365Caws is now in its 16th year of publication. If I am unable to post daily, I hope readers who love the natural world and fiberarts will seize those days to read the older material. Remember that this has been my journey as well, so you may find errors in my identifications of plants. I have tried to correct them as I discover them. Likewise, I have refined fiberarts techniques and have adjusted recipes, so search by tags to find the most current information. And thank you for following me!
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Stripping
Day 33: Thanks to a generous donation of over a dozen t-shirts by a friend, I'm almost ready to weave more rag rugs again. This is the most laborious part of the process, i.e., cutting them into one-inch strips. It has been made easier by the invention of the rotary cutter, but there was a time when it had to be done with scissors (t-shirt fabric can't be torn because it is a knit). The rotary cutter also creates much neater edges which, of course, in the weaving are left raw. They curl in on themselves by their very nature and are unnoticeable in the finished rug. This is an excellent way to "re-purpose" old tees. Even if the fronts are stained, the backs are almost always usable. To weave, simply overlap the strip ends by an inch or so. The few tails which invariably stick up add a rustic look to the rug. Best of all, rag rugs are heavy enough that they don't need a backing.
Labels:
rug strips,
weaving
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