Crocheting Rag Rugs

I was looking for a use for our old t-shirts and I thought about the rugs my Grandmas use to make. They both made rag rugs. My Grammy Bea made braided rugs and my Grandma S. made her rugs on a loom. I considered both of those options but decided neither was for me. Without them here for advice I turned to the internet. I started by doing a search for rag rugs and browsed the results I received. I found that your could crochet them as well. Since I learned the basics of crocheting from my Mother-In-Law I felt this was my best option.

None of the sites or tutorials I found were perfect for me. But, by combining techniques from multiple sources I eventually figured it out!

Getting Started

I found this video from kieraoona of DIY Crazyness. She was competing in t-shirt reconstruction challenge. I watched her video for the basic idea. I do not use scissors to cut mine. I use a rotary cutter and mat. It makes the strips much more even and makes the rug neater.

I prefer to use tube style t-shirts as they do not have the side seams. I cut my t-shirts as demonstrated below.


I end up with a bunch of t-shirt rings which is cut so they lay flat as strips.

I do not cut my strips and pre-join the and wind them in a ball as some tutorials describe. I cut them and separate them by colors in zip top bags. I join them as I go using the following method.

Joining Strips

This tutorial for toothbrush rugs the Rag Rug Cafe was very informational. I don't use her methods for crafting the rugs, but I do use her advice for joining strips.

This preparation video by LauraJaneV82 demonstrates the technique I use for joining strips.

Creating Rugs

The best video I found for technique was from the ladies at Cr8tive Living. They did a great job of showing how to do the crocheting and their commentary is really fun!

Putting it All Together

After researching and watching and reading I put it all together and made my first rug. It was not very glamorous but it is functional and I use it as a door mat. I learned a lot from the experience and can finally make pretty consistent rugs.

Materials:

• good pair of sharp scissors
• rotary cutter and extra blades
• cutting mat
• a size Q crochet hook
• a stitch marker-- I use a pinchy clothes pin
• a pattern
• gallon sized zip bags-- I re-use them multiple times
• old t-shirts or other materials

Here is a picture of one of my t-shirt rugs.


Tips and Tricks

• I use this pattern book. I find the patterns are very accurate. It is quite small, but well worth the price I use it for all of my rugs.
• I don't like using any kind a fabric that frays. I suppose if I get ambitious and sew the edges I may try some different things in the future. I just hate those little strings, some people don't seem to mind them.
• Fleece fabric is awesome it is soft and comfy in the cold weather. They make great bath mats. I do buy fleece new as yardage. It makes nice long strips.
• If you feel like your material is too bulky you can cut narrower strips. 1 inch is my standard size.
• I buy lots of t-shirts from The Salvation Army and other thrift stores. I go on half-price day and get huge bags for little $$. Plus the money is going to a good cause.
• You can adapt the patterns to make them as big or as small as you would like to fit your needs. Small round rugs make great trivets. I make a 2 t-shirt trivets in a evening!

That is pretty much everything I know about making crocheted rag rugs! I am looking forward to experimenting with old denim jeans I think they will make very durable rugs.

Here are two fleece rugs that I made for my sisters for Christmas.

This is a smaller one I made for the kitchen. I hear it is a favorite resting place for my awesome kitty nephew Popeye!

This was for my sister's family room and is considerably larger it is about 2.5ft by 5ft. They were both made using the same pattern!

Maybe someday when I am feeling ambitious Mary can get her flip camera out and we can make our own video tutorial!

Thanks for reading!