Crocheted Rag Rug Tutorial: Part Three

Okay, grab your giant crochet hook and let's work on down the side of your rug where we left off last time. Got that done? Now let's go around a curve.

Here we come to what I'll call the first curve today. I see no center stitch right at the top of the curve so I'm choosing to make 2 single crochets in each of the two center most stitches.

Looks okay to me.

Around we go and down the other side of the rug.

Here's our second curve to work around. I see a stitch at the very top of the curve so I'm going to try to put 2 single crochets in the three stitches at the top of the curve. First increase in the stitch on the right, then in the topmost stitch, then in the one on the left.

That gives a nice round, even curve.

You can see the rug still wants to curl up, but this is not unusual until the rug gets a little bigger. If the curling bothers you, you can lay the rug on an ironing board and using steam, give it a good pressing and it should surrender, relax and lie flat. Just don't panic and put too many increased stitches in your curves at this point.

The third curve increases are going to be done slightly differently because the curve itself is bigger and wider.

I have a pencil stuck through what I'm calling the topmost stitch of this curve. I'm going to do 2 single crochets in the second stitch BEFORE that top stitch, then I'll do one regular single crochet in the stitch right before the topmost stitch, 2 single crochets in the top stitch, one regular single crochet in the stitch immediately following, and then 2 single crochets in the next. So for this curve we have an increase in a stitch, skip making an increase on the next stitch, an increase in the topmost stitch, skip making an increase on the next stitch and then an increase in the next stitch.

That puts you around the curve and on to another long side.

I went on to do the fourth curve the same as the third.

All right, this rug is getting through to me now. I can't coax it to lie flat, it's still curling, so to the steam iron we go.

Voila! Flat as a pancake!

As the rug (and the curves) grows in size, I look at the curve before starting my increases.

Just eyeball it and mark with pins (evenly spaced around the curve is best) where you want to do your increases. (Above is our fifth curve to be worked, if anyone is still counting.)

Every time I finish a curve with the increases, I stop and pull and pat the curve to see if it will lie relatively flat without cupping or waving. If I like the way it looks, I go on. If not, I simply pull out the stitches around the curve and place the increases in different spots or make more or less of them. (Remember that you never make increases along the long sides of the rug . . . only around the curves.)

The next curve, the sixth today, looks a little pointy to me so I'm going to make an increase 2 in the stitch to the right of the point, do a single crochet in the next two stitches and increase 2 in the next stitch. (I'm trying to "fill in" a little on each side of the very end stitches.

That gave me a nice, round curve with no more point.

The bigger your rug gets, the larger your curve will be and (usually) the more spaced apart your increases will be. I've never made more than four increases evenly spaced around a curve, but if you think you need more, try it.

I'd always rather have a rug that cupped slightly ("slightly" perhaps being the operative word) than one with a wavy edge because when laid on the floor, the cupped one will flatten out from being walked on. The wavy one will probably never flatten out.

My rug at this point measures approximately 7-1/4" x 18-1/4".

It feels like I'm getting a little too much cupping so I just did four increases on the right hand side . . .

. . . and will do the same on the left hand one coming up.

Bottom line, don't be afraid of your increasing on the curves. It's a small matter to pull out a curve and try again if you don't like the looks of it. The bigger your rug gets, the more easily it will lie flat. If you take the time to look at a curve and mark your increases with pins or some other markers evenly spaced before doing them, I think it's easier to get a nicely rounded curve.

So how about some pictures from those of you who have had time to start your rug? I'd love to see them.

Next time I'll show you how to end the rug and how to weave in that 6" tail that is still flapping around where you first started the rug.