R is for Rug- #AtoZChallenge

Today, R is for Rug! Because everybody associates the letter R with rugs, right? Right? 

Okay, so it may just be me on that point.  

Nevertheless, one of my recently favorite hobbies is working with old fabric, particularly fabrics that are considered too far gone to be used for any other projects. Things like old tee shirts with holes in them, worn out denims, jumpers and track pants, things that wear thin or lose their elasticity after a while, or are just done to death and are basically unwearable- which is like half of my husband's old work clothes...

Instead of letting our old clothes end up in the landfill (especially the ones that you know even the City Mission won't take) I cut them into long continuous strips, and crochet them into rugs. Simple! I use a 9 or 10mm crochet hook- those work best because the material is bulky and hard to crochet with smaller hooks. When I need to attach another strip, I knot the ends of the strips together (I know I should probably sew them together, but I'm lazy and it's much faster to just make a granny knot!)

As a result, I get a nice, multicolored rug out of our old clothes! The plus side is it offers a little cushion to our hard kitchen floor (which is just lino over concrete), and keeps the floor from feeling so cold.


 
I keep two in the kitchen- a round one that lives in front of the stove, and an oblong one that lives in front of the kitchen sink. I have a spare, which I think I may add to until it is pretty big- it's quite thick, so I think it would make a decent "picnic blanket"- that is, I can lay it out in the garden in the summer time, in the shade, and enjoy myself, without being directly on the hard ground.

A friend recently gave me several more balls of t-shirt yarn, and it's quite fine, so I look forward to making smaller items- perhaps hot pads or something similar. You know, because if I'm not knitting hot pads out of yarn, I'm using old t-shirts instead!

Until tomorrow, folks!