Braided Rug - Scrap Rug TUTORIAL

Braided rugs, also called scrap rugs, used to be made from worn out clothing and household linen scraps. It was a great way to recycle cloth! Today the rugs are still popular and can be quite expensive. But they are also a fun project to do yourself. You can, of course, use scrap linens, and create a colorful, unusual, completely unique rug. Or, as I will do, you can purchase fabrics of your choice to create a rug that suits your color preferences.

I am going to work on a rug designed to look nice in my kitchen, which has a new hickory hard-wood floor. (Thanks, hubby!!) After having lunch in a rustic, country-style restaurant yesterday, I came home full of ideas for making our kitchen area look more Adirondacky and country-ish. The restaurant had a lot of maroon and green and white. Loved the maroon, but wanted to add deep blue to the mix - my favorite. So. First things first.....

STEP ONE: Decided what you want your carpet to look like. You will be braiding with three fabric strips at a time. Do you want one color throughout? Two? Three? Two solids and one patterned? Are you going to change the colors, or combinations of colors, in the middle of the rug? Will one color dominate? Are you going to use scraps that you have? Think hard about this one. You don't want to get half-way through and change your mind. =)

STEP TWO: Decide what size you want your rug to be. Also, what shape. Will it be round? Or wider on two sides? This will determine, obviously, how much material you will need.

STEP THREE: Collect your supplies. You will need:

+Fabric. Now I am guessing here, because this is a first for me, too. But I am planning to make a 6' rug. I am going to buy 2/3 yard of each of my colors. My thinking is that 2/3 yard strips (24") would make a nice fabric strip length to work with. I'm going to start with this, anyhow, and come back and change this section if need be. Some folks know exactly what they want their project to look like finished. I am more of a figure it out as I go type (not always) so I will start with equal amounts of my colors, and go from there.

+A sewing machine. If you don't have a sewing machine, don't despair. We'll make it work!

+Heavy thread for sewing your ropes together

+A large sewing needle. I plan to use a metal yard needle

+Scissors

+Rotary cutter (not critical, but very helpful) and cutting mat

+Regular weight thread that matches your fabric choices

STEP FOUR: Prepare your fabric. Wash/dry. Cut on the length-wise grain into 2" strips. So mine will be approximately 2" x 24".

Here are my fabrics.









 For my practice rope, I used regular sewing shears, and guessed at the width. Very inconsistent. For the "real" strips I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat. The mat has measured marks, so I was able to be pretty precise. Much neater. If you're using heavier materials, thinner strips work well. Very thin = wider strips. My fabric is cotton woven. Next to my rotary cutter in the photo is a package of plastic needles I bought today, because I've misplaced my metal yarn needle. These should work fine.

2" mark.

 Nice neat strips.









I am anxious to start braiding, but it will be much easier to move along if I have a good collection of strips to work with. So I'm forcing myself to be patient, and get this done first.






STEP 5: Attach strips together, and begin braiding.

 Ok, I lied. I cut a few strips, and now I'm gonna braid! Oh well, I'll just cut more when I run out.

I have decided to use two of my three colors for the center of my rug. So I have stacked two blue strips and one red strip. I used my sewing machine to attach them together, by sewing a line across the top about 1/4' in. For those without a sewing machine, hand-sew with a strong thread.

 Here I am using my sewing machine to hold my strips firmly so I can braid without the strips twisting. You can also create a loop in the end to secure around a door knob, or chair leg, or anything that will hold the strips securely.

 As you are braiding, you will want to fold the fabric strips so that the edges don't show. Turn the raw edges into the middle (as I've shown) then fold in half. You will be doing this with the right side of the fabric facing up. I've just shown it upside down so you can see what I mean. It takes a little getting used to, but it's definitely worth the effort. I've read online that some people actually iron their strips this way before braiding. I'm not doing that, but maybe in the future, I'll give it a try.

 Here is my first strip, sides tucked in, and folded in half.

And we're off. Braid your strips until you are a few inches away from the ends. Don't braid too close to the end, as you will want a little room to work with when adding strips on.

 Here's my rope so far.









STEP 6: Attaching new strips.

 To add a new strip on, place the new strip on to the end of the strip that's finishing, RIGHT sides together, as shown. Place the new one at a right-angle. Read through this part before doing it, to be sure you have the new strip in the right place.

 You will be stitching (machine or hand) across both pieces so that it leaves a corner that can be cut off. Cut close to the stitching, but be cautious not to cut through it.

Open it up, and you have a nice continuation. It doesn't have to be beautiful. You will be braiding it in, and the stitching line won't show. Though I do recommend using thread that matches your fabric color, just in case.

Rag Rug - Practice

 (Practice Rope. See 8/22/11 post for Scrap Rug Tutorial)

This isn't really a sewing project, but because I am using fabric scraps and I do have to hand-sew for this, I'm counting it! I'm going to try making a braided, or rag, rug. I had lunch today at a rustic, country-ish place, and it really got my creative juices flowing! I thought a rag rug would love fantastic with the new hickory hard-wood floor my husband just put in. I've never tried one before, so I'm going to try a practice rug. I love the idea of using fabric that I already have, so I went through it all and picked out all of the woven scraps I had. They are, of course, all different colors and patterns. But isn't that what people used to use long ago to make them? I'm going to randomly use the pieces, and see how it comes out. I'm very excited about this! My carpal tunnel syndrome will not like this - of that I am fairly certain. (Cutting, hand-sewing, braiding...) So this may be a one-time deal. But I'm gonna try it. So above is my scrap collection. I've got a box full of clothing that can be used for various projects, too. I'll dip into that when I need to.

Here is my rug so far! Behind the little braid is a small pile of fabric strips. Some suggest making a long rope, then sewing it into a rug. Others suggest making the rug as you go along. I think I will probably sew it as I go, but I'm not sure yet. I'll see what makes sense as I go along.

Ok, so after spending an hour and a half (while watching a movie....) I created a rope that is about 4 feet long. I have decided to call it my practice rope after my husband decided it would look nice in the basement! (lol) But seriously, there are some things I've learned that are pretty important if you want to make a nice rug. So today I will start on the "real" rug, and after getting a message last night from a friend asking for directions on this, I've decided to make this project a tutorial. =) I'll start a new post to keep things neat. (See ya there)

Otto (sort of) Top With Reverse Applique

I'm sharing this one in two places; here and under "Fall Wardrobe." I wanted to share how I'm doing the reverse applique on this one. First of all, I cut the pieces using pattern #25 from Ottobre magazine Autumn 4/2011. The other top I showed under "Fall Wardrobe" is cut from the same pattern. I like how it came together. As with that one, I don't have the wherewithall to put binding on the neckline and cuffs, but I'll make my own self fabric neckband and cuffs. Because I've chosen a deep purple for the top and a pretty patterned fabric with purple and hearts for the appliques, I decided to make the shape of the applique hearts as well. I thought it might be cute to put some on the sleeves as well as on the front. So far I've done one sleeve. I love how it came out!

My pictures aren't coming out too well today, but here's how the sleeves will basically look. I steam-ironed it before taking the photo which made a little "halo" around the hearts, but that will go away.

Another lousy photo, but I wanted to share the cute fabric I'm using for the reverse appliques. The top fabric is quite thin, like a jersey, and the bottom is a heavier knit, so I have to be careful when I stitch them together that one doesn't bunch. Surprisingly enough it's the thicker fabric that wants to bunch, but only just a tiny bit at the end of my stitching, after I've gone all the way around the heart. Steam ironing has solved that problem so far.

Here I've attached the raglan sleeves to the front.

 Without a steam iron, it would be impossible to sew with this fabric. It is very thin, and very stretchy. Sewing it, even with a much lengthened stitch length, means you end up with a wobbly seam. Steam takes it right out. Without the steam you'd end up with one wonky finished product!

 Inside-out. Raglan seams are done, now I need to make a collar and some cuffs.

 Right-side out. I love how the appliques look.

 The collar. Man this gave me a hard time. First I cut one that was way too small. So glad I tried it on DD's neck before sewing it on! I made another one, much bigger, and sewed it on backwards. Not kidding. This sort of space-brain thing happens to me more often than I'd like to admit. Finally got it right. It's a little looser than I would prefer, but I'm keeping it. Darn it. =)

 All done. The hem gave me some trouble, too. I don't have a cover stitch machine (want! want!) so I do hems on my regular machine. I stitched the hem with the bottom up. I do this so that I don't miss any of the fabric underneath. But I realize that this is not what you're supposed to do. Usually I get away with it. This time I didn't. The bobbin thread looked wonky at best on the outside of the shirt. I restitched it with the top side up, close to the other line of stitching (like a twin needle would do) then picked out all the wonky stitching. I was going to restitch that line, but then decided not to.

 Modeling shots. =)

One of these days I should learn how to take better pictures. =)

She likes it, I like it, another fall item done!

Mrs. Fixit - Whoda Thunk?

Yesterday my 3-year-old son asked me if he could help me sew. He asks periodically, and my answer is usually, "Not right now." I want my kids to see what it's all about, and I feel bad saying no, so yesterday I said, "Sure!" I grabbed the closest fabric scrap from my heap (and it is a heap) which happened to be knit. He chose a decorative stitch on the machine. I put the fabric in, and he pressed the pedal. Within a few seconds it was obvious the fabric wasn't advancing, so I knew something was wrong. I quickly realized that both the fabric and the thread had been pulled down into the hole in the metal plate beneath the needle. I gently (and not so gently) pulled at the threads sticking out. Some came out; some did not. I tried stitching a little to see if that would pull things through, but all that did was to get my bobbin messed up, and the doohicky that holds the bobbin was not sitting at a funny angle. Ak. I figured my machine was headed to the shop. The only shop I knew of, the one from which this machine had come, had closed permanently months ago. I don't know of another, but tried to search online for one. All I came up with was supply shops and unrelated stores. Despair set in. Then I wondered if I might find a sewing machine repair video on youtube or something. I bombed there, too. There was only one option left. Do it myself. Because I know that doing that sort of thing without some kind of guidance was not a good idea, I appealed (as always) to the online group Sewing Mamas. I received some kind replies, and encouragement to go ahead and give it a shot. Encouraged, I did just that.

Ok, the first issue was that the screw on the metal plate that needed to come out was in a difficult spot. How was I going to get a screwdriver in there?? Well, I pulled on the the cover of the upper part of the sewing machine, et voila, it swung out of the way. Nice! Lots more space.

 There's the screw. I don't know if you can see it here, but the bobbin holder (does it have a fancier name?) is being pushed up by stuff caught underneath it.

 The plate came off easily.

 The bobbin holder popped right out.

 Here's the thread...and about a ton of LINT. Whoa. One of the Sewing Mamas suggested that I use my serger tweezers and some Q-tips to remove the thread and lint.

 I brought 2 Q-tips down, thinking I'd have a spare just in case. I soon realized two was not enough!

Guess I should be doing this more often, eh? See the piles in the right of the picture? Yeesh.

I also de-linted the upper part of the machine, since it was open and linty looking. I put it all back together, tested it, and it works fine. How much time and money and hassle would it have been to take it to a shop? I'm so pleased with myself!

Think I'll go buy myself a sewing machine repair book. =)