Tarn and the Tie-Dye Rag Rug

Johnny cozied up on one of my rag rugs.  8/17/2018

I've made quite a few rag rugs over the years.  For our house, for my sister, for my mom.  There are three in my house at the moment--front door, library, and bathroom.  

Ginger sitting on our rag rug bathmat popping bubbles that escaped the tub.  1/21/2021

It started when Matt weeded out some really old tie-dyes from our inventory many years ago.  Some of them had been for sale for multiple years without success.  Sometimes I could see why--our artistry improved with practice.  The tie-dyes were okay, but not spectacular.  

Th slip-stitched, rainbow-hued rug.  2/24/2016

We weren't sure what to do with these "duds."  Give them away?  Make rags from them?  Do something crafty with them?  So they sat boxed up in the basement for almost a year.  Periodically I would bring them out when we had guests and let them pull out what they wanted.  But, mostly, they just sat, taking up space....

Johnny taking a nap on the bathmat.  8/18/2022

...until my (very resourceful) friend Kris planted the seed for transforming these shirts into a rag rug.   She was making a rag rug--something I'd long wanted to try-- so I decided to follow her lead.  I went for a fairly traditional braiding and coiling style--and the braiding part went just fine.  The problem started when I had to coil the long braid before stitching it all together.  

My first attempt at making a rag rug.  4/11/2016

I tried a couple different ways to shortcut this time-consuming portion of the project.  I attached a piece of fusible interfacing to the back hoping that would be enough to hold it together, but it wasn't.  I tried sewing across the braids (like an asterisk) with my sewing machine, but the coils kept separating and my machine wasn't happy about the thickness.  So, I just hand-stitched them together... which is also the traditional method.  No shortcutting it, I guess, no matter how I tried.

Ginger and my first upcycled t-shirt rag rug.  4/11/2016

The end result was a small rug that was not very sturdy and rather uneven.  I was already considering throwing it out when Johnny finalized my decision by peeing on it.  And that's when I learned it wasn't a good idea to put down rugs in the basement.  Ginger liked it though.  Matt did, too.

I really like working with two strands of tarn.  One strand of tie-dye tarn and one strand of black is probably my favorite pairing.  The contrast is beautiful to my eye.  8/28/2018

I was about to give up on t-shirt rag rugs when an acquaintance showed me how to make t-shirt yarn (tarn) at a little craft get-together (with Kris, as it happens!).   Joyce had a trick whereby she could turn one adult t-shirt into a fairly substantial ball of tarn easy as pie.  It is all in how you cut it.  It was like magic!  

On a t-shirt that has been folded in half, I use a rotary blade and ruler to cut the shirt into one-inch strips--leaving a little fabric on the fold uncut.  12/9/2019

After cutting the shirt into a "rib cage" of one-inch strips with my rotary blade I slide the whole thing onto my arm and make the final diagonal snips with my fabric scissors.   12/1/2019

This continuous cutting hack, coupled with the realization I could just crochet the tarn instead of all that fussy coiling and stitching, suddenly made a rag rug seem like a doable project again.

Johnny was a big fan of "sitting on stuff."  Boxes, paper bags, shoes, laundry, cat beds, and so on.  She commandeered this in-process strip of crocheted rug as the perfect grooming location.  It was juuuuuuuuuuuust wide enough.  9/2/2018

So I decided to make a rectangular rug for our shoes by the front door.

The slip-stitched, rainbow-hued rug by the front door.  2/24/2016

In no time at all, I became a woman possessed!  I crocheted that first rug in just a couple of days.  I even hauled it to work on my bicycle so that I could crochet on my lunch break!  It was so satisfying and was turning out so wonderfully that I just couldn't wait to finish it.

This is probably my favorite rag rug to date.  I like the way the black highlights the other colors.  8/28/2018

That rag rug exceeded my hopes.  It was sturdy, thick, and just a gorgeous rainbow of colorfulness.  It has held up over many, many years.  Eventually, I replaced it with another that was double-crocheted and even thicker and more absorbent.  I moved the slip-stiched one into our library where it remains--a bright splash of color in front of the bookcase.  I've gone on to make half a dozen rugs using continuous cutting and crochet techniques.

The slip-stitched, rainbow-hued rug.  2/24/2016

A ball of tarn.  4/11/2016

These tarn rugs can be a no-sew project.  When I get to the end of one ball of tarn as I crochet along I just tie on another ball of the tarn, making sure all the knots ended up on the backside of the rug.   I've also made mondo-balls of tarn by sewing two or more balls together.  I am not sure one method is really superior to the other.  There are no knots and no tails to tuck in when I sew the balls together.  That said, with the knotting, it is a more travel friendly craft because I I don't have to sew the tarn balls together in advance.  I can just tie a new strand on and keep going.  So, for me it's six of one, half dozen of another, I think.  Pros and cons to all things.  I've done both.  I like both.

Cutting tarn.  12/1/2019

I will caution that cutting the tarn can get quite messy.  It is a colorful mess, but a mess nonetheless. 

Cutting the t-shirts into tarn results in a lot of teeny fabric particles everywhere.  12/9/2019

More partially cut tarn.  12/9/2019

Prior to the front door rug in 2016 I hadn't crocheted since I quit cigarettes back in 2006.  Crochet was a big part of my quitting strategy.  I just kept my hands busy whenever I wanted to smoke, especially when I was a passenger in the car.  I made an absurdly long scarf with an absurdly small crochet hook and even more absurdly small yarn (which I later discovered was actually embroidery thread, but what did I know?!?!).  By the time I was done with the scarf, I had quit smoking.  And then I didn't crochet again for an entire decade.  

Sunbeam naps and handicrafts.  1/31/2016

For my rag rugs, I use a huge size Q crochet hook.  It is just right for the bulk of the tarn.  I've done slipstitch, single-crochet, and double-crochet rugs.  

A rag rug in blues!  November 12, 2018

I appreciate the look of a braided rag rug, especially the contrast of the three strands.  It was so much more time and hassle compared to the crocheting method though so I'll never go back.   Plus, the colors look great crocheted, too, and boom--it is all hooked together from the get-go!!!   Often I use two strands of tarn simultaneously to get more color contrast without braiding.

Once again, Johnny couldn't wait for the rug to be finished before claiming it for a nap.  8/14/2018

In addition to rugs, I think there is a lot of potential for bright and beautiful trivets, potholders, and seat covers.  To this end, I am attempting to crochet in the round once again.  (Partly inspired by Margo's rag rug bathmat.)  I've never mastered that, just squares and rectangles.  

The slip-stitched, rainbow-hued rug.  2/24/2016

We shall see!  

A collage of Johnny pretending to be a shoe on the blue-toned rag rug by the front door.  She really liked that spot.  7/16/2020, 6/7/2021, 8/12/2021, and 11/4/2021.