Monday, February 13, 2012

Crocheted Rag Rug Tutorial: Part Four

I finished my scrap rag rug this morning so I'll show you just two more small things you need to know (not that you couldn't have figured them out yourself) as the last steps to making your own crocheted rug.

Decide where you want to end your rug. I chose to put an all-blue border as the last round of my rug.

So I single crocheted right up to the starting blue single crochet.

Then I cut my fabric strip leaving about a 6" tail.

Next I'll put my hook through the starting blue loop, the one my left index finger is on in the picture above.

Hook is through that loop.

Hook your fabric tail and bring it through that first blue loop.

And then continue pulling the fabric right on through the top loop of the last single crochet you made. (The one that was on your hook.)

Continue pulling that 6" tail all the way through the loop.

This forms kind of a slip knot. Pull it tight.

Now we're going to flip the rug over and weave in that tail over and under any stitch loops you choose on the wrong side of the rug. (We're looking at the wrong side of the rug in the above picture.)

Weave it in and around through loops until you have only a small length of the tail left. Snip it off with scissors.

Now is the time to deal with the tail you've had on the back of the rug since first making the chain stitches we started with.

Weave this tail in on the back of the rug in the same way you just did the ending tail. Hidden and gone!

Then I took my rug to the ironing board and gave it a good steam pressing to coax it into a nice oval shape and to flatten any lumpy and bumpy sections.

Here's the finished rug. Final measurement is 23-12/" x 34-1/2".

I'm very happy with the way this "no rhyme or reason", scrappy colored rug turned out. I hope you'll be pleased with yours, too.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is simply lovely, Mama Pea! I love the varied colors. Rag rugs seem to fit so nicely with any style and color of decor.

Thanks for taking the time to put this wonderful tutorial together-- all 4 parts! :o)

dr momi said...

A beautiful rug! Someday I'm going to make one and I'll remember you have the tutorial!

Cr said...

Beautiful rug, Mama Pea. You've inspired me - I bought three sheets at the thrift store and am turning them into my own rug. Thank you so much for taking the time to make the tutorial.

Karen L. said...

Loving that scrappy rug. For a "no plan" design, it looks great! Wish I had a place to put one of these as I certainly have plenty of fabric that I could use and I already have the hook. Maybe next house?!?! Glad to see that you did not get blown off the roof or anything else for that matter. We have been super windy here in NC also ... and down into the 20's too. Guess winter decided to arrive.

Sparkless said...

Very nice. I like your scrappy rug too. Now I just have to find enough fabric scraps to make one.

Dirt Lover said...

Beautiful! I had dinner with a friend of mine, and I was telling her about your rag rugs. I'm sending her this link, and then will wait to see what she does with this new info! Thanks for taking the time to pass on your knowledge.
~~Lori

Erin said...

beautiful!

Wendy said...

Your rug turned out very lovely and I know you are proud to be finished.

judy said...

in which part of your lovely home will it go?

Patty said...

Mama Pea, I am pleased so far, though I don't know that I have a good eye for putting the colors together. I'll try to post a pic of my progress on my blog later today. :) Thanks ever so much!

LindaCO said...

The tutorial looked like a ton of work. Thanks for posting it.

Mama Pea said...

Mooberry Farmwife - I've always thought rag rugs do fit nicely with any style and color of decor. But I thought it was only me. So thanks for the reinforcement!

dr momi - When the time is right, I know you will!

Cr - Yay, for you! Don't forget to "show and tell" when you do yours.

Karen L. - Would one of the rugs work by your back door, maybe? (Inside, I mean.) Sounds like you're getting your share of the cool weather right now!

Sparkless - Try thrift stores or recycling centers or 2nd hand shops for some fabric! I've seen BOXES of fabric at our the store connected to our recycling center.

Mama Pea said...

Lori - You are so very welcome!

Erin - Thanks, Friend!

Wendy - Can you believe I want to start another one??

judy - Either in front of the kitchen sink or the vanity in the bathroom. Haven't decided yet.

Patty - I am going to be pickled tink to see your rug!!

LindaCO - Like so much else, I envisioned the tutorial being an easy-peasy post (or posts). SO much easier to explain to someone in person while just talking than writing it all out!

KatB said...

I'm so glad I found your blog - now I have to look up the first parts of your tutorial! :)

Mama Pea said...

Kristen - Welcome and thanks for commenting! The rug is really easy to make, hope you get a chance to try it! (Although you seem like an awfully busy lady already!)

Anonymous said...

Thank u so much for the tutorial!!! I'm working on two rugs now and will post a picture when they are completed. Thanks from- Nashville, Tn!!!

Mama Pea said...

Anonymous - So glad my posts were helpful to you. I started another one this winter, but I fear now it will have to wait until summer is over to get finished. 'Course, there's always the chance I'll get organized enough that I find time to work on it before then . . . but probably not!

Anonymous said...

Where is the pattern start..i just found you and would love to try making one of these rugs...I just love yours..
Mary

Mama Pea said...

Mary - If you go over to my right hand side bar and scroll way, way down you will find my Search box. Type in Crocheted Rag Rug and that will bring up the posts I did on the rug construction. The first installment was on Jan. 29th, the second on Feb. 2nd, the third on Feb. 7th and you've found the fourth on Feb. 13th. Thanks for your interest.

Anonymous said...

How does one wash these rugs?

Mama Pea said...

Anonymous - They are machine washable and dry-able. But they are very heavy when wet so be sure to "balance" the load in the machine. And they take a long time to dry so I think line drying is best . . . when possible.

Anonymous said...

Where do u find the beginning of this pattern....love the rug...thanks

Mama Pea said...

Hello, Anonymous! If you go over to my right hand side bar and scroll all the way down you'll find a SEARCH box. Enter "Crocheted Rag Rug Tutorial" in the box, hit the button and you should get a listing of different dates and posts I did on the tutorials.

The listing of the tutorial parts may seem a little confusing to start with because blogger doesn't list the tutorials in order. (Darn.)

This listing of the first post you see should be Part 4 which you've already found dated Feb. 13, 2012.

The next one will be a tutorial I did on rectangular crocheted rugs using heavy rug yarn (rather than fabric strips) dated Jan. 16, 2015. It might still be informative to read through that post as many of the techniques discussed are the same as for the oval rugs made with the fabric strips.

The next post listed for the Crocheted Rag Rug Tutorial is Part 2 dated Feb. 2, 2012.

Next comes Part 1 (yes, completely out of order) dated Jan. 29, 2012.

At the bottom of the page click on "Next Posts."

Top of this page should be Part 3 dated Feb. 7, 2012. Now you should have access to all four posts, Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. (It would be so much easier if they were only listed in chronological order!)

The following posts listed on that page contain other miscellaneous information re making the crocheted rugs.

Hope this is the info you need!

Claire said...

Is this made using cotton sheets? I have made t-shirt yarn rugs but worried about cotton sheet strips fraying so haven't tried them.

Anonymous said...

I do not see the SEARCH box, can you help me? Thank you.

Mama Pea said...

Anonymous - It's right at the top right hand sidebar of this page. Rather than being called a "Contact" button, it's a place where you can send me an e-mail

Anonymous said...

Love to know how to start one

Anonymous said...

Can you please replay the “how to crochet a rag rug”, from the beginning? I can only fine lesson number 4. Thank you, Jackie in AZ