I went to the Goodwill Outlet downtown and got a couple of sheets. One of them was a massive multicolored miasma of sketchy looking flowers. No, seriously, these flowers were sketchy... and neon. I couldn't imagine anyone actually having this on their bed, but I knew the instant I saw it that it was going to make some awesome thread for the rag rug that I have been wanting to try crocheting ever since I pinned This on my Pinterest page. (BTW, if you're not following me on Pinterest you should and if you're not on Pinterest let me know and I will send you an invitation because it is the most awesome thing ever!) I don't know why the idea of a crocheted rag rug appeals to me so much, but it does and I have to say that it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be.
Oh, did I mention I don't know how to crochet? Well I didn't anyway. I've been knitting since college (which is sadly more then a few years ago now), but I never learned to crochet. It's actually really easy and there are some great videos on YouTube, which totally helped me out. I also used another Pin from PurlSoho's blog the Purl Bee to help me with gauging the correct amount of stitches (or whatever you call them in crochet terms). The rug is now finished, and awesome and our little Yorkie loves to lay on it because he thinks anything soft on the ground (blankets, laundry, etc) are his and for him to lay upon as he pleases.
Crocheting the rug was actually the easiest part (despite the fact that I apparently cannot count and so I had to take it apart five different times before it stopped going all wobbly on the edges and laid flat). The hardest part was actually turning the sheet into thread.
Early stages of the thread making process, or maybe somewhere in the middle. I can't actually remember. (Do you see the sketchy flowers?)
I cut the sheet into approximately 1/4" strips by simply measuring with the width of my thumb, snipping a starting place, and then ripping the cotton fabric into strips. I then attached the strips together to make a ball. The pin I linked earlier explains the ball making much better then I can. Every time I try to explain in more detail it just keeps sounding like nonsense. Anyway, that process took hours, in fact, it took most of Sunday. Thankfully, one of my good friends came over and was so excited about what I was making that she helped me clean the strips of the fly away threads so I could then attach them to the ball. Having two people while making the "thread" is a HUGE help and I cannot thank my friend enough! :)
And now for the final product...
I know, it's a crappy picture and yes, those are my toes at the edge of it. I'll have a better one when I put it up for sale on my Etsy store. The rug measures about 2 feet in diameter and took several hours of work every night for a week to make (mostly because I had no idea what I was doing for the first three nights I was trying to do it). It was a lot of fun and I'm thinking about running out to the Goodwill outlet for more sheets to make another one.
So, what do you think? How much would you pay for something like this? Would you even buy one?
