ragruG (and weaving)

jennontheisland

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I can't help but say "rag rug" like "redruM" in The Shining...

Since I'm not working due to ADHD mismanagement on my own part (not to mention the resulting anxiety and depression), I need something to do other than putter around the house and obsessively rearrange bed pillows. I've acquired a small (18" x 24") weaving loom and a bunch of old clothing that resulted from a recent purge (I've literally been through every closet and box in the house clearing out clutter that was cluttering my brain). I'm thinking I'll use denim strips as my warp, and cotton/hemp t-shirts for weft. I figure the small loom will work for placemats. I've also got an adjustable clothing rack that I think might make a decent frame for larger projects. I figured rag rugs would be a very forgiving way to get into weaving and still result in a practical product (I'm all for crafts, but I don't need the results of my boredom piling up as clutter).

Anyone else play with weaving this way? or any other ways?
 

Maryn

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I haven't played with weaving since I was a young teen, but as I recall it, placemats and pot-holders went quickly and were very forgiving. I didn't have an actual loom, just a frame with evenly spaced nails, but it got the job done well enough. I wouldn't want to use that method for anything large.

Once you get comfortable with weaving, be sure to check out Pinterest and Etsy for creative things other weavers are doing. I get lots of ideas from those two sources.

And congrats on dealing with all that clutter. Want to come for a long visit?

Maryn, lost in clutter
 

jennontheisland

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The loom I have is really not much more than yours. Instead of nails, it's got slots cut in the top and bottom of the frame. They're meant for thread/string so I'm hoping to jam the strips of fabric into them and let friction vs tension (and maybe some knots?) hold them in place.

I'm glad the placemats are a good place to start. Quickly is a lovely word to hear. I'm really concerned I'll get slowed or tangled; I'm still working on building back my patience with myself. I'm treating it like a work project and building myself work-breakdown-structure, task list, and a (very flexible) schedule so that I don't let myself get overwhelmed.

I have looked at quite few things on Etsy (mostly when looking to buy myself a rag rug, which is where the idea came from) and a lot is very 70s macrame style decorative. I need practicality in my hobbies, so I settled on placemats with intent to move up to floor mats, and then maybe a small bedspread with some purchased materials (my brother's gf is due at xmas). I love the idea of making pretty decorative things and selling them to people, but just really don't have the energy to manage that kind of transaction.

I'd happily deal with your clutter, as long as you can deal with the purging! (I am an anti-hoarder with no regard for sentiment).
 

Maryn

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Uh-oh, no regard for sentiment is a red flag here! I guess I'll keep my clutter to deal with myself.

If you like making decorative items that also have some utility, have you seen the clothesline bowls at Etsy and Pinterest? The first ones I saw were just coiled clothesline sewn into bowl shapes, but then I started seeing people rolling fabric around before the stitching, which produced some fascinating results. If you have access to cotton scraps (or cheap fabric from stores), this could be a great gift. I bought some clothesline and did exactly nothing with it, but one day I'll give it a shot.
 

kikazaru

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I love, love, LOVE!! Pinterest.

I have saved so many things that will never do, but among them is a pin that says "Pinterest is just electronic hoarding" of which I completely agree. However, back to your OP on rag rugs, it reminded me of a bunch of pins that I've collected on woven scarves. Many of them are made with fabric strips (basically rags) and beads and I was wondering if you could do scarves the same way as rugs, only on a smaller (and much lighter) scale.
 

Maryn

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Those sound nice. Can you share a link to one, not necessarily on your own board?

Maryn, privacy freak
 

kikazaru

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Those sound nice. Can you share a link to one, not necessarily on your own board?

Maryn, privacy freak

Sure Maryn, here's a couple
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/793970609281950377/
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/304063412325480994/

and this one I really love but I don't think it would considered woven
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/418975571555181884/

and this one is veering way off course but its very cool as well
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/370421138093243898/

and this one with beads
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/216665432052400180/

Did I mention how much I love Pinterest??? :hooray:
 
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jennontheisland

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I have saved so many things that will never do, but among them is a pin that says "Pinterest is just electronic hoarding" of which I completely agree.

Ha. This must be why I can't understand use of it; I am a purger, the unhoarder.

The scarves look like they'd be made just like rugs but with less tension on the strips and more precision in cut and placement of each strip. We've got a lot of merino wool camping clothing that when it finally gets enough moth holes in it, might make for one or two of these... I'd want to do these on a pinboard, rather than a loom, I think, to keep the strips laying flat... ?
 

jennontheisland

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If you like making decorative items that also have some utility, have you seen the clothesline bowls at Etsy and Pinterest? The first ones I saw were just coiled clothesline sewn into bowl shapes, but then I started seeing people rolling fabric around before the stitching, which produced some fascinating results. If you have access to cotton scraps (or cheap fabric from stores), this could be a great gift. I bought some clothesline and did exactly nothing with it, but one day I'll give it a shot.

I've not seen these bowls, but I have been wondering about basket weaving, and this sounds like baskets made with cord and fabric... very interesting. I've got some sturdy macrame cord that might work for a small test project...
 

kikazaru

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Hee Jen, I think this is better than the real hoarding (of which I am also guilty of). I am hampered both by sentimentality, the thrill of a great bargain hunt, and I am in love with the possibilities of junk. All that, yet I do love the look of a serene, clean home. Somehow I can't seem to reconcile the two.

I am also in awe of the great imagination and talent of so many people whose stuff is posted on Pinterest. I may not ever be able to afford that incredible piece of jewellery or painted furniture, but I can virtually own it and that's almost the same thing! :)
 

Maryn

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jennontheisland

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Bargain hunting I can get into. I love thrift stores but usually only browse knowing that I'll soon just tire of having stuff around me and just get rid of whateverthingamabob has caught my interest.

I've seen similar projects to the fabric-cord bowls done with paper. I've been looking for a good bread basket and something like those might work... washable, too!
 

kikazaru

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I've been pondering those woven scarves all day, and while I've never woven anything, I am a half-assed knitter. I bet the framework for a woven scarf could be made with thin yarn and some big needles - maybe even condo style (one large needle and one small) and just garter stitched. Once made to the desired length, then the other fabric/yarn/beads could be woven in.
 

Maryn

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Ooh, that sounds quite nice. If you do it, I'd love to see the results.

An acquaintance I haven't seen in a very long time is into weaving very small things, like bookmarks. They're quite intricate and lovely. Mine seems too good to use; I usually rip the edge off the closest newspaper.
 

kikazaru

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I'm still pondering that Maryn and it sounds like it may work - I think a combo of slubby yarn and fabric with perhaps some beads. However right now, I have several projects on the go - one a scarf that I started knitting for my son last November. It sits half finished, abandoned and guilt inducing, beside my favourite chair, but right now it's too warm to knit. I also saw some great ideas on Pinterest (where else?!) on using a head board to make a bench. To that end I snagged an abandoned headboard from the garbage (my favourite place to shop - hah!) and I'm rooting through my family's abandoned scrap wood piles for just the right boards. I know I could go buy some, but where's the fun in that? :Shrug:
 

Maryn

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Among the long list of my life's regrets:

Sunday on my way to the park, I saw a moving van and a double bed headboard and footboard among the stuff left for the trash truck. It appeared to be maple and in decent shape. At last, I could make my "flower bed" in the back yard! But no-o-o, by the time I drive the other direction, it was gone.

Maryn, sad
 

kikazaru

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Oooh nooo! I feel for you Maryn. Among my (many) regrets is not buying a beautiful scalloped edged mirror at a yard sale. I thought after that it would have been gorgeous mounted on a colourful bohemian style frame.

Re the scarves, I live in a town that does not have a fabric store other than Walmart, and they only sell cotton/cotton-poly quilt squares. I think some chiffon strips would be the thing to use with the added bonus of being able to accommodate wide holed beads strung on it. The possibilities! :hooray:
 

Maryn

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Do you know about FabricMart.com? They've got the best prices these days (ever since Amazon bought Fabric.com and ruined it for lots of us) and chiffons galore. I don't wear chiffon, but I bought two in the last three or four months because I could not resist the price and each was very pretty.

The big negative is their shipping charge. My reasoning, possibly faulty, is that if I'm going to pay almost ten buck in shippping, I might as well make the package heavy by buying more... So I wait for the day when they have the big sale on the category I want most, and I buy what I want, and some for future use (linings and under-layers), maybe a gift for my girls who sew. I don't feel a bit ripped off.

However, that's countered by a positive. Most of my orders give me at least a half yard more than I paid for, and sometimes as much as a yard and a half. It can be the difference between a nice tunic or a simple skirt and a two-piece outfit. Fabric.com once did that, under its previous owners, but now? Not so much as an inch extra, not ever. Just like JoAnn.

Maryn, who could rant at length
 

kikazaru

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I thought of buying on line but I do like to touch things and see the colours in person. I go to "the big city" every once in a while so can drop in at a fabric store. Another source might be the Sally Ann. Old scarves and blouses abound, and there should be some chiffon ones. Which gives me yet another excuse go there. :)
 

jennontheisland

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It has begun:

2njx535.jpg
2q9w95x.jpg


The frame has 26 slots, each are run with two strands of 1" torn cotton bedsheet twisted to about 1/8" cord, so I have 52 warp threads in 14". Tension seems to be mostly even (is there some kind of tension testing device?) except on the right side where I started, which is a touch looser. The twist gives the sheet a lot of spring, so I should be okay for take up tension. My main concern is the warp falling off the thin rails.

I'm going to start with the pile under the scissors in the first pic. It's all cotton t-shirt jersey knit so again lots of spring, so I'll need to be careful on my tensioning.

Since I'm going to be making 2 of these, my next step is to tear more cotton strips for the warp on the second one, then start stripping the shirts and splitting them into two piles.

This, plus all the math in my notebooks and some rough calcs on how many strips I can get from each garment took about 3 hours.
 
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