twined rag rug 'how to'

gene gapsis wrote:I am definitely interested.  I was just wondering what to do with a bin of old jeans I saved for painting or grub use.

Gene- turn those jeans into 1 inch strips going lengthwise up the legs. I'm assuming you have a twining loom and know how to join strips without a knot. There are a few good youtube videos on how to do it all. I watched several before making my 1st loom, and again to pick up the finer points of including the metal rods in the weaving and the knotless joining of strips, and tightening the warp as a part 2 of warping.

Good luck.

I’m definitely interested! Thanks so much for offering this class!

R Scott wrote:I am definitely interested in how to do this without a loom.  

I like to crochet rag rugs (no loom needed!). You could still make a rectangular one if you wanted, or an oval or circular one. I sew so I use the selvedges (the edge of a fabric you get, where it was attached to the loom when made) and edges cut off of repurposed bed sheets for my rugs. Some people sew the ends of the scraps together - that's a bit much for me, so I just tie the ends in a knot (place both ends together first, then do a square knot - much more durable), and then make sure all the knots end up on the bottom of the rug. It gives it some extra cushion which is kinda nice! I just use the biggest crochet hook I have. You can find lots of sizes of them at Joann's, and if you use a coupon (they always have one on their main site) it's even cheaper!

Also it feels good making use of things that would otherwise be thrown away.

If you haven't learned to crochet yet, it's really easy (especially the single crochet stitch, which is all you need for this). It's just pulling a loop through a loop. You just have to make sure you're not pulling whatever you're working with too tightly, so you can easily get your hook through the loop you want, and pull the new loop through!

gene gapsis wrote:I am definitely interested.  I was just wondering what to do with a bin of old jeans I saved for painting or grub use.

Hi Gene...you have a great start for a rug...jean strips will work great for the warp also as there is no stretch.

Starting on the first page of this thread I've posted my handouts along with a lot of photos.

There are several other rug twiners here who can help with different perspectives so ask all the questions you want

Lisa Richards wrote:I would LOVE to take your rag rug class!  Thanks Lisa Richards

Hi Lisa!
All of my handouts along with a lot of photos are posted beginning on the first page of this thread....please ask any questions you may have and post pictures of your progress!

Lif Strand wrote:

Judith Browning wrote:it's time to start collecting materials
As soon as I get even one person who is  interested,  I'll start posting some of my handouts from my classes, more pictures and be ready to answer questions.

I'm most definitely interested!

Hi lif!
My class handouts are posted along with a lot of photos beginning on the first page of this thread...please feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Serena Bell wrote:I am so interested! I will start saving material 🥰

That's great!
Looking forward to seeing your progress

Kim Arnold wrote:I’m definitely interested! Thanks so much for offering this class!

Hi Kim!
All of my handouts for this class along with a lot of photos are posted beginning on the first page of this thread...please ask any questions you might have.

As with most every craft there are all sorts of approaches to the work.
The same is true with twined rugs...so happy to have input and wonderful examples from other rag rug makers!

These are super cool. I'm reminded of a real "broke" Christmas we had.  Actually, we had a few of those. Lol. And I have kept with the crafty thing out of habit, now.  Walmart gives me PTSD. Lol

I have pictures somewhere on my laptop.  I nailed a big scrap board to the wall and it had small nails in a row on the top and bottom.  I had made "yarn" out of scrap fabrics by spinning it on a wooden dowel that I hot glued to an old sewing machine that was broken but the wheel spun.  We use things until they truly die.   Then I ran, what is it called, the weft?  Up and down through the small nails in a row, as in a loom.  Then weaved in and out of those with more homemade yarn.  I used a long  knitting needle with the yarn tied to the end of it, and an old plastic soda bottle to seperate the alternating rows so I could see them better, and to smash down each row nice and tight.  

The sky is the limit on what you can make with a "rug"-. Heavy duty bag, furniture covers, dog bed, decorative fabric box organizers...you name it.

Judith Browning wrote:If anyone has any questions about making this type of rug just post them here and I'll try to answer them.

Just wondering if you are still willing to show us how to make a rug.  

I'm collecting tee shirts -- that's the desired material, yes?  What I'd like to know is if there is a way to guesstimate how much material needs to be gathered for a given amount of rug.  Such as, if a person wanted to make a 2' x 3' rug, about how many tee shirts?  If we knew that, then we could just multiply to make a 4' x 3' or a 6' x 3' rug, for example.

Thanks!

Lif Strand wrote:

Judith Browning wrote:If anyone has any questions about making this type of rug just post them here and I'll try to answer them.

Just wondering if you are still willing to show us how to make a rug.  

I'm collecting tee shirts -- that's the desired material, yes?  What I'd like to know is if there is a way to guesstimate how much material needs to be gathered for a given amount of rug.  Such as, if a person wanted to make a 2' x 3' rug, about how many tee shirts?  If we knew that, then we could just multiply to make a 4' x 3' or a 6' x 3' rug, for example.

Thanks!

hi Lif,

I wrote to you in a post above...just a few replies back up this page.
There is a setting where you can watch this thread and get an email when there is a reply and in addition you can set a 'word' in your profile...your name or any thing else...then you will get a notification by email when that word is used.  I have 'judith' set and it's very helpful.
You can also check 'notify when reply is posted' below the reply box before submitting a post.

Yes, I'm still available for questions...the 'class' itself is posted as handouts and photos beginning on page one of this thread. I might repost some on this page if that would be useful?

As to number of t shirts...way more than you would think because the rugs are very thick
A finished 2' X 3' rug weighs 3-4 pounds...so half again that much because there is a bit of waste when seams, hems etc are unused.
I never counted tshirts...just chose them by the bagful at our local thrift store and always kept a rainbow of strips cut to use.

Judith Browning wrote:hi Lif,

I wrote to you in a post above...just a few replies back up this page.
There is a setting where you can watch this thread and get an email when there is a reply and in addition you can set a 'word' in your profile...your name or any thing else...then you will get a notification by email when that word is used.  I have 'judith' set and it's very helpful.
You can also check 'notify when reply is posted' below the reply box before submitting a post.

Yes, I'm still available for questions...the 'class' itself is posted as handouts and photos beginning on page one of this thread. I might repost some on this page if that would be useful?

As to number of t shirts...way more than you would think because the rugs are very thick
A finished 2' X 3' rug weighs 3-4 pounds...so half again that much because there is a bit of waste when seams, hems etc are unused.
I never counted tshirts...just chose them by the bagful at our local thrift store and always kept a rainbow of strips cut to use.

Thank you!  I'm an idiot when it comes to using permies.com.  I haven't figured out how to set a 'word' in my profile -- I'll keep working on that.
At any rate, it's enough for me to know that I can collect the tshirts by weight for now.
I'll figure out how to find those handouts (I did see the photos).
Thanks again!

The handouts are typed pages posted as attachments begining on the first page of this thread.
I'll see if I can post them again here from my phone.

Edit...
And they did not post in order so use the jpg number to follow them.

OR...go to the beginning of this tthread and follow them along with the photos, questions and discussion

The ones above are not in order ...use jpg numbers to put them in order and feel free to print them.

If you follow from the first page of this thread, handouts are in order along with photos and questions and discussion.

Judith Browning wrote:The ones above are not in order ...use jpg numbers to put them in order and feel free to print them.

If you follow from the first page of this thread, handouts are in order along with photos and questions and discussion.

Thank you!  I see that while I'm collecting t-shirts I had better make sure I have a loom by the time I'm ready to get making the rug!  I'm a total beginner at this (but I'm sure you've figured that out already!)

I would love to learn about twining. I just got a twining loom and would certainly appreciate some guidance as I begin. Cotton knit t-shirts?  I've been collecting them. I also look for and buy men's cotton dress shirts for quilting fabric. Happy to find this site. I was originally looking for the conversation between God and St. Francis about our lawns and the silliness of man's desire to tame it! Happy day!

Sue Eppard wrote:I would love to learn about twining. I just got a twining loom and would certainly appreciate some guidance as I begin. Cotton knit t-shirts?  I've been collecting them. I also look for and buy men's cotton dress shirts for quilting fabric. Happy to find this site. I was originally looking for the conversation between God and St. Francis about our lawns and the silliness of man's desire to tame it! Happy day!

Welcome to permies Sue! We are a rabbit hole to end all holes and if you don't find an answer to your question, just find an appropriate spot to ask it, and someone is *very* likely to come up with some ideas to try.

The "signature" beneath this post has a link to a page of helpful 'how-to's' like "how to post a picture". If you're having problems with your loom, pictures may be really helpful to the people who have used them before.