Washable T-shirt-rug

Ronja Lotte
by Ronja Lotte
1 Day
Easy
Last week I finally remembered to get more old T-shirts and so I completed my next T-shirt-yarn project: a small rug for my bathroom. I have seen this kind of braided rug in a few variations but at every tutorial the fabric was glued to cardboard and the rugs were not washable. Since I have a tomcat that prefers to show me his displeasure with the help of his body fluids (soon he is going to get a plug) do not wash" is never an option for me! So I've made my own washable version of this rug.
Material and tools: A piece of fabric (this should be slightly larger than the rug is going to be), a measuring tape, glue, scissors and something to fixate the braid (I always use a clamp)...
... and a lot of T-shirt yarn. You can read here (search my posts) or at my blog, how to cut your own t-shirt yarn. I used for my rug four T-shirts (two white, one white with blue stripes and a grey with blue stripes).
Sooo, first you need four strands of T-Shirt yarn in your favorite colors. How long you cut the strands, depends on what length is best for you to work with.
At the beginning you need to knot the four strands of yarn.
When braiding, I always have to secure the yarn-braid to a solid surface, otherwise I'll go crazy. Depending on your level of calm, you may do the same... and the braiding-fun begins! Now it's braiding, braiding and a little more braiding. I have done my braid on two nights while watching television. Very relaxing!
Eventually you will come to the point where you are at the end of your strands. No problem, you can extend them easily without major knots. For this, you take a pair of scissors, fold a small piece of the end of your strand and cut a tiny hole in the fabric.
You do the same with the beginning of the new strain and place the two above one another so that the holes lie over each other.
The end of the new strand now needs to be threaded and pulled through the two holes...
... until you can tighten the knot.
Ta-da!
When I was satisfied with the length of the braid, I just tied a knot at the end.
Now the piece of fabric comes into play. Next you must glue the braid on the fabric to fixate it before sewing. Otherwise the sewing is going to be a nightmare.
...And I once again reached the limit of photos I can upload :-( Sorry but you have to read the rest of this tutorial at my blog! I hope you like it :-)
Ronja Lotte
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  • Jennifer Jennifer on Apr 17, 2017

    I'm not sure how to braid with 4 strands. Can you explain?

    Thanks,

    Jennifer

  • Jeannie Herman Jeannie Herman on Apr 17, 2017

    HOw do you braid with four strands?


  • Edie Burton Edie Burton on Mar 27, 2020

    Your braiding is so neatly done! Did you have to straighten/flatten each braid?

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