Free Knotted Shag Rug Instructions
- 1). Find or purchase the base of your rug. You can either buy a rug canvas at an arts and crafts store, or if you want to be really thrifty, you can use an old burlap sack. Ideally, you're looking for a piece of durable fabric that has holes large enough for you to thread the rug yarn using a crochet hook.
- 2). Create a border for your rug. If you use a rug canvas, it most likely has seams or stitching at the ends. If you use a burlap sack, create the ends yourself by taking a piece of masking or packing tape and laying it along the entire edge of the sack; half the tape should be on the edge, the other half should be free. Once you've lined the front of the sack, flip it over and adhere the free side of the tape to the sack's back. This creates a seal for the edge of the sack, which keeps it from fraying. Don't worry about the shabby appearance of the taped edge; the fabric or yarn strips will most likely cover the border you created.
- 3). Trace your design on the burlap or rug canvas. If you plan to use a single color for your knotted shag rug, you can skip this step. Otherwise, use a marker to trace the design. Some options include stripes, polka dots, stars, hearts or even a letter or combination of letters. The more colors you add to your rug, the more complicated the creation process.
- 4). Cut the yarn or fabric you plan to use. If you use rug yarn, these pieces may already come pre-cut. If you want to use a different type of fabric--anything from an old bedsheet to ratty T-shirts--you must cut the strips yourself. The longer you cut the strips, the higher the pile (ie, the thicker and longer the rug fibers) will be. The website Rugmaker's Homestead suggests cutting the fabric into strips 3 to 4 inches long and a 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Cutting the strips any wider makes it difficult to slip them through the canvas or burlap base.
- 5
The mechanism for hooking a rug.rug making image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
Use your crochet hook to slip the strips of yarn or fabric through the rug base. Fold the strip in half, and place the looped edge along shaft of the hook. Slip the hook underneath one hole on the rug base, then slip it back to the top through an adjacent hole. The website Area Rug Tips refers to these holes as warps. Use the hook to grab the free ends of the fabric or yarn strip and pull it through the strip's looped edge. Once you pull the loop, the free ends of the strip should stand perpendicular to the rug base. - 6). Repeat Step 5 until you have looped fabric or yarn strips through every hole on the canvas or burlap base. Whenever you get to one of the design lines you drew on the base in Step 3, change the color strip you're using in accordance with your design plans.
