First Friday: Variations on the "braided" rug

It's a good thing these First Fridays come once a month, because it forces me to get my butt in gear and  finish projects that I start.  I have actually finished a lot of projects, but I give them away as gifts, forget to take pictures and/or don't want to write about them until after the recipient receives them.

How many of us grew up in a home that had at least one braided rug?  When settling down in my own home, I started pricing these out and they are not cheap. I was fortunate to inherit two large rugs from my parents as well as a smaller one.

When I was faced with 35+ pounds of wool roving last year, I was trying to think of ways to use the stuff up quickly!  Spinning all of it would take forever (and indeed, it is a slow process...a 100 yard skein of yarn is about 3 oz--you do the math).  Mother K from my spinning group had actually crocheted a "braided" rug out of roving and it was beautiful, and used a lot of roving!  I am no expert crocheter but I know how to make a simple chain.  So I set about making a rug for a wedding gift for my brother and now sister-in-law.    It turned out well, and after a washing, felted a little bit to make it hold together more.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures. To get the shape for an oval rug, you increase on the ends every 5 loops.

Another method that I have discovered involves making i-cords (shown above).  Again, this is not technically a "braided" rug, but it has the same type of appearance.  Another spinning group member showed her finished project last month.  This method does require the use of spun yarn, so it doesn't use as much wool as the previous method.  However, it is a great way to use old yarn left-overs, particularly if you are not too concerned about colors.  Since we moved the inherited braided rug from our bedroom to the kitchen, we only have bare floor to place our feet upon in the morning. There is no way I will be able to construct a 8x10 oval rug with this method, but I can construct two smaller rugs.

There are plenty of videos on the web for how to make i-cords.  Below are two different methods (if you don't have double pointed needles, you don't want to use the first method).

 

 The second method can be done with regular needles.  On every row, you want to knit the 1st, 3rd, and 5th stitches and slip the 2nd, 4th, and 6th stitches onto the other needle as if you were going to purl.   The video below demonstrates.

Once you have your i-cords, you simply have to stitch them together with carpet thread. 

 

I'm in the middle of stitching this round rug that I made with homespun yarn. As you can see, it is slow progress (hence the wine). 

 

I wanted to make a more oval shaped rug for my bedroom. Just from trial and error, it seems you have to be very exaggerated in the shape of your oval when you start.  The brown and white round rug actually started out more oval-ish, but I only started with about four inches of straight cord before I turned the first corner.  In the purple and gray one, I have a 12-inch straight cord before I turned the cord.  This rug will be made up of various scraps of yarn I have lying around (some of it, like the purple is homespun and dyed (with Kool-Aid!), alternating between lighter and darker shades. 

So happy rug making.  Hopefully, by April's First Friday I will have an update on the finished products!

First Fridays: November

I was having a difficult time thinking about what crafty item to showcase this month.  I will get to the fiber-art eventually, but this month I think I'm going to introduce you to an international program for students called TREPS.   It teaches kids entrepreneurial and business skills; skills they can use for a lifetime.  One of my largest grumblings over the state of our education system is that kids are just taught content and seemingly (to them) abstract skills.  They aren't really taught why these skills are important nor how they can apply them.  This is where TREPS can help.  When the  program was first introduced, I was initially skeptical, but the results  (the products, the enthusiasm generated and the business acumen developed) have shown me how valuable this program (and others like it) can be.

Our local school's PTO introduced and ran the program.  For six weeks, kids went through a series of workshops to develop a marketable item.  At the end of the workshops there was a Marketplace where the kids sold their products.  The young brain harnesses so much creativity and if they are given a positive framework in which to channel that creativity, great things happen.

At the Marketplace last year (which coincided with the Village's winter carnival weekend), middle schoolers were selling all sorts of amazing products that they had made themselves.  Some were constructed from scratch, while others were value-added products. Here are a few of the more interesting ones to get your creative juices flowing in time for the holiday season (photos are from more professional websites, but the kids' products were just as good).

*Recycled and sculpted LPs in the form of clocks, napkin holders, coasters

www.retroclassics.etsy.com

*Lip balm made from local honey

*Wool felted animals

www.needlefelting.brighterplanet.org

*Homemade dog biscuits

*Homemade fudge

*Beaded jewelry

www.engravable-jewelry.com

 So, if you think you are crafty, creative or industrious, think again! Unleash your creative powers!