Where To Buy Rag Rugs
All of the techniques in the below tutorials could be used with most types of surplus fabric. The most common type of material used for these types of rag rugs are T-shirts, but you could substitute bed sheets, towels or even things like shower curtains and use the same techniques.
where to buy rag rugs
In any case I am where I am with it and what I have done is make one enormous braid of fabric. This was a stop start process as I collected fabric and it was done in front of the tv in the evenings (in my kid free days). I am now laboriously sewing it together by hand into an oval shape.
Add charming style to your decor with the Refined Rustic Rag Rugs by Park Designs! Featuring a classic plaid design in tones of antique white, gray, and black, these rugs will be an elegant touch to your country home! The fringed edges are the perfect finishing touch! Complete the look with the rest of the Refined Rustic collection! Available in 3 sizes (each sold separately).
When designing, consider the number of colors you want or have to work with, the number of shafts you want to work with, and the durability and requirements of your rugs. A bath mat sees very different kinds of wear than a doormat.
Working with thick material like fabric can be harder on the hands than working with traditional yarn. Those with repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome may want to skip rag rugs or start with smaller ones. Everyone else can benefit from frequently resting their hands while working.
This Industrial Absorbent Rug is made from recycled material. The Rag Rug industrial absorbent floor mat is ideal for absorbing the grunge from oil, coolants, solvents and water. Dark material stays looking cleaner, longer, without our industrial rugs looking dirty. Provides good coverage for large areas.
Industrial absorbent rugs are made from recycled polypropylene and acrylic fibers, making it a great choice for use in areas where steady foot traffic might wear out an ordinary mat or rug that's become soaked with overspray.
The ultimate recycling project is a rag rug, made from scraps of old fabric that has been turned into strips to be woven or braided into a new and useful rug. While the history of rag rugs depends upon where you look, the documented history of rag rugs in the U.S. begins in the 1800s. Until the mid-1800s, rugs were a luxury item only found in the wealthiest of homes.
Most homes had no rugs until the mid-1800s when machine-made fabric became more commonplace and therefore more easily attainable. Once textiles became more available households were able to reuse fabric scraps in order to decorate their homes and help keep them warm. Throughout Europe and Asia, rag rugs were made from scraps of fabric as a way to warm the home and cover the wooden or dirt floor below. These scraps were woven on looms into rugs. A talented weaver could make rugs not only for their own home but for sale as well.
Braided rugs became popular in America around the same time serving the same purpose. Wool was a popular fabric as not only was it plentiful, but it was resilient as well. Wool repels water, holds warmth, and resists stains and bugs due to its lanolin content. Due to the fabric available at the time, many early American-made braided rugs feature colors such as blacks, browns, blues, and greens.
In India, braided rugs were made from silk or cotton from worn and discarded Saris. Known as Chindi rugs, they are still popular today. Indian-made Chindi rugs are often bright and colorful as the colors popular in India tend to be much brighter. Swedish rag rugs tend to come in light muted shades and are woven rather than braided. Before paper was made from wood pulp, Sweden actually created a tax incentive law to return used fabric scraps to the paper mills.
With the popularity of rag rugs came intricate designs and multiple patterns that could be both purchased from rug makers or created at home by talented weavers or braiders. As fabric became more readily available and prices came down, rugs also became larger. Room-sized rag rugs were a way to enhance a home before the invention of wall-to-wall carpeting in the 1930s.
I really enjoyed this post. We had rag rugs at home growing up in the 50s. The cloth were easier to wash. The braided rugs were not so easy. We bought an antique house in the 1980s and my mother in law braided us enough wool rugs to put all over the house. My friend makes shirren wool rugs out of old blankets and coats to sell for chairs, pet beds and hot pads for casseroles. It is a beautiful practice to reuse this material and to create both beautiful and useful items. Thank you.
I really enjoyed making this Amish knot rag rug, and I plan on doing more rag rugs in the future. Now that I know what goes into it I might try weaving one using a loom, like I talked about here in part 1 of the how to make a rag rug articles.
Lostine is proud to present the work of craftsman Olly Williams. These beautiful hand made occasional rugs are made out of old suiting fabric that the Philadelphia artist collects and repurposes. Each one is slightly different. Each size is approximate and rarely perfect which just adds to how truly few of a kind and special these rugs are.
"I remember two rugs that graced the bare floors of our simple Missouri farm house in the 1930's. They were made by my mother who turned worn-out wool clothing into strips and crocheted them. Soon after I retired in my 70's I saw a kit for crocheting rag rugs. The wood crochet hook reminded me of the one my mother made from a hickory buggy wheel spoke. I bought the kit and now well into my nineties I have decided to make it a family tradition" Olly Williams
I have wanted to make a rag rug from t-shirt yarn, for like, ever!But I had many excuses to procrastinate important questions about making rag rugs: How much fabric do I need to make t-shirt yarn? How do I make a rag rug with a nice mix of colors?
Hack: on any rug/wallhanging I make I use the backing for hook rugs. For ins: on this one once done I would cut a piece the same size, use the same yarn and needle and secure in several places it keeps the shape & makes it slide proof!
I am trying to determine, how many strands (weft?) cross the hula hoop in total? It seems to me that if you used 80 (forty individual pieces tied at each side of the hula hoop and tied together in the center, they would keep the whole structure more sturdy. You could start the circles weaving over four at first, then three, then two, as you get further out toward the edge, and then finally one closer to the outer edge. Would that work? solve the problem with the weakened area in the center where more weft were added?
Hooked rugs are decorative fabrics made in a special hooking technique. Loops of yarn or fabric are pulled through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen or rug warp. The tool used for that process is a crotched-type hook mounted on a handle for leverage. Hooked rugs are fruits of a domestic craft that have transformed into a veritable art form.
Rag rugs are made by tying together clippings of fabric or yarn using one of many techniques. The craft most probably developed as soon as people started manufacturing textiles. However, the first documented mentions about it come from the end of the 18th century. From a humble occupation, rag rug making has evolved to a popular hobby and prestigious art.
Exclusive collection of vintage Hooked rugs and oriental Rag rugs and carpets for sale in NYC. Rugs came to be as soon as people learned how to weave fabric for miscellaneous purposes. They have accompanied our civilization ever since as warmth bringers and space definers. Professional rug weavers created beautiful carpets intended for crowned heads and the wealthy. However, countrymen and poverty also took a huge part in the development of rug-making.
Cultures all over the world have always had ways of reusing materials. The production of goods in the past required much more effort and time than today. Rag rugs and vintage hooked rugs are paramount examples of traditional recycling. They were (and still are) made from discarded clothes, leftover scraps or clippings of fabric.
Rug hooking in the present form might have developed in North America. The story likes to repeat itself, thus primarily this craft constituted the domain of the poor. About 1830 weaving centers began producing machine-made rugs for the rich. It is then the trend for floor coverings arose in the United States. Less wealthy had to use their skill and imagination to transform whatever they had into valid utilitarian object. Having no access to thrums, American women collected all kinds of fabric remnants. They served to create imaginative and beautiful American hooked rugs. Burlap was the most popular material for the backing of antique hooked rugs. Why? Farmers had plenty of hemp fabric practically off charge from old grain sacks.
I want to share with you some of my family's antique braided rag-rugs. These were made by my great grandmother's from both sides of my family tree. All the rugs and chair cushions you see here are still enjoyed daily on our farm in West Virginia.
The rugs all date from the 1960s- 1970s and were made in New Creek, West Virginia. Although they both probably learned to make rag rugs in the 1930s, this prolific rag-rugging period was later in the grannie's lives. This would have been a time when they were still active but had more free time for crafting.
The fabric yarn used in the rugs came from old clothing- some of the clothing belonged to my family while other pieces were donated from the community. My great-grandmother's also helped process scrap fabric into yarn for a local weaver who made loom woven rag rugs
I love how the fabric in the rugs serve as a time capsule. So much brightly colored polyester and nylon fabrics from mid 20th century fashion. The green and orange fabric below was a pair of groovy trousers! 041b061a72