DECORATIVE REMAKE OF A SIMPLE JUTE RUG

Been keeping a few craft projects on the back burner - maybe a little too long. But I finally got around to one this past weekend.

I’ve wanted to embellish a small rug for some time. The project was a remake of the rug in the entry of the living room. It was an indoor/outdoor woven rug – a dollar store find. And as such, after the first wash, it looked wrinkled and cheap, something of an eyesore.

I knew that, with a little work, I could make that jute rug look like a prize item for my living room.  I wanted the rug to weigh more so that it would stay put and to have some colors that coordinated with the round crocheted rug (an earlier project)  in front of my sofa in blue, red, gray, and black. I found what I needed in my stash of yarns.

 

A small entryway rug with a rustic design.

The rug’s material is a natural jute fiber, not-so-thick about 2 mm. It was a monochrome dull brown weave and had tassels in the same material. Its measurements were 30X15 inches (plus tassels). After crocheting three rounds, it was just a bit larger, about 32x17 inches. Tassels were removed.

 

If you want to make a rug like this one, here’s what you’ll need:

    - Small solid colored jute rug or one of some other  natural fiber

    - A pattern in mind. (Could be super simple like what I did)

    - Several colors of medium-weight or heavier yarn (best if used doubled or tripled)

    - Crochet hook

    - Yarn needle

    - Scissors

About my design:

I did three rounds of simple crochet. The first was a heavy, fuzzy yarn in gray, white, and black. The second and third rows were doubled-up strands of blue and black.

Since the little rug already had a definite pattern in its weave, I decided to follow the existing lines for my yarn stitching.

I made four long rows of straight stitches with double blue yarn (using the yarn needle) and  four more rows in double red insides the blue rows.

The result was something I liked, and I’ve already placed it in the living room in front of the door. It's almost too nice to use as a foot-wipe.

CELEBRATE YOUR MISMATCHED TABLE LINEN

Like most folks, for years, I believed that the best way to set a table was with matching sets of linen and china. But times have changed. I now find it a bit boring to set an entire table with all the exact same elements. Also, over the years, I’ve lost several of my prior uniform-looking plates and linens. And I’m not willing to toss the things I’ve had for a quite a while. So, for the recent past, as often as not, I've ended up with mismatched table settings. And why not celebrate it?

Maybe you consider this kind of mismatching to be rustic, bohemian, whimsical or just crazy. But I think the mismatched table is totally suitable for most any occasion and, most of all, practical.

So, here’s the reasoning for this post. I had four red place mats that I bought for my Christmas three years ago and continue to use for casual table setting. They were a bit faded from washing and worn around the edges. Nothing wrong with them but I was bored with their appearance. I had also gotten tired of the coordinating red cloth table napkins that I’d bought for the Christmas table. Being a Bluebird, red-on-red - mats and napkins - was not my favorite look, so I gave them away.

But I still had three black napkins and two dark blue ones, parts of sets that I had acquired  over the past few years. They were all in fairly good shape and in colors that I liked. With my anti-consumerism banner held high, I wasn’t about to give into an impulse to go out and buy more table things.  I decided that I’d go with what I had.

I remembered reading somewhere that there were a couple of effective ways to approach your table setting mismatches.

Basically, these ways involved color and pattern. When you choose table elements that  are part of the same color scheme, they don’t seem to be so much mismatched, Your eyes read them as  coordinating because they’re all similar shades. In the same way, similar pattern, even with different colors also helps to bring together a nice mismatched look.

Here's how I pulled together my mismatched table linen using my skills in crochet.

Similar crocheted stitched bring together my mismatched look.

My plan was to  create a similar element that would bring together the red mats and the black and dark blue napkins.

I did that with one skein of bright blue sock-weight worsted yarn, thus playing down the Christmas red look.

I crocheted around the edges of the red mats with the blue yarn using a simple shell pattern and a double thickness of the yarn. Each mat took me about two hours to crochet.

Using the  same yarn, with a single thickness, I worked on the napkins. First, I took an embroidery needle and sewed a blanket stitch around the edges. Then, I was able to add a simple crochet edge. Because the blanket stitching was a bit slow, I took as long finishing each napkin as I had for each mat.

You can see the results in the pic. And I think it’s quite nice for my all occasion table.

Maybe you’ll want to try to do just what I did. Or you might like to experiment with another kind of mismatched table setting. Whatever you do, be confident that you’re decorating instincts are going to help you carry off mismatching with pizazz. So be bold and play with with colors, patterns and shapes. You can be sure that you’re setting a one-of-a-kind table that others will notice (and, more than likely, appreciate).

CRAFTY, LAST MINUTE VALENTINES.

Handmade valentines are a great alternative to store-bought cards. And, if you're looking for a last minute craft for Valentines' Day, this is for you. And the simple heart-on-heart valentine card highlighted here carries your special message. And they look so pretty hung up just about anywhere or worn with your words of love to your friends and family.

Best of all, you probably have most, if not all, the materials on hand or can buy what you need in a quick rush to the dollar store. So, you can put these together on the spur of the moment, even the at the last minute - if the spirit moves you to do so. And, if you do any type of scrap booking, this craft will be super easy to do. Kids can do their version of this card, too.



Handmade hearts carry your own special messages.

All you need is some thin colored card to cut up, some bright colored yarn, and some small textured materials. I used tiny preglued felt hearts. Here, the heart on heart is given extra interest with a tiny bit of yarn that is tied in the front. The yarn I used was from my leftover stash.

Creating a small mountain of these valentines was an all day adventure and one that I truly enjoyed. And, as you'll find out, they're not at all hard to make! The possibilities are endless. No way to go wrong here!

Materials

Recycled greeting cards to cut up.
Tiny shapes - can be made from felt or other fabrics. (Preglued materials are easiest to work with.)
Bright colored yarn
Wavy cut scissors or regular ones.
Tiny or regular hole punch
Upholstery needle
Seam ripper (to perforate the cardboard for the small yarn tie).
Two permanent markers - one pink or red (medium) and one black (thin).

Instructions

Make a four-inch (or larger) heart out of heavy cardboard to serve as your stencil. Then use your stencil to cut out hearts using recycled greeting cards.  Once you have the hearts you need, stick one or more small figures on the hearts, centered on the front. Use the seam ripper and the upholstery needle to make holes for the front decorative ties.

Write or draw (black pen) your message of love to each of your friends and family members. Use the pink or red pen to make a decorative edge.

Punch a hole at the top and add the longer yarn tie that allows the valentine to be hung up somewhere.

You can also add a straight or safety pen so that the valentine can be worn.

EVERYDAY COTTON PLACEMATS DRESS UP WITH A CROCHET EDGE.

Inexpensive cotton ribbed place mats can look a lot better with a bright colored crochet edge. And that's what I did. I edged two mats with leftover multicolor cotton yarn, each with about 3 hours work.

The black mats were dollar store finds. But, at home after an initial wash , I realized that they were really too narrow to serve for table settings . What's worse, the edges didn't want to stay flat after laundering, and I simply DON'T IRON things like tablecloths, place mats, and napkins. I was disgusted. I definitely didn't like the mats on the table. I simply put them away and, eventually, used one as a decoration on a shelf. It looked OK there.

 

But then I reminded myself that I had bought the two and that they were supposed to be place mats. So, I decided to do some mat-improvement strategy. From there, I looked at place mats in an Internet search and found some pretty ones with crocheted edges.

 I wanted a regular edge, not a lacy one, something that could take a lot of wear and wash nicely. That meant a medium weight cotton yarn would be the best bet. So, for the yarn, I chose a ball of cotton yarn with variegated colors - in beige, rose, and magenta. The yarn was a happy find in my yarn stash bag.  And, to my mind, the mats looked very well dressed up with the crochet rows I added. The cotton yarn I used is sturdy and washable and no doubt will be cherry and bright a long time after the mats become faded and limp.

 

Supposedly, the standard sizing for table mats is: 14 in. x 20 in. The ones I made, with edging and all, still came short of the standard and measured in at 12 in. x 18 in. They were somewhat smallish, but, happily, big enough for the undersized dining table that I have.

 

The total cost was $2  for two mats, plus what was something less than a ball of cotton yarn (less than $3 when purchased new). So, the total project cost of two mats was less than $5. I think that's a good price because the nicer store-bought place mats can cost as much as $5 each.

Set a prettier table with dressed up place mats.

I'm pleased with the results of my efforts and I'll probably make 2 more so I can, occasionally, set a 4-person table. ( Luckily, I was able to find 2 more in a quick run to the dollar store. But, as you probably know already, it's always best to buy ALL the materials for your projects at once. Otherwise. you're asking for trouble when you try to locate more of the same materials in subsequent store searches.)

 

Materials

- Cotton ribbed place mat or any mat that has a wide enough weave to allow for easy crochet hook use.
- Crochet hook with a number of about 1.5 (so that you can easily pierce through fabric)
- Cotton yarn
- Scissors

Crocheted border

Pierce fabric about a quarter inch from the edge and knot.

Then do a single crochet, maintaining the quarter inch base, all the way around the mat. Use three passes in single stitch at the corners. (That's a way of easing in the transition from one side to another.)

With that crocheted base, you can add any border you want. There are many good videos that show how to make different kinds of crocheted edges.

I chose to do a four-link chains between stitches on the second row. It looked pretty good after that  row but I decided to continue on. I liked it even better with a third row of chains that connected in the middle of the second row chains.

 

I also made three passes in single stitch to ease in the corners of the second and third rows.

 

Sometimes, it's better to put only a 3-link chain to compensate for differences in stitch spacing. That occurs, now and again, and is especially likely when nearing the corners.

 

ONE-HOUR HOLIDAY TABLE RUNNER PROJECT

Handmade runners are a way to create an attractive holiday table without spending a lot. They can be made in many different color and design options, and you'll be delighted with the easy and gorgeous results. This project is based on purchased place mats sewn together with a bright colored yarn.

While the one I made was a simple, ribbed cotton weave with primarily a red color along and gold and orange threads. Yours can be whatever you like, such as bright, metallic holiday prints or other inventive designs. Obviously, the place mats for this project should be fairly light and flexible in order to drape nicely over the edges of the table.

Total time to make this really simple table runner should be only an hour or less.

You’ll need.

Three 14" X 19" place mats (Mat size can vary some. The runner will look great regardless of size.)

One ball of medium-weight cotton yarn (mine was a gold color with a metallic glitter)

Large metal tapestry needle.

Finished size: 14″ x 57″.

If you need more length for a long table, just add a fourth (or fifth) place mat. Fringe or tassles on the four corners can be added to the runner for an added decorative touch.

What to do.

Set the place mats out in a row to form a long rectangle.

Using the yarn and tapestry needle, unite the edges of three place mats creating a zigzag pattern.

Make a similar zigzag decoration on the ends of the runner.

Get moving on this project.
I enjoyed the creative process and how it turned out. Although I used  bright colors for a Christmas table decoration, you can use any fabric you want to make a runner for another season or occasion.


There it is! And it couldn't be simpler to make. You'll want to make a couple more to give as holiday gifts.

Note
Here is the simple holiday display that I put together for my table. (Every item was $1.50 or less (including each of three place mats. Paper ornaments were handmade from cut-outs of old Christmas cards with tiny bows attached.) Picture includes a glimpse of the runner that I made from ribbed cotton place mats.

FAST KNIT THIS LONG BULKY SCARF WITHOUT CIRCULAR NEEDLES.

Most people agree that circular needles make some kinds of knitting a lot easier and faster when compared to that done with traditional straight needles. The circular needles have a plastic cord that runs between the two needle tips. The cord attaching the needles is usually  16 inches to 29 inches long. The needle tips can be made of plastic, wood, bamboo, or metal, and most are about five inches long. They come in all regular needle sizes.

Circular needles are used much in the same way as straight needles for flat knitting. But circular knitting needles allow you to do knit projects in the round, otherwise known as tube knitting. That is something that, in the past, was done with three double-pointed needles. And, if you've ever tried them, you must know that the use of double pointed needles is a bit of a challenge. But the main advantage of circular needles is their length that lets them hold projects with a lot more stitches than straight needles can. These different lengths can accomodate a variety of larger projects like long scarves, shawls and afghans - sometimes calling for 100 or more stitches. Last, but not least, circular knitting needles are more compact than straight needles, and that makes them easier to store and carry around, including outside the home.

Knitters also use circular needles to save time by not having to turn the work, and that's how you can do a lot of quick projects.You may have read some fast knit patterns that call for circular needles. On the other hand, it's not always easy to find the circular needles in larger sizes. Or you may already have some straight needles and don't want to buy circular needles of the same size.

Luckily, not having circular needles doesn't have to be such a problem. Here's a trick that I've learned to use my long straight needles for some fast-knit projects. This method works best for long, rectangular projects like long scarves, shawls, and coverlets. (It wouldn't do so well for longer tube-type patterns because straight needle knitting would produce long rectangles. Those long pieces of knitting would then have to be seamed up, and that's another time consuming chore.)

Here's an adaptation of a two-hour scarf usually made on circular needles and knitted from side-to-side. That means that the cast on is for the length and not for the width. The faster knit comes from the fact that you only have to turn the work a few times instead of the many turns that are required for working end-to-end. The scarf described here is made by knitting the two halves separately and then seaming them together. The seam is located at what would be the back of the neck and is made with a simple crochet stitch. So, maybe, it requires three-hours, what with the added seaming and pretty edges with fringe or tassels.

Pattern for a "three-hour", bulky knit scarf

Materials

Size 19 straight needles.
Super bulky yarn or 3- 4 worsted-weight strands knitted together- can be different colors for a tweedy effect.
Large size crochet needle
Scissors

Instructions

Make two equal size balls of all your yarn. That way you'll always have enough for the second half.

Cast on 33 stitches.

Row 1- purl 3, garter stitch (all knit) 27, purl 3

Row 2 - all garter stitches

Continue knitting the same two rows until it has the width you are looking for. (I knitted Rows 1 and 2 - 4 times - and then repeated Row 1 to finish off.) Cast off very loosely. (If you don't do this, you'll have one entire, long side of your scarf loose bound and the other tight bound. And that doesn't make for a happy outcome.) Leave about 20 inches of yarn at the end as you cast off. That way you can make the seam with one less knot that needs to be hidden somewhere - a not so easy task, when you're working with bulky yarn or several yarn strands.

Then make the other half of the scarf in the same way. Join the two halves neatly with a crochet slip stitch. Make fringe or 2 tassels for the ends of the scarf in the same color (or colors of) yarn.

Scarf will be about 56 inches long - plus fringe, if you make it. (If you want a really long scarf, just make another panel and seam up all three end-to-end. And why not? Made with care, the seams are an attractive addition.)

You'll enjoy your warm bulky scarf all winter long. Or give it as a gift to someone. It will certainly be appreciated.

Related posts
UNRAVEL OLD SWEATERS AND KNIT NEW THINGS
LOOM KNITTED CAPS FOR KIDS
BE REALLY “GREEN,” WEARING A BULKY SWEATER
A LOT CAN BE SAID ABOUT A GOOD SCARF.

UNRAVEL OLD SWEATERS AND KNIT NEW THINGS

If you’ve been to the fabric or craft stores lately, you know that good yarn is not cheap. A hundred yards of fine yarn may cost as much as 7 or 8 dollars. That's one hour or more of the official hourly minimum wage. So, even home production using store-bought yarn doesn't really qualify as an inexpensive craft. Nevertheless, most of us would rather have hand knitted garments and home accessories than manufactured ones. And while there may be fewer items in our closets, handmade items can be real treasures to keep for many years. So, it’s smart to save money and unravel the yarn from old knits to create new things.

Well, you may be asking yourself: “Just who wants to sit down and tear out old sweaters, afghans, etc for the yarn?” Well, Grandma Susan often recycles yarn by tearing out knitted items, and a lot of other people do, too. Yes, it often takes two, three or more hours of work, depending on the kind of knits you're taking apart. So, why even do it?  The answer:  it’s cheap yarn - free if it’s from your own sweater or one given to you or at a cost of only $1-3 at a thrift store. Besides, sometimes it turns out to be more interesting yarn than what we find at the regular fabric and craft stores.  It also points to a philosophical position. Why spend money to obtain what is already available to us at a fraction of the price and at a no-carbon cost to the planet?

Fifty years ago, a lot of women made their own clothes. It was considered a virtue. Why was that? We made our clothing because wages were low and US manufactured goods were expensive, relative to our income. At that time, imported goods were almost prohibitively expensive. Even for those of us who weren’t so handy with a sewing machine, there was almost always a good seamstress in the neighborhood who made us things at a reasonable price. So, what happened? In the 80’s and 90’s a lot of cheap imports began to flood our stores with clothing. R Reagan told us we were going global. We weren’t too sure what that meant, but among our many surprises, it meant that cheap imports would take away almost all our motivation to produce things for our homes, our families and ourselves.

Over time, we came to know more about globalization as we discovered and devoured cheap things from abroad. Unfortunately, in a few decades, that same process led to the closing of much manufacturing in the US. We were told that was also something good. US people were not meant to work in fields and sweat shops, like those poor people in other countries. Instead almost all US people could aspire to office and service jobs. So, every young person should gear up to get the new skilled jobs by going to college or technical schools. Education was to be the key to mobility in the new global order.

But then came the global recession, and now there aren’t very many skilled jobs to be found. Worse still, a good fraction of the population faces unemployment and underemployment. And the few jobs that replace those we lost aren’t paying much more than minimum wage. We are also being made aware that what was cheap overseas labor is getting more expensive. Apparently, those people, too, are hoping (some are fighting) for better wages. Also, the cheap oil that carried imported goods thousands of miles to our stores is getting costlier by the month.

So, once again, the cost of manufactured goods may end up being expensive relative to the average income. And what goes around comes around. We may again be producing food and goods in our homes and locally.  And people who have the time can use it to create worthwhile things. That’s the case in point, and many of us are pleased to produce a part of what we need for our families and ourselves.

My inspiration
Just a month ago, I visited an old friend who is a fine jewelry maker who combines natural and recycled elements in her creations. She told me about how she sells her jewelry in craft fairs all over the South West, and how she'd like to have some hand knit scarves to “show-off” her jewelry at the booths. She believed that a collection of colorful scarves would attract more customers to her booth. Also, she had had some losses from theft in past events and felt that the pieces would be more secure if they were firmly attached to knitted items. Knowing that I’m a knitter, she asked me to make her some scarves. I told her that I would.

And this past month, I sat down and knitted two scarves from yarn that I had on hand from previous projects. Later she told me about a really big craft fair coming up in the fall that features beautiful things made from recycled materials. So, that, too, became part of my challenge. I decide to make some scarves from recycled sweaters that I found at the thrift store. I’ve already unraveled one such sweater and knitted the first scarf. Now, I’m currently unraveling the second sweater and ready to work on the second one. And this is the inspiration for this post - making new things from unraveled sweaters.

Instructions for recycling yarn from old sweaters.
The process is relatively simple, although it will take some time. Be prepared to spend all of one morning or afternoon just unraveling and making yarn balls. The important thing is to choose the items that you wish to tear apart with care. Look for old sweaters that are in good shape and are made from fairly thick yarn. If the yarn is too thin, you'll need to knit together three or more strands at a time. That's not such a simple task. Also, you’ll be much better off, choosing a sweater sewn by hand, not by machine. Look at the inside seams of the sweater. If the seams are made with visible stitches using yarn, it’s got to be a hand-sewn garment. Hand seamed garments unravel in long, continuous pieces, and that  makes them fairly easy to take apart. You’ll lose a lot of time with a machine-sewn sweater making a lot of cuts, row by row and end up with many tie-ends. To make a nice garment, you need long strands of usable yarn not a series of tie-ends.

So, after you’ve located a great - preferably hand-sewn - sweater, get ready to unravel.

1. Locate the seams. Start with the collar. You can usually see the threads on the collar quite well. On one side of the collar seam, you’ll find a thread line. When you look closely, you’ll see that the threads form little V's along the seam. You have to cut and/or pull out the threads on the side opposite the V's to separate the pieces.  If you don't locate any  V's or can't pull out the seams in one piece, procede by cutting the seam threads as carefully as you can - just a fraction of an inch at a time - so as not to break the yarn in the sweater pieces. Use fingers, pointy scissors and a seam ripper as needed. You’ll also have need of a good light. The unraveling process is tiring on the eyes (and really quite boring), so if you become jittery, take a break. Continue finding seams and separating the pieces.

2. After the pieces are sorted out, you're ready to start the unraveling process. Most sweaters are knitted from the bottom up so you will need to start unraveling at the shoulders/neck and work your way down. You’ll probably want to cut off and throw away a few rows that are incomplete or hard to deal with at the tops of the sleeves and at the shoulders and neckline. If the collar is just a few rows long, it may also be a throwaway while the yarn from a larger collar may be usable. Examine each piece and try to find where the piece was finished. This is the starting point for unraveling. Be sure to ball up the yarn as you unravel.

3. The yarn will be kinky, but the process of balling up and reknitting should help straighten out the yarn. If you're still worried about the waviness of the yarn, you can stretch it out, soak it in warm water and set it out in an airy place to dry. You'll also need to ball it up again.

Notes
After writing this post, I remembered some important details about unraveling sweaters.  First, for hygiene sake, it's always best to wash any old knitted item in warm water and detergent before handling it. That way you can be fairly sure to have eliminated any harmful bacteria. Second, seam ripping and unraveling will produce a lot of fabric lint. Be prepared for the lint by doing the unraveling outside, on a porch, or in any room other than where you sleep. If you are in a closed room, you may need to wear a dust mask and be ready to sweep up and dust surfaces one or more times.


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