of fabric at once, and I think it goes quick. So, I'm on hold til then. But I love the look so far and can't wait to get going on it. Seeing yours makes me want to run to Joann's tomorrow.