Friday, May 16, 2008

more on the shaggy rug

Susan asked me a few questions about how I made that shaggy rug. I wish I had taken pictures in process but I didn't so here is just a mini-tutorial.
I took 4 inch squares and ironed them in half on the diagonal. Then I just lined them in rows with the points under each other. I left points hanging off each edge and then reversed the triangles when I go to about the center.
Just machine sew them down the center. I laid a red thread down in the picture so show were I would machine stitch.
Be sure to back stitch well at the ends of each row so your rug stays together.

I think 3 inch squares would work fine too.
The squares do not have to be perfect. This is not an heirloom quilt that requires accuracy.
This project is great for using up un-loved fabric.

If anyone has other questions, please feel free to ask.

5 comments:

  1. Rhonda - THANK you so much for the picture. I just couldn't wrap my mind around how it was done. I love this idea and plan on making a rug for my kitchen! Thanks again!!

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  2. That looks like a really neat project. I wonder if it would work very well to use knit fabric. I have a lot of old t-shirts that I think would be fun to use.

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  3. Abbi, I think it would work great with t shirt knits and with double knits.
    I am not sure but I "think" I got the idea for this rug from a book I read years ago and I think they made one similar to mine with double knits.
    If I made one with t-shirt fabric, I would still use a sturdy woven type fabric on the back.

    Let me know if you make one.

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  4. When you sew all of your triangles on how far apart do you place the rows, and when finished do you "fluff" the triangles???
    Thanks~ Jen

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  5. Hi Jen
    my rows are about 1.5 inches apart, my first plan was to make the rows 2 inches apart but my fabric was on the thin side so the narrower rows worked better.

    To fluff, just run it through the washer and dryer. It will make a lot of lint and threads so be sure to check your dryer and its lint screen frequently while it dries. I checked and emptied mine every 10-15 minutes.
    It sheds a lot the first laundering but won't fray much the next times.

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