Weave a Rag Rug
Rags Woven into a Throw Rug
Starting with strips of cloth, 1" wide or 1 1/2" wide or 2" wide, as long as all the pieces are the same width, sew, or have someone sew the strips into one long piece. Roll them into a ball or onto the large rag rug shuttles. Warp your loom and design rag rugs.
Sound simple? Putting the warp threads onto the loom, called "dressing the loom," is the most time consuming once you have your rag strips cut and sewn together. If you use t-shirt strips, literally cutting strips from t-shirts, (leaving them in loops and connecting them with a
I Gifted my First Rag Rug
This being my first rag rug, it's pretty uneven, but awesome to me.
Here it is at the entry way of our friends home.
They were so gracious to give me the Loom, a Union 36, and all the scrap fabrics to get started. The Loom was warped, (threaded) when we picked it up, but we had to haul it a few miles in the back of a pickup truck, and break it down to fit into our motorcycle trailer to get it home, so we had a time getting it "dressed" again, but accomplished it, finally. It's an awesome machine.
I love working with anything that is mechanical, something I can tighten a few bolts and adjust the level, and get going again, it's very relaxing after working with computers so much.
Rag Rug Techniques on YouTube
My First Rag Rug - Made with loops from socks.
The loops are cut then looped, knotted together into a long strand, placed on the shuttle and woven back and forth through the warp threads. Thus the knots that show in the texture of the rug.
Other Fibers to Make Rag Rugs - This time I used yarns in my stash.
Rag rugs are pretty simple once the rags are prepared. I used a short-cut and grabbed some stash yarn to make this table runner, and/or rug.
It was too pretty to place on the floor.
Weaving Supplies can be Found on Amazon
I try to shop Amazon as much as possible because I am helping individuals build small businesses. I sell on Amazon, too. So when I see my weaving supplies on Amazon, I shop.
Rag Rug
The problem with handmade, handwoven items is the value of the artist's time way outweighs the amount they can charge for the finished piece. Only people who know the value are willing to invest in a special piece.
It is a difficult balance, unless you love what you do and are willing to give items away at a fraction of their worth - without bitterness, or work very hard to get into art fairs that have juries, where serious shoppers are looking for original items.
I'm not discouraged because I love weaving and am still perfecting the art.
