I have been working with a friend of mine to reorganize my living space, and it has been totally inspiring me to be creative again. Its probably no surprise to people for whom tidiness and organization come naturally, but I am not one of those people, so I was happy to discover that just having room to work on my projects got me all excited to make some pretty things.
This weekend, my friend and I actually focussed on finishing the kitchen and dining area, but we did find time to face my secret fabric stash. Ok, it wasnt a secret. Its hard to keep three giant storage bins full of fabric a secret. It never would have occurred to me to put all the fabric out on a bookshelf next to the sewing table, however, luckily it did occur to my awesome friend. I now have a really colorful and interesting little sewing area, so it was fun to sit down and do some projects. I havent had my sewing machine out in ages. Now that it has a little corner, its easy to sit down and work on something when I have a little time to spare. So I tackled my little mending pile….ooops. While the mending pile was being neglected, my kids grew out of a few of the things…thats ok. A few pairs of leggings with holes in the seams…gave those over to my daughter to cut up and play with, and she was occupied for hours.
And we had found the bag of curtains that I bought years ago at the thrift store-perfectly great Ikea curtains, just needed hemming. I had been procrastinating because I didnt trust my skills to perfectly hem four panels to the same exact length. Then I took a good look at what was hanging up already…I must confess that my kids had clearly done some scissor experimentation already, and they were really pretty ratty. So I threw perfection to the wind, and pretty soon, I had new curtains hanging up in my bedroom.
So, with a couple successes under my belt, I got cocky and started cruising on Pinterest for something fun. And I got this:
http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/03/recycle-tutorial-braided-rag-rug.html
I have always loved the look of the rag rug. And I have a special fondness for upcycling old fabric, sheets, second hand linens, pillowcases, etc. So to combine those, plus, no knitting or hand sewing? I was in. Now, my husband and I have never used the flat top sheet that comes in the set. I happened to have two king size flat sheets, one green and one with some stripes that I thought would make a great pattern in this braided rug.
what do you think?
notes: My strips were slightly wider than the recommended one inch and that made it harder to braid them. I also didnt pay strict attention to keeping the braids flat and the fabric right side up. As a finished product, the rug edges “bowl” up slightly, which may be because I sewed the braids too tightly. Also. SUPREMELY hard to sew the braids because the presser foot kept getting caught in the fabric. Will have to see how to remedy that. However, Im very pleased with it and now have something cute to stand on in the kitchen. I used a quilting cotton print for the back, but I added two layers of flannel sheet for padding and structure, and it feels perfect.
It looks great!
I’ve always wanted to make something like this, but can never justify the expense of the fabric. Now, though, I’m acquiring a good-sozed stash, especially of old clothes, so I might just try to cut things up, sew ‘em together, and see if I can make a rag rug too! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much!
A great place to find inexpensive fabric is the thrift store. You cans use sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, plus you can often find fabric remnants as well. Plus, you are re-using and upcycling! A plus in my book.
I love thrifting for craft supplies. I’ve started to consider maybe going and looking at old curtains and bedsheets and whatnot, to see what I can find. Normally when I go thrifting I’m looking for sweaters to unravel so I can reuse the yarn, but sewing has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.