The Tshirt Rug! (in progress, sort of pic heavy)

[Sarabelle_of_the_ball]

*Please let me know if I should move this post*

This project has been on the back burner for quite a while, and I just started really working at it again. It's a braided rug made entirely from tshirts that have been cut into strips, sewn into longer strips and braided. The colors are hideous, I know, and it's lumpy in spots, but I can't help but love it. All the shirts were free, too! Oh, and this sucker is 100% hand sewn, which probably explains how slow I'm going. It's maybe halfway done, I want it big enough to lay down and curl up on. It's possibly the most comfortable rug I have ever laid feet on!

Could it be a hat??


Or a cape??


A rug!!


Sick tiny tiny hand sewn stitches.


A rug's raison d'etre.

[rented_angel]

Great job!  It does look like a time consuming project...great job at going back to it! 

[timid_gothica]

I think it would be a spectacular hat... really. I would wear it. LOL.

[veggie head 4 life]

WOW WEE! this is great & you have totally inspired me to do this! i have only seen the crochet method (which i  know nothing about..), but the braiding technique looks fairly easy....
if i may ask.....
did you just hand stitch the braids side by side into a coil?

thanks! 

[jennyintheskywithdiamonds]

I am AMAZED by your patience.

[mbhookstar]

that is fabulous!!

[kellieperson]

oh man.. i remember starting my braided t-shit rug...

it's about the size of a pot holder right now.

i've decided that i'm going to just keep sewing the long bits together until i get about 100feet or so and then braid & continue sewing it into rug shape.

i want mine to be a gigantic rug.. like 4' diameter or something crazy like that.

yours is awesome! 

[BohemianSheila]

 

How is this thing done - I am intrigued. I think it'd be a great way to use up my fabric scraps.

[Sarabelle_of_the_ball]

How is this thing done - I am intrigued. I think it'd be a great way to use up my fabric scraps.

You take long strips of fabric, about an inch wide or so, and sew them together into even longer strips! Do this three times. Braid the long strips together (sew them together at the very very top before you start braiding). Coil them into a circle shape, sewing the underneath together. Continue coiling and sewing until you have the desired size of rug. I suppose you could also make it an oval rather than a circle. It takes FOREVER and is very very slow because you have no choice but to hand sew everything together. Also your stitches on the underneath need to be very small and close together other wise you will get gaps and weird bulges.

Um..that might not make sense. But I hope it does! Ask more questions if that is just gibberish!

[BabyCakes8510]

I love it. I love all the colors. It looks really cool.

I want to try! I had been saving my jeans that were all blown out beyond repair and thought about making braided rugs out of them but I think someone tossed them without my permission when I moved. I was going to make a square one. Like instead of coiling just braiding strips and sewing them together like that. I thought denim would make a super rug. For my sons room.