I've been threatening to make a rug for our front entryway for about 5 years now. Pretty much ever since we moved in. Periodically, I'll go on a shopping quest, where I'll look in local shops, scour the internet, and mention it to my mom, sister, and best friends incessantly.... but I have had no success in finding the right rug.
Am I picky?! Yes!!! I wanted something in white or off-white with a dash of light tan or something, and oval shaped. So I'd look all over, and then threaten to make one, and then just live with the little square piece of carpet that they cut for us last time we got new carpeting. Ugh!
I mean, who in there right mind would MAKE a RUG?!!! Well, it turns out that people all over blogland do, and they even give ideas and tips on how to do it yourself! Yeah!!! Five years is a long time! Maybe I should have done this long ago?!!! Ugh!
So apparently there are a few different ways to make a rug, but mostly I saw them either braided, or crocheted. Since you'd have to actually sew a braided rug together, and I don't like trying to sew through big heavy thick stuff too much, I decided to crochet mine and avoid that hassle!
I used off-white cotton knit fabric, with a thick strand of yarn (with a copper thread) along with it, and crocheted this with a GIANT hook. It took about 9 yards of fabric, cut into a continuous 2-3 inch strip. To cut it, I started from one end, and cut a (approx.) 2.5" strip, stopping about 2" from the end. Then I moved my scissors over 2.5" and started cutting a parallel strip from the other end. I repeated this process until the entire yardage was cut in a continuous strip. (See figure below, where the dotted line is the cut line, and the red dots are where I stopped cutting).
So, it took about 4 hours to make this. I started with a chain of 5-6, and then went around and around, increasing every few stitches, in order to make it lay flat. If you don't increase enough, it starts to curl up into a bowl shape, and if you increase too much, it will be wavy and rippled, so you have to keep trying and see what works well. (And ripping out stitches as needed)! I only stitched into the front hook of each chain, to make it less rigid.
It sure felt good to throw out that old scrap of carpet! Next I think I'll work on something new for the kitchen!!!
