MIni Braided Rug

Need a a mini braided rag rug? Maybe one for your glass? Or a dollhouse? This little rug is a great size for use as a coaster or to fit inside a dollhouse.

Inspired by the larger braided rugs: For a mini rug use thin cut strips, made the same way as a larger one, just stopping a lot sooner to sew off the end.

Demin Purses (from Re-purposed Jeans)

 Don't throw away those old worn, torn, beat up, unfixable jeans! Oh, the possibilities...

These little purses were made from scraps of denim from old jeans (I use as many of the pieces as possible for bags, rugs, or other projects), scraps of other fabrics, and yarn (depending on what I had on hand at the time). There was no pattern, just the piecing of the things as I went along.

I paired some smaller pieces of discarded jeans with scrap fabric I had on hand to make these little purses. Of the four purses pictured, one is made from a front side pocket (the lining and back from leftover fabric); for one I took the zipper from the tapered pair of jeans to make a side pocket, the unzips; and one has a smaller piece as a pocket along the bottom. Two of the straps are made from braided yarn and two of the straps are made from the side seams from the legs of of jeans. They are are all lined with fabric.

You can find find ways to reuse and re-purpose all sorts of things into something usable and cute.

More Rugs

Updates!

I love coming up with new color combinations and new patterns of braided rag rugs from my selection of scraps and rags. Plus, this is one of the ways I keep my hands busy during quiet nights or while watching a movie or TV show at home. (Multi-tasking is a way of existence for some of us.)

I am now running low on scraps (again). I guess that means I need to get back to working on my other sewing projects and shredding some of the discards I have set aside for the rug bin.

When my grandmother first saw the rugs I was making she told me about how her mother-in-law (my great grandmother and a skilled seamstress), used to cut scraps of rags to be made into rugs and how how proud she would be to know that the creative genes have been passed down. My grandmother now has three of my rag rugs and my aunt has two. (Grandma wanted them for in front of the chairs, especially when the boys come in in their boots and sit down.)

I really believe you can find a project for so many of the things we might otherwise throw away. My rag rugs are a perfect example. The only cost I have in these are time.

Remember - Earth Day is coming!(April 22, 2011)

Poetry is My Bag

Poetry is my bag... or all over my bag, as the case might be. Check out my bag just in time for National Poetry Month (April), complete with the poem "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou embroidered on the side.

It took me a few evenings of embroidering the black lettering and the red female figures. while watching 'Bones' and 'Criminal Minds'. The inside is lined with a velvet-like red fabric (both fabrics leftover from other projects) with a braided red and black yarn strap sewn into the layers. Sewing the pieces together took less time than the actual needlepoint, but sometimes that's the way it goes.

Phenomenal Woman

                             Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s seize
But when I start to tell them. They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet,
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed,
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s In the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need for care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal Woman,
That’s me.

Braided Rag Rugs

Sorted Fabric Strips for Rugs

Years ago I remember a trip to the state fair with my family that took us through our usual trip through the historical cabin. What stuck this trip was a woman sitting on the porch, in a period costume, working on a braided rag rug. It was an image that stuck with me. All my life I had been around people who could sew and do all sorts of crafts, but I had never actually seen someone braid a rag rug before and didn't know anyone that could. It was one of those memories that got filed away and years later when looking at my scrap box I got to thinking about it again. I knew I could do it, I just hadn't tried and didn't know anyone who could show me, so I'd have to take it on myself.

Using Pins to keep Place

 Using scraps I had on hand I cut them into strips and started playing with techniques and going through the process of figuring it out. I didn't want just long strips sewn together (like you see a lot of times in mass produced, store bought braided rugs). My first attempt, as I figured out what worked best ended up being a coaster. I started with sewing the ends together then braided the strips into each other as I moved outward in a circle.

Rag Rug

I started a collection of scraps from other sewing projects and discarded clothes and rag cut into strips to be used in rugs, organizing them by color. It's given me a great outlet to use scraps of fabric, lace, & ribbon as well as recycle old and otherwise discarded rags (old, worn, torn clothes, towels, etc).

At the last camp I worked at I had a lot of quiet evenings in the middle of nowhere. It gave me a lot of time to work on my own projects and rug making was a nice one for that.

They have also proven to make some great gifts. It's kind of cool to see the rugs being used and decorating the homes of friends and family that have them. I have a stack right now waiting to find homes.