Rag Rugs

I enjoy making rugs. I pretty much stick to braided and a style called 'toothbrush' rugs. Most of the rugs I make are made from denim since I have a HUGE stash of old jeans, but I've also made a few from old sheets as well.

Denim makes a very pretty but very heavy rug. They tend to hold up well to heavy traffic as well. Their weak point, on the braided ones, is the lacing that holds the braid together. Because they are so heavy, it puts a lot of stress on the lacing. They will still hold up for a long time if in a place where they don't need a lot of washing.

If the rug is to be in a place where it will get very dirty and need washing often, I prefer the toothbrush style rug. To me, they are not quite as pretty, but there is no weak point. They are made by knotting one strip of material around another so the rug will last as long as the fabric does.

And now, just for fun, here are some pics of various rugs that I've made.



This one is a denim toothbrush style rug.

 Here's a close up so you can kinda see how it's put together.

Here's a another denim rug, braided this time. This one I made for my Grandmother's kitchen. Sorry, the pic is kind of washed out. I'm still trying to figure out how to adjust that stuff with photo editing software.

This one was made from some old flannel sheets. It turned out very nice! I ended up trading this one for a wonderful, sturdy harvest basket for gardening.

This last one is just a tiny little thing. I didn't have much of the colored denim, unfortunately. It could be used as a placemat or something I suppose. I don't really know what to do with it, but it's pretty!