Owen finally has a rug in his room! I was inspired by Grandma B's hand-made scatter rugs, although she made hers out of doubleknit fabric so they wouldn't ravel. Her garage and house were and still are always neat as a pin, partly due to throw rugs by all her doorways. She custom made these rugs to fit any surface, and I do believe she even has some in her vehicle. She made a tiny one for me out of red and pink fabrics when I was little, and it is now in Helen's room--that is how long doubleknit fabric lasts!
I made Owen's out of old denim. I used thinner fabric, not the thick stuff like jeans are made from. It was satisfying to cut up yucky old denim clothes. One day I was sick of wearing a pair of old shorts, and the next they were part of a rug! Also included in the rug are at least two jumpers, one dress and a pair of denim slacks my mother in law donated to the cause, a nasty work shirt of Jason's and a skirt of mine that my dear husband abhorred. (He said it looks better as carpet!)
13 comments:
The rug looks great, Joyce! Caedmon & Kaiya have both been without rugs in their rooms since we've moved in because I haven't found what I like at a decent price. Caedmon is actually using a denim blanket you made him for Christmas one year as a rug. What a great way to use up the old stuff you already have.
Love the rug...and I'm a big fan of rugs, quilts and other projects containing memorable fabrics (even hideous jean skirts).
very impressive!
Great to have you back, Joyce! I enjoyed reading what's new and the kids' newest details and adventurous, and of course, the kitchen yummies!
Martha strikes again!!! That is really cute Joyce... I'm sure it looks great in Owen's room:). guess who?!
thanks for the welcome back, yall. anonymous, might you by any chance be LM?
LM?? Nope. . .it was just me :). Jan
I was wondering how you made the rug?? Thanks alot!
Sorry anonymous. I missed your comment until now. If you're still out there--Use a heavy-duty denim fabric for the backing, cut it to whatever size you want and finish the edges with bias tape. (My grandma used the legs of jeans, sewing them together, and then cutting to whatever size/shape she wanted.) Then mark it with a dressmaker's pencil or something of that nature--start at the outside edge and draw lines an inch apart. (I did my lines in rectangle, but you could do straight lines or whatever.) Then cut (many, many) 2x3-inch rectangles of your preferred fabric. Double-knit is super ugly but is ideal because it wears well and doesn't ravel. Start in the center of your denim fabric, and sew the rectangles directly to it, bunching them up as you go. Sew through the middle of the rectangle, so both sides will stick up evenly. You can try to gather them before you stick them under the presser foot of your machine, or you can bunch them up as you are sewing them down. After each round I made on my rug, I sewed over it again to secure it. The last round--the edge round--I cut the 2x3 rectangles in half, to 1.5x2 rectangles, and sewed along the edge of the rectangle instead of the center, so they would lie flat. Get it? Feel free to e-mail if I'm not clear enough. Have fun!
Thanks for making me laugh out loud!!!: I love the write-up of how your rug is made. And oh, that is a mighty fine rug you've made. Looks fabo!!
Recycling is a passion of mine, and I've just cut up 20 odd plastic milk 'bottles' to make a faux lumiere.
It still needs some finishing touches and then I'll do a write up on my blog http://www.finecraftguild.com
When finished with that, I shall finally do something with that HUGE pile of old jeans I have been collecting. Your rug is an inspiration, but my jeans are the sturdy type instead.
Any suggestions??
Vera.
Nice rug Joyce!
Go to allfreecrafts.com to see some of my ideas for the denim bathroom. I've been doing a lot of crafts with denim . Really like your rug better . Thanks ,I'm going to try to make your version of the rug. Crimilda
Hello,
This is sort of urgent. I love your denim rug and would like to rent it for a photo shoot. What size is it and would you consider renting it to me?
Thanks,
Dane
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