Locker-Hooked Rug from My Son's Old Blankets -- Really Upcycled!!

[nikschaf]

I used cloth diapers when my son was a baby.  I sewed most of them myself from upcycled materials, like t-shirts, flannel sheets, etc.  When he got bigger and needed a larger size diaper, I cut apart his old flannel receiving blankets and sewed diapers from them.

I was too sentimental about the scraps left over after sewing the diapers to just throw them away.  I mean, they were his baby blankets after all!  So, I took the scraps of the blankets, tore them into strips, and made them into a locker-hooked rug.  I'd never tried locker-hooking before, but it was easy and so inexpensive, because you just use that mesh canvas you'd use to make latch-hook rugs.

I didn't have a set pattern in mind.  I just grabbed the strips randomly from a bag as I went, and really like how the rug turned out.  It's now a bathmat.  You'll see the edges are a bit wonky in the middle where I started pulling the string too tight between rows, but I think it'll relax eventually since it'll see heavy use.



A closer view of the texture:


And, for those who haven't heard of locker-hooking, here's a good introductory youtube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2iQwz-JesM

[jillybeans]

What a great way to use up leftover fabrics!  Thanks for sharing!

[elderflower]

I love that kind of rug.  My grandmother used to save all our old worn out garments to make rugs like these.  She even carpeted two flights of stairs with them.  She didn't have the special mesh but just used sacking but they lasted forever.  I think it is a lovely way to keep some memories too and your random use of the pieces has actually made a pretty fabric.

[Belladune]

what a wonderful reuse of those sentimental pieces! 

[nikschaf]

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone!

Elderflower -- It's so awesome that your grandma made these rugs.  Did anyone ever take photos of them?  I'd love to see a real vintage locker-hooked rug!  I'll bet those stairs looked awesome. 

Might would be easier to work with burlap than the mesh, since the mesh itself is so stiff.  That was my only frustration with the project.  It just occurred to me that maybe I could bind the edges of the mesh and wash it once before working the locker-hooking for the next one.  Maybe that would take the stiffness out.