A beautiful and huge rag rug - I just had to share!

Tue, 03/03/2009 - 16:35 — Rag Rug Cafe

I came across this rag rug made by Kristin Smith from Peculiar, Missouri.

Isn't it amazing? She used the free video instructions from this site and was able to make this giant, gorgeous rug.

Isn't it to die for?!

Mon, 06/22/2009 - 22:59 — Anonymous

Awesome!!

This rug is awesome! This is what my dream rug looks like. It's so beautiful and I love all the colours she used. Thanks for sharing. Lisa Jo

Fri, 08/07/2009 - 04:05 — Anonymous

What a fantastic rug! I can

What a fantastic rug!
I can almost feel it under my feet just by looking at it!
So bright and cheerful! Great job!
Rhonda J.

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 15:10 — Stef (not verified)

Wow. This is huge rag rug.

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 19:23 — Debby (not verified)

Please HELP! I am in the

Please HELP!

I am in the midst of trying to make a rag rug and am VERY appreciative of the directions on this site!

However I am just pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to cut, tear and/or rip all these strips to get started - believe it or not there are NO directions anywhere on the web (how is that possible!) to explain exactly how to rip these?!

I tried doing the first sheet and was told to rip along the LENGTH (not the width). This resulted in TONS and TONS of the threads coming off the sides all the way down the length. As these unravel, eventually I won't have any fabric left!

One man at the fabric store told me to rip from selvage side to selvage side (across the width.) One person told me that fabric should only be able to rip one way and not the other.

I have over $100 worth of fabric that I bought to do this, not expecting this to be such an ordeal!

Can someone please give me a heads up on the proper way to rip these? I would like to be able to wash these in the machine and not have them fall apart after all my hard work.

Many many thanks!!!!

Debby

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 19:40 — Stef (not verified)

Hi Debby, OK, I am very sad

Hi Debby,

OK, I am very sad to report that it might be because of the TYPE of material that you bought. For example, it might be rayon or nylon or something.

The ideal material (in my opinion) is cotton, like normal bedsheet material. Try to rip something else, like a T-shirt or something, and you will see the difference.

Yes, you will find that normally ripping material is very easy. So try to rip some other material so that you can compare.

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 20:05 — Debby (not verified)

Hi Stef! Thanks for your

Hi Stef! Thanks for your quick reply!

I am actually using cotton (like sheets) - I just want to know if I should rip selvage to selvage or lengthwise.

It seems from experimenting that selvage to selvage makes far less threads come loose on the sides than the one piece of yardage that I ripped lengthwise.

Or are you saying it doesn't really matter? Maybe that's why no one on the web explains that part (LOL!!!)

Maybe I'm just being too paranoid. I just don't want to make a beautiful rug and then have it all fray and come apart in the wash (if there's a preferred stronger way.)

Thank you so much for any input you can give me!!!

Best,

Debby

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 20:55 — Stef (not verified)

Hmm, I have had some strands

Hmm, I have had some strands before. I don't know which way I rip, I just rip! Can you show a picture somehow? Usually there's one way that's easier than the other, I don't know the technical terms though.

I wouldn't worry about too many strands coming off. They'll just blend.

Can you share a photo so we can see how bad it is?

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 21:52 — Debby (not verified)

Hi Stef: The more I work with

Hi Stef:

The more I work with it, the less 'bad' it is. I think I've discovered that the best way to rip is from selvage to selvage (the width) from factory finished side to factory finished side.

This makes far less long threads coming off the sides and (as you mentioned), the more you get the actual knots going, the more the various threads blend in! I think it will be okay!

Happily I just did the first piece of purple fabric the 'wrong' way (lengthwise) and I'll just deal with the threads on that, knowing that the rest of these moving forward will be okay. That fabric will be used as the second round from the center so it should be fairly tight (and surrounded by tons of other fabrics as the rug grows.)

Thank you so much for your feedback! I just need to not be worried about it being too perfect - as it is a rag rug after all and its whole point is to be rustic!

Have a wonderful evening....

(I'll get some photos going tomorrow).

Best,

Debby

Mon, 02/01/2010 - 05:14 — WalkingonFaith

This rug is amazing! I can't

This rug is amazing! I can't imagine how long it must have taken her, but it was well worth the effort.

PS. I am way too anal-retentive to just rip, I've been cutting up my fabric. It does take a long time though.

Wed, 02/17/2010 - 15:38 — Debby (not verified)

I just sent in a photo of a

I just sent in a photo of a new rug I finished today - It is about 4 ft x 5-1/2 ft oval and came out great! Hopefully RagRug Cafe will put it up on the site. It took exactly one solid month to do, so I can only imagine that this large round one displayed must have taken at least 2 months to complete (and a lot of fabric!)

I did end up making my life much easier by getting a new rotary cutter - I had 3 old ones but they just wouldn't cut and I was stuck in the snow when I posted my lament above.

But for those who want to rip, do it from selvage to selvage (across the 'width' of the bolt) NOT lengthwise. You will still have threads and a shaggy look, but it won't just unravel threads as it does when you rip lengthwise.

I must admit though after all this work, I can't imagine daring to toss this into a washer & dryer like I've done with all my old loomed rag rugs! I'd be terrified that it would wreck it somehow. LOL!