Knotted Rag Rug Tutorial Revisited

Many moons ago I did a post tutorial on how to make rag rugs without any sewing. In fact I did two posts. You can see them here and here.

Well, it has been a while since I have made a rug. But, when I was cleaning out my fabric stash, I found several pieces that just had to be made into rugs. You don't necessarily have to use rags, it is just a term we fabricolics use for unused as of yet fabric [...;-)...]

I came up with fabrics for two rugs. One for my self and one for a gift.

Sheets can be used for strips, tablecloths that you no longer use, or just plain fabric that has been sitting in your closet for far too long (my case). If you were to purchase fabric, it would take a lot. That is probably why our grandmothers used fabrics from old shirts, trousers, edges of sheets that were worn out in the center. You get the idea. Fabric is expensive. Scour yard sales and get some for bargain prices. The most memorable rugs will be from fabrics that you love, and you won't break the bank.

Here is one that was recently finished for a birthday gift.

Not every one's choice, but there is a vintage blue and yellow kitchen that it will go in.

As I was making this one, I thought back to the tutorials that I did.

I thought perhaps a remake would be in order because maybe, just maybe a new take would make more sense.

So, hopefully, if you read the other posts AND this one, it may answer questions you have.

I "try" to lay out the fabrics that I want to use. I am rather "color challenged" and often ask my daughters for help in selecting colors. What I think at first would be great, sometimes clashes later...

Here are some fabrics I was considering and I actually tore some into strips. I was looking for a bright, colorful finished rug... Just to ease your mind, most of this was not used. Looking at it later showed me, Whoa there! not good choices. So I tried the rainbow approach, somewhat better. Mr likes this rug better than the blue and yellow rug, so I guess everyone to their own taste (as the old woman kissed the cow!)

Depending on how tight you knot, you will have either gaps or "knot".

My favorite part is the red part... I just knew you wanted to know...

Currently residing in front of the range. Cushy 

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I take the fabric, cut off the selvage edge and then use my first finger to measure out approximately three inches. I found out long ago that this finger measures three inches, who would have known...

At the three inch mark, I make a snip with my scissors in the fabric and go on to the next snip place. After about six or eight strips, I start tearing the fabric from edge to edge. (If you don't cut off the selvage, your threads go back and forth and unravel forever, cutting it off stops that from happening). Fold it and pull at the edges to get those strings that will happen. Getting them ahead of using the strip will ease your use later.

Cut a little hole in each end of the strip for joining. This is done by folding over about 1/2" down, fold it in half again side to side, then cut a little of the corner. When you open it back up, you will find a little hole. You will use this hole to join your strips. You will not be sewing them together unless that is something you want to do. Personally...

Can you see the holes? (as a side note, I loved this fabric at first, it had all the colors that I wanted for the rug I was making. Looking back, I do not like it in the center of the finished run, but given some time and dirt, it will fade to a lovely tan...

Take the end and fold it into itself by thirds, and then in thirds again. This makes a really small end that you will thread onto a safety pin. The pin makes going into your holes so much easier than if you didn't have it. Trust me.

Now, lay the two pieces with exposed holes over each other, Right Sides up... It doesn't matter if one is a little wider than the other, that part of the edge will be folded in and you won't notice it at all.

Now, you can do this you know, grab the end of the top strip and bring it up from underneath through the hole. Use the safety pin to poke it through.

Pull, pull it through. You may think you have a mess, but keep it coming. it will fold into itself and look like this

See the torn end up there? These little torn ends will be throughout your rug, but they will be relatively unnoticeable (relatively...)

From the back, smooth out the edges by pulling on each side. It will almost curl around on the edges.

Now you have joined two strips together. You will be working with two strips the whole time, just joining another strip to the end when it get short. Notice that I have laid out these two strips, but staggered in length. That is because wherever there is a knot, there is a little bump. You will learn to work around these, but for the first few knots, it is best to not have the knot at the end of the round. This is the hardest part of the whole rug, so hang in there, you will make it.

Now wrap the right strip over the left and bring it under and through the hole.

You see here that I have pinned the end to the arm of the chair, ouch! That is to keep it stationary while I make those first few knots and for you to see it better. I just wasn't born with multiple arms.

See, that wasn't so bad. This knot you will use for the first row. Right strand over the left and back through the hole.

Do a series of knots, one on top of the other until you think you have enough for a center of an oval rug. Here there is about four and I think I did seven.

Now you will turn the corner by doing three knots in the same hole you just made, by taking the top strip, laying it down and wrapping the left strip over the top and going up through the hole. This is the knot that you use for the whole rug. The first row is different.

It's going to be a little bulky, but you can do it. Make a knot in each hole from your previous knots along the side. Count if it helps you. When you get to the end, make three knots in the end hole. You have completed one side! You are increasing each time you add extra knots. That will keep your rug flat and not curling up on the edges.

Can you see the strips/strands on the edges? That is where you poke your safety pin. Remember, top strip comes down, left strip wraps around and goes up through the bottom into the hole. Now that one is the top strip and you take the one from the left and wrap it over the top of the strip and up through the next hole. It is really much simpler than it sounds. Two color strips will give you a different look than if you use the same color. Those knots where you have joined strips together will be covered up when you come along with the next row.

See the one from the top and the one from the bottom? The bottom one comes from the left, wraps over the top of the right one.

Back side, just for you that are interested.

Adding another color by joining the new color strip

Hopefully this close-up shows you. I like to turn my strips so that the right side is always out. Sometimes it seems like you are turning it all the way around, but I like the way it turns out. It is not necessary to do this. The rug will still be very strong without this added step.

Keep going around, adding extra knots as you go to make the rug flat. You may want to work on a flat surface as it gets larger. It is your choice. And, add as many colors as you can to make it interesting. Go around and around and around many, many times. Make it as big or small as you want.

Now, I know I promised that there was no sewing, but a tip given to me by my daughter who has made many rugs herself, Sew the ends of the strips together on the last go around. It will make a smoother look and won't have those awkward knots to hide and the frayed edges to look at. Just if you want to.

I would love to see if any of you try this technique. Also, send me pictures, comments, questions. I am here to help if I can.

Linking up to:

Made By ME #120 Linky Party and Features

Taking the Plunge Into Soap

A few months back I purchased what was needed to make my own laundry soap. Fels Napha bar soap, Borax, and Washing Soda (which I understand I am not to confuse with regular soda).

I was all ready and had a few empty containers to put the finished product in when I discovered that they were not all empty. So, being a good house wife, I proceeded to "use up" what I already had. That being the case, it took until now to really have it empty.

I am not really into "back to Eden" stuff when it comes to laundry soap - and how many loads of laundry did Eve do before she and Adam were put out of the garden anyway? Not many. So, here I had these supplies ready and then I went to the internet and can't remember where I found the ingredients in the first place.

There are tons of recipes out there people! Everyone has a take on what should go into the pot, so to speak

Well, I found one that used the stuff I have on hand and proceed to start.

Grate 1/3 bar of soap, that part is pretty easy. Mix it with 4 cups of water and heat it up until it melts. OK.

Mix in 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of Washing Soda. (it seems that I have enough supplies to last until the rapture!) The boxes of borax and soda seem rather large when you look at what is used here, and, I still have 2/3 of the bar of soap left.  OK, lots more water, a change of pots because it it getting ready to overflow the top, and now it is sitting its 24 hours to do whatever it is that it will do before it is ready to use. I think I can even add a scent if I like.

I will keep anyone posted on the outcome in the coming days. It smells pretty good from here. We will see how it does with the hard water situation around here though.

I may try the dry recipe and see how I like it. Wish me luck. It looks like I am going to be up to my eyeballs in soap.

Alaska Strikes Again

Awhile back, I did a post about a giveaway at SewDutch

If you want to read about it...

Anyway, to my surprise and DELIGHT ! !

I WON!  Now how is that!!

I received my package today and just like a naughty little kid I didn't even wait to sit down, but tore into it immediately. It was chock full of goodies.

I quickly snapped these pictures while my camera was flashing its warning that the battery was about to go dead. As you can tell, I am not even close to being a professional photographer and you may want to skip this part because it will make you nauseous.

• Fabric - not one, not two, not three pieces, but a total of four!

OK, when it is all over, I am going to right up there with all the contestants for having the most fabric, yet I cannot turn it down. It is like a disease, I just have to have more...

• Buttons - I love buttons, they are like little jewels to me
• A homemade head band. I just might sport this, soon, so watch out!
• Chocolate - now who doesn't like chocolate?  You should be ashamed of yourself, it is one of the major food groups
• Bias tape - in the same fabric as what I received, what a great trim
• Cotton yarn - I have been wanting to do some dishcloths in crochet, too!
• Body wash - in an orange blossom scent
• Homemade soap - this one is made by Northern Lights and I can't wait to try it... be right back, got to go take a shower and try it out...
• An Alaska souvenir - A note pad with a puffin on it with a magnet, how fun
• A black double picture frame
• A mug with a very colorful picture of Native Americans (Eskimos) picking strawberries on it!
• And, a homemade dryer ball. I'm not quite sure how to use this, but I am game. I may have to do some research, looks like fun.

As anyone can see, I am just a big kid when it comes to getting things in the mail. It is almost like a birthday or something.

I can't wait to see what these sisters are up to next. From sewing, crafting, painting, or thrifty tips, they are awesome. Be sure to visit their blog and find out yourself.

http://sewdutchsisters.blogspot.com/

Not Ur Ordinary Nachos

I don't know how your family operates. What your budget is for eating out, etc.

But, when we had six teens at home (yes!) we were always looking for ways to provide treats without breaking the pocket book.

We came up with this solution for Nachos

We shopped at our local bulk store - I think back then it was called "Price Club". Yes, it has been a while...

We bought the large (and I mean large) bag of tortilla chips. I mean, this bag was almost as tall as I was. I stored it in our freezer and brought it out at the times we needed it. With our family, sometimes we bought two bags...

I always had beans on hand. Usually the homemade ones. My husband is of Spanish decent, and it was just part of our meals (here in California, we eat beans...)

To make Nachos for a crowd, I cooked and seasoned a couple patties of ground beef (stored in patties that I made ahead and froze), I re-fried the beans (and not always with lard, just the juice makes them taste quite good), grated cheddar cheese and assembled this all on a couple of cookie sheets in layers. I put them in the oven to crisp up and we then served them up. Homemade salsa (canned tomatoes, canned jalapenos, onion, salt = yum) I bet if you asked my kids now, they would still say it tasted great.

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A word about Nacho sauce that you can purchase at the store. The other day I wanted to have some on hand and here is what I found.

This was priced at $2.88

This brand, in a can with a resealable lid was $1.78.

It tastes very good, but it was not with the chips. You sometimes have to go out of your way to get a bargain.

Speaking of store brands...

You can save money. Smuckers was quite a bit more. I guess I forgot to get that price.

And who has to have the real deal when it goes into a salad?

I hope you are having a great day.

You Could Be Saving $$ on Energy - Thrifty Tip

Our Utility company offered a program years ago to save on our energy bill.

This is the way it worked...

Our energy was on a meter that clocked when we used it. Any energy used during "peak" hours (which were from noon to 6 pm) was charged an amount that was almost 4 times what it would be if we used the same energy during "off peak" hours (from 6pm until noon).  Wow, I hope that made sense to you, I'm still wondering.

So, since we pump our water from a well, and it uses 220, I made sure that any laundry I did was done before noon, or after 6 pm. With a family of six children and two adults, it took a little adjusting, but we made it just fine. We had an electric stove at that point also, and I adjusted my peak cooking hours to be before noon, not that I didn't cook, I just didn't use a lot during those 6 hours. (We since that time have changed to a natural gas stove/range, and a gas dryer) Our energy bills, on an average, run around $100 a month. Now, granted, we don't have snow here in Northern/Central California, but you get the idea.

Check your utility company and see if they offer programs that will adjust your bill if you use less energy during their peak hours. It can't hurt to ask, and you may save some money to boot.

Thursday's Thrifty Tip ~Buttermilk~

Welcome to Thursday's Thrifty Tips

Feel free to add your own or comment on these tips

Today let's look at Buttermilk


Traditionally, buttermilk was the leftover liquid after butter was made from cream. After the cream was agitated, butter would form and the liquid was poured off and either used in recipes or drank.

Today, when we buy "Buttermilk", it is not the same product, unless, of course, you purchased the real deal. What we buy is called Cultured Buttermilk. It works the same as the real stuff, but you can make your own if you want. Perhaps you want to make your own "Ranch Style Dressing" without the MSG, or you need enough for "Angel Biscuits". Whatever the need, here is how:

Take a scant 1 Cup of milk (it doesn't matter if it is whole, 2%, or low-fat)
Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar

Let it sit for about 5 minutes. It will curdle and it will have the same properties as real buttermilk. You can take about a 1/4 Cup of "cultured buttermilk" purchased from the store and add it to a quart of milk that you have and let it sit out overnight and you will get the same results.

Now you can make that Ranch dressing, biscuits that are light as air, banana bread that calls for buttermilk and hundreds of other recipes.

What do you have for today?

Thursday's Thrifty Tips ~Out #*!+ Spot~

If you haven't seen the recipes for saving money $$$  on laundry soap, please see a previous post here.

My friend Zizi shares some tips and recipes.

Now, onto today's tip.

Have you ever been to  a yard sale and seen a beautiful tablecloth, or some tea towels, or doilies, but were turned off by the stains? Well, here is a recipe for take those stains away, or at least make them livable.

Equal parts of:

1. Dishwasher powder (must be powder)
2. Baking soda (just the plain old stuff you use all the time for other things)
3. Biz or its equivalent laundry powder if you can't find Biz

Mix these all up and store the mixture in an airtight container. When you get a real find, make a paste of the mixture and put it on wet fabric. Rub it in and let it dry in the sun. After it has dried (it will be sorta crumbly) brush it off (or not) and wash it as usual.

 I have used this on lace tablecloths with impossible looking stains, on linens, on tea towels (now there are some hard stains) and it most of the time, works for me.

The best part is that it makes a ton. You can probably use it on other things, but I have mostly stuck to whites or very light colored fabric.

Let me know how it turns out for you.

What do you have to share today?

Thursday's Thrifty Tips ~Rice is Nice~

The Math Concerning Rice

I have heard many that just cannot figure out how to cook rice.

I have a formula:

1 = Rice - This works for white or brown

2 = Double the first measurement to equal your liquid

3 = Your resulting amount of finished product

For example, if you start with 1 cup of dry white rice, you add 2 cups of liquid (water, chicken broth, or tomato sauce if you are making Spanish rice), and you will end up with 3 cups of cooked rice. This makes it easy to figure out how much you need for dinner, a salad, fried rice, etc.

Bring your water to a boil, add any seasoning (salt, bouillon, etc) add your rice, cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer for around 20 minutes for white rice and a little longer for brown rice.

Now, for Spanish Rice. Heat oil in a skillet large enough to stir. Add dry rice and toss it until all of the kernels turn white. At first they will be translucent, then they will turn an opaque white. Add your liquid with some tomato sauce, maybe some chopped onion, some chili powder, cover and wait until the liquid is absorbed. Then enjoy.

Enjoy

What do you have for us today?

Thursday's Thrifty Tip #2 ~Show Us Those Legs~

Welcome to Thursday's Thrifty Tips

First of all, I want to introduce you to Elaine from over at Sunny Simple Life

I have recently been introduced myself to her blog and she gave an idea for making bananas last longer. Be sure to visit her blog and check it out. I don't know about you, but I am always looking for frugal thrifty tips to make my dollars go farther. So say hey to Elaine and let her know you found about about her here...
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Delicious Turkey, Gravy and Rice

You can make a wonderful Turkey meal with turkey drumsticks. They are very affordable and easy to cook.

I use an electric skillet to braise them. You put them into the skillet, or you can use a stove top method, turn it on to brown them with some seasonings, and then add water as needed. Braising meat is a way to use cheaper cuts and still get delicious results. Watch for lack of water during the cooking process. It may take several hours to get the meat to literally 'fall off of the bones'.

When this happens, remove the meat from the pot, and carefully remove the meat from the many bones you will find. Shred or chop it up and put it back into the juices. Add a can of cream of chicken soup and let it simmer (you may want more water, depending on how thick it is). Cook some rice, add a salad and you have a meal that will feed around 6 people.

What do you have for us today on Thrifty Thursday?

Thursday's Thrifty Tips #1

Thursday's Thrifty Tip #1

When I was a homemaker with lots of family at home, I was always looking for ways to stretch my budget to include items that I needed but wanted to spend less money on. With your help, we can focus on cleaning supplies, foods, trips to entertainment, whatever you want to share.

Today I want to talk about Homemade Starch.


You can purchase clothing starch at the grocery/pharmacy store for pennies of what you will spend for spray starch. It comes in a jug which you dilute for your needs. I believe the brand here is 'Sta Flo'.  By using a spray bottle and adding the right dilution of starch and water, you have starch for all of your ironing needs. A 64 ounce bottle/jug of starch costs around $2.97 here in California. An aerosol can costs $1.98. A jug will make up to 9 aerosol cans, depending on how much you dilute it. Just give it a shake before you want to use it and give your garment a spray.

Now, give us your ideas on ways we can save money.
Your ideas can be centered on, but not necessarily exclusive of:

FOOD


CLEANING SUPPLIES


ENTERTAINMENT ON A BUDGET


CLOTHING


Whatever your little heart desires. Give it up and bless someone else with your knowledge.