The art of crocheting useful articles from worn out clothing created some of the most unusual area rugs of the past two centuries.

The colonial housewife and her descendants believed in the maxim ‘Use it up, wear it out, and make it do!’ When clothing, sheets, blankets and other household cloths became too worn to serve their original purpose, they were torn into strips and used to make other things that the household needed.

Rugs were a natural, and the techniques used included weaving, braiding, looping, tying and crocheting.

Crocheted rag rugs are either worked in back and forth rows of stitches for square or rectangular rugs, or in rounds, for oval, round or some other shaped rugs like hearts. Square and rectangular rugs can also be worked in rounds, but the increases can be more difficult to control than straight back and forth stitching.

The material used is strips of cloth, either torn or cut in lengths from fabric, then joined together end to end by a variety of methods. The stitch most often used is single crochet, which gives a firm texture and surface to the rug, but there have been a variety of stitches used for rag rugs depending on the materials used and the fashion.

Since crocheted rag rugs are extremely durable, there are many vintage rugs available. They can often be found at flea markets, antique and vintage stores, and even on eBay and other auction sites. The amount you can expect to pay for a vintage crocheted rag rug depends on the material, age and condition of the rug. If you absolutely love the look and don’t care about vintage, there are any number of artisans who create crocheted rag rugs for sale and for custom orders.

Cleaning and caring for a crocheted rag rug is as individual as the rug itself. Since it’s difficult to know whether fabrics used in the rugs construction are colorfast or even washable, it’s safest to have the rug dry-cleaned. Before cleaning with any chemical cleaner, test a swatch of it to make sure that the fabric won’t be damaged by the cleaning chemicals.

Want to create your own? Crochet supply houses carry rolls of strip fabric in an array of patterns and colors that can be used for crocheting rag rugs. You can also find many patterns for crocheting rag rugs on the internet. The most important things to remember are to use a crochet hook that gives you an even tension working with the fabric strips.

Crocheting rugs from rags is a unique craft that can give you the satisfaction of creating something from throwaways!

Bookmark and Share

No related posts.

Tagged with: •

Filed under: General • Indoor Rugs

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!