Information and Tutorials on Fabric Yarn Crochet Projects

I was asked a little while back to give some more information on the crocheted rag rug project. 

I digged in my bookmarks and searched the net and found some tutorials that I had used back when I did the first rug.

Here you go - general instructions on how to crochet a rag rug:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Ruby Glen - Round crochet rag rug

How to make a Jean Rug

The vintage chica

The Sunroom - Circular crochet rag rug instructions

Sugar Bee - Rag Rug Tutorial

By looking at all of them ... and there are many more out there, just google ... you will soon see that there are MANY ways to do this!

So I encourage you to look at a couple tutorials and just figure out what you like best and what would work for you. At least that is the way I did it. :-)

Here are some more or less random bits of how I do it:

MAKING FABRIC YARN

In order to make the yarn you can cut your strips which ever widths you want to. Just experiment a bit!
If you cut them wider - use a bigger hook! If you cut them narrower - use a smaller hook.

Also keep in mind the wider you cut the strips the thicker and more stable (and less soft) your endproduct will be!
(And the harder it might be to crochet.)

Also if you have cut your strips too narrow you can still simply use two strands instead of just one.

Some people cut their fabric with scissors, some use rotary cutters, some rip it. I have to say that I like to use scissors - that makes it easy to do even while watching kids or a movie or something ...

It DOES take quite a bit of time to cut up enough fabric!!! Most likely it will take WAY longer than you think. :-)

Also it does get a bit messy depending on the fabric ... as it usually does fray while cutting.

When you have cut your fabric you most likely end up with different bits. So how do you get a continuous strip? 

There are several methods explained in the tutes. Some just knot the strips. That is fine - but you might end up seeing the knots and it might be a bit "bumpy" for a rug. You can sew the strips together. But that was NEVER an option for me. Way too much work. :-)

I have found the "cleanest" look with little work is achieved by knotting the strips in a special way.

I did not have the link anymore to a tutorial that explained the method I use ... but ... for you guys I would do almost anything right. ;-)

So after A LONG time of googling - and some very odd search terms! - I found one:  :-)

*drumroll PLEASE*

Tottie talks craft

WHAT MATERIAL TO USE FOR FABRIC YARN?

Well, any really! You will find that some material works better for some things than others. But if you are just making a rug I think anything should be alright. Just adapt the widths of the strips according to the thickness of the fabric. 

(So if you use a thicker and a less thick fabric together - cut the thicker one narrower.)

For rugs I like to use cotton fabrics that I can wash on hot. Just simpler to clean. But you can make other things than rugs ....

I have made this tiny cute bag 

and this doll crib to carry around

I would love to make some "boxes". As the fabric "yarn" is rather thick the crocheted product has a nice "stand". 

Also I found out that fabric that I would not like to use for sewing - like artificial stuff - works great for crocheting. And do not worry if the fabric frays alot while being cut. That actually might end up to give a fun fuzzy look to the end result! :-)

If you want a more "clean" look jersey is a great option. So save all those stained shirts!!!

But if you are going to make a rug you will need LOTS of them. Seriously!!!

With the big rug I made I used bed sheets and I needed SEVERAL!

Okay, I hope that kinda helped. Feel free to ask any questions!!! Am happy to answer! :-)

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