Braided Rugs

PKBoo · #1 07/09/08, 05:10 PM

I'm looking for a braided rug for our living room, but WOW the cost! Does anyone know of a good supplier? Have any of you made them? I love the way they look...

ChristyACB · #2 07/09/08, 05:42 PM

Wannabe....just make them! I have these metal clip thingies I ordered a couple of decades ago that you run the cut cloth through that folds it as you pull them and braid them. Those are fine if you are working with very long pieces of cloth, but when you are piecing it together, you have to rethread it after every seam since seams don't go through well.

If you are piecing them, then cut your lengths into 4 inch widths, fold in half, then fold each half in half towards the center. Then braid them. At each loop, stitch the new loop into the already looped portion by running a curved upholstery needle through one of the braid segments and into a braid segment already looped.

Oh gorry...I just read that and realized how confusing that sounds. I'm sure there are plenty of instructions online that might have pictures! But don't waste your money. If you have a surplus of fabric, you should do it yourself.

I think the reason they cost so much is because you do use an enormous amount of fabric in making them and that makes the base cost very high.

Couple of hints though: Don't do it with light colored fabrics! I did my first one like that and it looked dirty before it was even done! Second, they are hard to clean really thoroughly and can only really be cleaned well if you have the time and weather to let them hang outside for several days to really fully dry. Also, they aren't that comfy on the feet if you use tightly braided cotton cloth. So don't use them in places where people will have to stand for a long time, like the kitchen.

Other than that...they are great looking.

sewtlm · #3 07/09/08, 07:12 PM

Easy to braid but takes time to stitch.
Fabric is not cheap and it takes a lot.

Most I've seen are cheap compared to what time and supplies should actually cost.

sugarbush · #4 07/09/08, 07:37 PM

My mom used to make them and I always got assigned to unbraiding duty.

PKBoo · #5 07/09/08, 08:48 PM

Christy - thanks for the tip about the metal thingies! I went to the library yesterday to see if I could get some books about making rugs (lots of info online, but I'm a visual learner and I need pictures!!) and they have to get the books inter-library loan, so hopefully they'll be here in a few days. Do you know what the metal things are called? I found a website with "fabric folders" or "cones". Is that what yours are? And I did understand your description too! Thanks!

ChristyACB · #6 07/09/08, 09:16 PM

Wannabe - Yes, mine were called fabric braiding cones. If you find them to order online, you can shoot me the link and I'll confirm that is what they are if you want.

Otter · #7 07/10/08, 06:28 AM

Fabric is only expensive if you don't have a couple of bags of old, torn, stained or outgrown clothes somewhere around like I always seem to. One fine day I'll get around to sorting the colors and dying them to start a rug.

In the meantime, I did crochet a "mock" braided rug. The colors are fabulous but it isn't that hard wearing. Really pretty in the bedroom though. I think that made with the right yarn, one could be really sturdy, there is a crochet stitch called the carpet stitch. There are a couple of patterns online, that's where I got mine.

puddlejumper007 · #8 07/10/08, 07:29 AM

hi. i have made several small rugs..it takes practice sewing them together... also i discovered mine must lay flat to dry after washing..i lay mine on my car hood to dry.lol good luck.. pat

pen · #9 07/10/08, 08:07 AM

You might want to look at this site,it is just full of rug making instructions, great place! rugmakershomestead.com
look for braided rugs. pen

paulaswolfpack · #10 07/10/08, 08:12 AM

My granny used to make them out of plastic bags. she also made trash cans from egg cartons.

hotzcatz · #11 07/10/08, 12:00 PM

Braided rugs were traditionally made of used cloth and discarded stuff. If you go to a thrift shop and tell them you are braiding a rug, they may give you a dumpster full of old fabric they can't sell. They (at least around here) are fussy about stains on bedding, clothes, etc. For a rag rug, that wouldn't matter since you'd just cut those parts out. Once you learn how to braid a rug, perhaps you could give them instructions so they could copy the instructions and sell or give away bags of fabric to be braided instead of throwing it out.

Countrystyle · #12 07/10/08, 01:37 PM

Here's a link to use old towels to make a braided rug. I'd tried it and was fairly easy.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2096083_make...towel-rug.html ...

PKBoo · #13 07/11/08, 01:48 PM

Thanks for the tips everyone - I'm going to give it a whirl, after I get unpacked and finish some of these other projects...

Ann Mary · #14 07/11/08, 06:42 PM

I have been collecting wool blankets from the thrift shops to make a braided wool rug...should last the rest of my life. I have in my living room now a 9' x 12' (or so) wool rug my mother braided back in the late 60's...she couldn't afford a storebought one so she bought old blankets wool coats, skirts, etc, ripped, sewed, braided up. But, she learned that that was is TERRIBLY time consuming...and the clothes wool wore out much faster than the blanket wool so the gorgeous rug she made after that one was all from boughten wool ( on sale) or old blankets. Then you aren't always having to stop and sew a new piece on either.

Use Less · #15 07/12/08, 08:49 AM

Around here, auctions and estate sales are very good sources of rugs of many kinds, and often they go for very little. Do sniff them carefully for animal or cooking odors retained, so you know how much work you may have to clean them. Pass by any that are quite funky, since your pets will always still be able to smell any pee-pee, and go to the same spots

. Sue

Alex · #16 07/13/08, 04:51 PM

Nancy has the cones and a cutter. You pull the material through the cutter and it comes out the correct width. It is a little easier than cutting with a scissors.

She gets old wool blankets at the Goodwill or Value Village. After she gets a stock of blankets sourced and saved up, then she figures out a pattern, design, and geometric shape; round or oval. It takes some time but the result is the best.

They are thick and soft, but the vacuum-robots can still get up on them to clean.

I sure like them.

Good Luck,

Alex

Braided Rugs - Homesteading Questions

toni48 · #17 07/13/08, 05:29 PM

Wow you are all so talented. Here I am at 60 and could never attempt something like a braided rug.

Maria · #18 07/15/08, 10:16 AM

I crocheted a rag rug last year out of tshirt strips. You start at the base of the shirt and cut in a continuous spiral until you hit the arms. Then you have a strip several yards long. If you stretch the strip before crocheting, all the raw edges curl to the inside!

I've been meaning to go to garage sales this summer to pick up more t-shirts to make another rug, but haven't managed it yet. It's a great way to make a decent rag rug. It went so fast.

Damselfish · #19 07/15/08, 07:59 PM

Alex, that is a bee-yoo-ti-ful rug!

debbiebofjc · #20 07/15/08, 09:05 PM

I agree, Alex I love that rug!
Hmmm, rag rug out of t-shirts, what a great idea! My husband has probably 100 t-shirts so I wouldn't need to buy any (if he'll let go of them!).
Paulaswolfpack, you mentioned your granny making rag rugs out of plastic bags, and that reminded me that my grandma had one of those that she made. I had forgotten about that till you mentioned it. I knew she made lots of crocheted rag rugs out of old worn out or stained clothes. In fact, I have her homemade wooden crochet needle she made just for that purpose! I mean to try it out sometime, maybe later this fall when there aren't so many things to do outside!