Artistic license... I mean I do it my way!

The rag rug for my craft room is coming along nicely. I'm not spending all my time doing it, especially whilst it's been so warm, as I do have other projects on the go too! So here's the update.....

....I'm not expecting to fill the whole frame ( I'd need a lot more tee shirts for that!) but, it will be a good size when it's finished. As you can see I work from the back. This is the way I was taught to make these peg rugs.....

...you make the hole in the hessian with your chosen rag tool, (more on that in a while) push one end of the strip into the hole, a few threads along make another hole and push the other end of the strip into that hole. Try to make the ends as level as you can. ( I know I shall have a few to trim up as they've been cut a bit too long) and this is what it looks like...

..there are no rules, move over the hessian any way you want......

....as long as you are keeping the lengths between holes as equal as you can. Now, when I was growing up, these types of rugs were called peg rugs. The reason being is that mainly this was used as the rug making tool....

...these are in fact original pegs from the 1950's. They belonged to my late mother, and I have a box full of them....

...to get back to the pegging tool, one of the "legs" was cut off the peg and the remaining leg was sharpened to a point so that it could be used to pierce the hessian. That is how I made my first pegged rug when I was about 10, and it stayed in our kitchen for about 10 years. This is the tool I use now....

..it's has a very short handle which helps as I have arthritis in my fingers. So, I'm really pleased and hope to get it finished in the next week. I decided to go with a random pattern, and patches of colour. I didn't want straight lines or a shape. That's the thing about doing it your way! I have been thinking ahead though, and have begun making these.....

....ready for you know what. I'm trying to be organised, for a change!

Strips, stacks and ready to go!

Well all the tee shirt pile has now been cut into strips for my rag rug....

...all sorted into colour piles ready....

...I've decided not to use any of the striped fabric in this rug. I think I'll use them for something else, at a later date. I used my rotary cutter on an A2 self healing mat and a large metal ruler, one we usually use for picture framing to cut all the pieces. With the fabric being 100% cotton there was quite a lot of fluff flying about, my desk was covered. But, it soon cleaned up.....

... One thing I will mention is that because I also use my mat for paper craft I made sure that I cleaned it well. Because if it's left it could cause heaps of problems when trying to cut nice neat lines on card. Take a look...

...all those cotton fibres which are trapped in the cut will stay there and the surface will be uneven and not very nice. So I cleaned it with a washing up scourer and warm water. It ended up like this.....

...It only took five minutes. If you use your mat just for fabric, well I suppose it doesn't really matter. Anyway, this is all my waste from all that cutting.....

...I put it in this veg storer whilst I was cutting away, to catch it all. Is it waste?

Will it end up in the recycling or on the compost? No, I'm going to try and use it all, ( if I can). The rug which I am making is for my little craft room. The old fitted carpet is being taken out, ( it's been in there for a number of years) and it's being replaced with some vinyl flooring. (I'm hoping to get an off cut reasonable cheap from somewhere as it's a small room) Then at least I have a wipe clean surface for when I'm on messy or wet projects. So the plan is for the waste from my tees to be used as place mats, or coasters, I'm not sure yet, but I'll find a way of utilising them. If you're wondering if I've spent any money on materials for this rug, well the answer is not really. The hessian I've used for the backing was from a huge piece which was given to me. The tee shirts were all ours , worn until they no longer fit, out of shape, or whatever. The wood for the frame was off cuts from one of our gardening projects. I don't count the cost of my time, as I feel that any time spent doing anything creative is more than worth it. Now I just have to decide on a pattern. I'm going straight on to the hessian, from the centre and see what shapes appear. That all begins this evening.