Crochet Rug No.2

Life has been pretty busy since I posted about my Halloween bunting and blogging seems to have fallen off the bottom of my ‘to do’ list. The last few weeks have  been crammed full of stuff that afterwards I think ‘oh, I should have written a post about that’.

Anyway, one thing I have done is to crochet another rug and I actually have photographs to share with you. My last crochet rug was quite small (and bright) so this time I thought I would try a bigger (and more neutral) one. I used this pattern for a Gorgeous Mandala Rug. It is one of Wink’s patterns and throughout I couldn’t help but think and reflect more than usual. She was an inspiration and continues to be. A creative being has updates on projects to remember Wink by.

I used 3 rolls of beige Tek-Tek yarn and a 10mm hook. The finished rug measures just under 4 feet across.

These rugs are fun to make and very useable. So much so that I have got some yellow t-shirt yarn to make a rug for the boy’s playroom next.

With half term looming we have a busy few weeks ahead of us and some treats in store. First of all, my husband and I are going to the North Yorkshire Moors for a couple of days… on our own! I cannot wait. My second treat is an early Christmas present. A sock knitting course. I am so excited. Apparently you need to know the basics of knitting and it has been years since I attempted knitting at all so I have been studying my old books and having a go again. Progress is slow and everything keeps being unravelled at the moment but it is fun and the potential projects … let’s just say my Ravelry queue is getting longer.

I can dream but it’s back to reality with a bump as my youngest has just come in and announced he has ‘found my wrecking ball’ and presented me with my ball of wool, circular needles and a very big tangle!

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Crochet rug

For one reason or the other I haven’t made much this Summer and my crochet seems to have been put on the back burner. My wish list of projects, on the other hand, just keeps growing.

With moving home, I have spent a lot of time thinking about interiors and what I want our house to look like. Some things we are not changing, the magnolia walls, for example. They are newly painted so there doesn’t seem much point. Instead, I have been thinking about adding colour in in different ways.

Take our bedroom. We bought the Malm Ikea furniture from the previous owners, it’s pretty inoffensive and the walls are magnolia. Together this provides a backdrop for crochet blankets and complimentary accessories.

My husband doesn’t say much when it comes to our house but he has always said he would prefer no flowers in the bedroom. Fair enough. So I have bought white bedding and white curtains and some fab orange lamps from Habitat. I love the retro look of them and they go well with all of my blankets. Anyway, this is all leading to my crochet rug! Actually it is more mat size but it fits just between the bed and the wardrobe. Here it is..

 

I made it with Tek-Tek fabric yarn (bought on Ebay UK for £8.40 per large roll) and a 9mm crochet hook. This rug took less than two rolls. The rug measures  70cm across and is densely crocheted. A larger hook and a more doily like pattern and the yarn would go much further. I made this rug in an evening so it is super quick too.

I followed a basic circle pattern until I had reached the size I wanted (10 rounds) and then I crocheted a round of double crochets.

My last two rounds were made as follows;

Penultimate round: Chain 6, miss next two stitches, slip stitch in next stitch, repeat to end, slip stitch to first ch6

Last round: Slip stitch to centre of first ch6 from last round, chain 6, join to the centre of the next ch6 space with a slip stitch, repeat to end, join with a slipstitch and fasten off. Your rug is finished!

The rug may turn up at the edges a bit but I found sitting on it whilst I was making it helped and at the end, I went round and manipulated the edges to lay flat. The yarn is really easy to work with but here are a few tips you might find useful:

1. The yarn is recycled and it does state on the packaging that the colours can vary and it is not one continuous strand. I only found one short section which was a different colour to the rest and I cut that section out.
2. I found the knots where the strands had been joined to be thinner than the rest of the yarn so I cut the knots out and just joined as if I was joining a new colour.
3. One section of yarn was really thin compared to the rest, it was noticeable when I was crocheting, so I just cut it out. I don’t think I cut more than about 80cm out in total including knots and the discoloured section.
4. The yarn is heavy so after a few rounds I lay it on the floor and crocheted from above. After a while I was able to sit on it as I crocheted. Take regular breaks as this can be sore on the back and hands.
5. Ends are really easy to ‘sew’ in on the back. The stretchy nature of the fabric means that you can just tuck them in by hand.

Please ask if you have any questions about my rug. I’d love to hear about any similar projects you have made or other uses for fabric yarn.

On a completely different note, I had a return nomination from Zeens and Roger for a Liebster Award. I don’t really have anyone else to nominate but here are my responses to the questions. I love reading the answers from other bloggers to questions like these as it feels like you are getting to know the person behind the craft.  Anyway, here goes..

1. What did you have for tea last night? Sweet and sour chicken and rice, wish I could say I made it all from scratch but I can’t!
2. What are you having for tea tonight? Prawn curry, friends are coming over and cooking for us. My kind of cooking.
3. What are you doing at the weekend? Walks and pubs.
4. As a child, what did you want to be when you were a grown up? A teacher and that’s exactly what I became.
5. What was your first job? Working in a garage when I was 16 for £1 an hour!
6. Name a book you read again and again. Jane Eyre, about twice a year.
7. What do you collect? Ladybird books, enamel badges, pressed glass.
8. Mastermind subject? The Tudors.

School starts back next week which means we will all be getting back into a routine of some sort. Hopefully when things settle down I will have more craft time. Here’s hoping.

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Upcycled crochet

This week, two bloggers that I follow have posted items made from vintage fabrics. This adorable cushion by Bernadette and these amazing, crocheted rugs made by Moji-Moji Design. Both posts inspired me to share my upcycled crochet rugs that I made a little while back.

The first was made from curtain material using a simple doily pattern and a 20mm hook!! I can’t find the pattern anywhere, sorry. I tore the curtain into long strips (using the same method as Moji-Moji). They were quite wide (with hindsight I would tear narrower ones and use a smaller hook, as the 20mm hook was heavy going!). The centre of this rug is actually deep purple with a denim border but for some reason I could not get the colours to show up.

The second rug was made from my youngest boys’ t-shirts. I used a rotary cutter and cut loop from the armpit down and then linked the loops together to make a long string. I used a 9mm hook for this one. I am in two minds about this rug, the t-shirts varied in quality and some areas are very thick and others thin, so I am actually considering remaking it in a round. I love that I can look at the rug, though, and see favourite t-shirts. Good memories.

This post got me thinking about hook size. I generally use a 3.5mm or 4mm hook and DK yarn, so using large hooks and fabric was an experience.

We move tomorrow so it may be a while before my next post. Amsterdam was amazing, by the way. I won’t bore you with pictures… well maybe just one. (Edit: Teenage son has requested a picture of Amsterdam and not him! )

 

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