Twinning: Weaving a Rag Rug

Debra over at Frugal Little Bungalow has been responsible for me getting interested in a couple of things; quilting along with the Benjamin Biggs Quilt, and Twinning a rag rug. Thanks Debra! I have found that I love Twinning much more than crocheting for rag rugs. Very satisfying and addicting for me. My loom measures 26" x 38", it has nails across the top spaced at 1/2 inch intervals. It also has a metal rod down the side to keep the sides straight and not have them pull in. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have straight sides without that rod! I had a bit of a wobble even with it there.

It's about repurposing too; this rug is made from a twin sheet and another piece of fabric about the same size. I made something I needed and love out of something I didn't need any longer....using what I already have to fill a need. I also hope you will decide to try this weaving technique, or perhaps get your kids started on this craft because it is a wonderful confidence building tool. 

I want to share with you what I learned along the way while I twinned.  I tore my fabric into strips about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. This is a messy process because there will be a lot of lint. Do it outside if you can. The strips can be cut, here's how I do that. It didn't seem to matter if my strips were not exactly the rite size in the finished rug. My strips were wound into balls keeping each ball about the same size. When I finished one ball of strips I started on a new color. It worked out pretty well. The strips are not sewn or tied together until you are weaving.

I planned to alternate the 2 colors so I started the warp with the fabric that I had the most of... the darker one. I had an old shirt of my husbands that was a light weight denim. It was a yellow mustard color so I tore it into strips too thinking it would add a pop of color. I decided to add a short strip of the yellow shirt now and then.  I used most but not all of the fabric for this size rug. 

After warping, you start across the top and work a few rows, then turn the loom over and work a few rows on the bottom. You flip the loom over again continuing the flipping until you are at the middle. Then for the final couple of rows you may need the help of a crochet hook or another tool to finish. As you go you will need to add on new strips of fabric and I learned a nifty technique to do it quickly. It makes a nice smooth knot too. Here's a link for that. 

The fabrics were different; one was all cotton and the other a cotton blend. I did not like working with the cotton blend at all and won't use it again unless I have too. It frayed a lot and just didn't feel good to my fingers as I wove. 

I also found that I would weave differently on different days. Some days I would pull tighter than others. Try to be consistent, though this weaving technique is forgiving. Also just before I finished it I realized I had not kept the rows tight enough and after tightening them I had to add additional rows.

I found that this process actually went faster than I expected and it turned out prettier than expected too. 

Have a look at how pretty this Twinned rug is! I learned a lot from iamauntmeem , she has several You Tube videos on Twinning. She shows you how to keep the raw edges of the strips to the inside for a nice clean finish. I didn't bother with that this time. Here is where you can get a loom for yourself, Our Old Country Store.

I link at these parties. 




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