9/17 Upcycle Blog Hop - A Rug for My Mug

I'm b-a-a-a-c-k!! After a long hiatus, and woefully neglecting my blog, I decided to start off the season with this great BLOG HOP!

The best place to start is at the BEGINNING with Tanya's blog.

If you have been following along you should have arrived here from Haidee's blog.

When you are finished visiting me, the next blog on your hop is Dawn's!

The Inspiration

I have a lot of yarn, wool, and other remnants left over from other projects. On Monday, my GF Cyn Gagen showed how to make a 'mug rug' using pieces of yarn, wool, ribbon, etc. on her show Cynchronicity Live. Thanks for the idea, Cyn!

So I went about gathering orphaned strands and potential items to weave into my rug. If you are planning to use the rug for a mug you will want to stay away from bumpy embellishments, or at least weave them in at the edges of your piece.

The Project

 

Start with a piece of cardboard and cut notches of equal number and length along the long side. Leaving a 'tail' at one end, wrap your yarn around the cardboard from one end to the other and leave a tail at the other end. Tape the ends to the cardboard so they don't move when you start to weave.  

I like using one of those needles with a huge opening. For someone with arthritis or fibromyalgia, this needle is a godsend. Caution: it is very, very sharp!

Weave your strands back and forth. Tie one strand to the next so you have a continuous thread weaving through your rug. Sometimes I used several strands at a time.

Here is the front of my project before I started to cut it from the cardboard base.

                          

Rear view of the project before cutting.

Really Cutting the Rug

From the back carefully cut down the middle of the woven strands, exposing the original single yarn you used to weave the strands through. While your rug is still attached at the front, tie off all the strands however you choose; slip-knot, knot, ribbon, etc.
Once all the long ends are securely knotted, cut down the middle of the original yarn to release it from the cardboard.  Remove cardboard and tie off the rest of the ends.

Rear view of finished piece.

I used a washer, metal clip and beaded charm in mine.

Thank you for visiting me and Please leave a comment. :)

I hope you will consider following my exploits by following my blog! :)

As a reminder, the next blog on your hop is Dawn's!