Handwoven Rug

I’ve been quite infatuated with [Peter Collingwood](http://www.fiberartgallery.com/pages2003/mayjune.html) for a while now. Maybe it’s that he left medicine to be a weaver. Maybe it’s that he wrote [the bible on rug weaving](http://www.petercollingwood.co.uk/trw2.htm). No idea. Or maybe it’s just that fiercely beating a weft into submission is pretty darn enjoyable.

2007-11-24_ragrug1
Recycled denim rag rug

This rag rug was woven on the 45″ Leclerc countermarche loom at Place des Arts. The warp is 132 ends of plain ol’ white cotton butcher string and the weft is old jeans ripped or cut into 1/2″ strips. Sometimes, I cut the jeans with sewing scissors… other times, I got tired and started ripping the cloth… and other times, I used a fancy Olfa rotary cutter. There were a couple different colours of denim and they all blended together and created a bit of a mottled result. I wove for about one yard and cut the rug off the loom, finishing the ends on a sewing machine.

It’s such a good feeling. Save your denim. Recycle something. Get a workout. All at the same time!

I think it took only about three short sessions of weaving at Place des Arts to weave this up. At times, I think the loud banging from the loom as each shot was whacked into place frightened the other students in the class. I heard someone whisper, *”Felicia Lo. She can beat the snot out of you.”*

  • http://www.snargle.org/crafty Sarah

    That brings back memories! My grandmother and uncle had a home-based business weaving and selling these kind of rugs. They used cotton string to warp and all of their materials (wefts) were repurposed – jeans, wool pants, t-shirts, even plastic bags (which made a great doormat!). My sister and I spent many a day at grandma’s cutting or ripping clothes into strips, or sewing the strips end-to-end to get a nice long ball… Sometimes we even got to weave a little, too!
    Yours looks nice, and very familiar :)

  • http://www.snargle.org/crafty Sarah

    That brings back memories! My grandmother and uncle had a home-based business weaving and selling these kind of rugs. They used cotton string to warp and all of their materials (wefts) were repurposed – jeans, wool pants, t-shirts, even plastic bags (which made a great doormat!). My sister and I spent many a day at grandma’s cutting or ripping clothes into strips, or sewing the strips end-to-end to get a nice long ball… Sometimes we even got to weave a little, too!
    Yours looks nice, and very familiar :)

  • http://knitability.blogspot.com/ Mrs MJW

    Wow. What beautiful weaving!!! The colors are fabulous.

  • http://knitability.blogspot.com/ Mrs MJW

    Wow. What beautiful weaving!!! The colors are fabulous.

  • http://talkingaboutweaving.blogspot.com/ Peg in South Carolina

    Peter Collingwood has been my hero since I first started weaving. I, too, was entranced by his medicine to rug weaving story. And I started out weaving some small rugs. I don’t weave rugs anymore, but anything Peter says I find to be pure gold.

  • http://talkingaboutweaving.blogspot.com/ Peg in South Carolina

    Peter Collingwood has been my hero since I first started weaving. I, too, was entranced by his medicine to rug weaving story. And I started out weaving some small rugs. I don’t weave rugs anymore, but anything Peter says I find to be pure gold.

  • http://thymeformom.blogspot.com/ Lavender

    I saw your rug in progress at PdA. I love the idea of reusing old material to make new things. Beautiful work!

  • http://thymeformom.blogspot.com/ Lavender

    I saw your rug in progress at PdA. I love the idea of reusing old material to make new things. Beautiful work!

  • http://www.visadiaries.com rug

    Oriental rugs can be purchased in most parts of the world today although China, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Turkey remain the most famous rug weaving nations. These rugs have adorned home for decades and have the ability to make rooms look wonderful almost instantly. Apart from that these rugs are a practical option to cover old floors and since they are easy to take care of they last for a lifetime.

  • Pingback: full tv episodes online free

  • Pingback: Canonical prepping to launch Ubuntu as smartphone OS? « Manzanilla Blog Online

about this entry

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 1:59 pm and is filed under Weaving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

recently on Flickr

Autumn Tapestry (Yarn Club 2011-11)Vampire Christmas (Yarn Club 2011-12)Vampire Christmas (Fibre Club 2011-12)Autumn Tapestry (Yarn Club 2011-11)Storm Chaser (Fibre Club 2012-01)Storm Chaser (Fibre Club 2012-01)Spring Garden (Yarn Club 2012-03)

similar entries

recent comments

 

recently on Twitter

Follow me on Twitter...

knitting patterns

Park City Socks
Lilac Leaves Shawl
North Wind Hat
Creekside Cables

free patterns

Fishermans Loop
Ballard Slouch Hat
CashSilk Fern Scarf
Ginger Rib Scarf

mailing list

Missing out on SweetGeorgia Yarns updates? Just add yourself to our list and we'll let you know when something moves.






search