Saturday, April 12, 2014

"K" is for Kitchen Rug


Holy cow! We're almost to the halfway point. Today's post is based on the letter "K"...11th letter of the alphabet. So far, I feel like I'm rockin' this A to Z Challenge!

This one was a fairly simple project in terms of process, but definitely a long one in terms of time dedication.

I saw a pin of Everyday Art's cute Rag Rug Tutorial via Craftaholics Anonymous and decided that it would need to be on my project list. It got busted out for a Christmas present for my mother-in-law. She now has it in front of her kitchen sink to keep bare feet warm on the cold linoleum.



I purchased a section of rug canvas from JoAnn Fabric and about five coordinating fabric patterns. I got between one and two yards of each fabric (some of which was allocated to other projects.).

I started out by cutting my rug canvas down to the size I wanted (2' x 3') and about 1/4 yd. of each pattern into strips 1" wide and 5" long. I stored those puppies in a box, hauled everything down to the family room, and got to work.


Using one pattern at a time, I randomly inserted the strips into the canvas. There's no tying needed. Simply loop each piece between two adjoining boxes in the canvas. Nice and easy.


Soon, minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days. I watched a LOT of Netflix working on this project.


What started out as 1/4 yard per fabric quickly became 1/2 yard. Eventually, I wound up using a full yard of each pattern (5 yards total) to complete the rug.


It fluffs up pretty nicely when shaken out and feels really nice underfoot. To be honest though, another couple yards of fabric could easily have been added to make this even fuller. If you're thinking of undertaking this project plan on a lot of time and a lot of cutting to make those tiny little strips. There really will be thousands of them when you're done.


Thanks to all of you stopping by from A-to-Z Challenge! I love new readers. Make sure to leave me a comment below so that I can return the favor by visiting you. 

13 comments:

  1. Wow! Nice project. I feel like I'm losing momentum, but glad a fellow A to Z blogger is still feeling the love!

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  2. So no knots at all? Hmmm, I might be able to tackle that project.

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  3. Wow! Your kitchen rug is amazing!

    http://romisdg.blogspot.jp/

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  4. Wow, it seems like a LOT of effort for a little rug. Would you say it is worth it? Visiting from A to Z. :) http://iamclothedwithjoy.com/

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    1. Honestly, it's a mixed bag. I like the way it turned out, but ya...a lot of time invested. I think if you're looking for a fairly inexpensive project to do while mindlessly watching television, then this one is for you. If you're trying to get it done on a deadline, maybe not so much. :)

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  5. I wonder what tee shirt material would be like...I have stacks of old tee shirts. This is a cute project

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    1. T-shirt material might be a great idea! You'd probably need substantially fewer strips since the material would be bulkier. Might be something to try... Thanks for the idea!

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  6. Those darn rag rugs lure you in with the promise of thrift, but they suck hours of your life away! ha! I'm dreading when I pull "rug" out of my UFO jar. I like the look of yours!

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    1. Well, see...now I'll just be waiting for the rug to be the UFO you land on. :) I've had my eye on that circular rag rug as well...just haven't been a glutton for punishment just yet.

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  7. The rug is so cute! I'm not sure my project patience is up to this though!
    And you are rocking this challenge! Keep it up :)

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    1. Thanks!! As long as you're not in a hurry, this one can actually be a little therapeutic. No thinking, just looping. I'm kind of thinking it might even be possible to thread through a whole long strip and then cut the loops after. Hmm...something to try down the road...

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  8. Looks, great! I plan on doing this with old tee's and pants.

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  9. I'm part way through making my own rag rug, I have to say it is taking me forever! But hopefully it will be worth it in the end. My one is from t-shirting so hopefully it will be really snuggly under my feet.
    Yours looks very good though!

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