I don’t know who was more excited about this rug….me or my girls?

It has ALL my favorite things in it:

1.  I was able to make it completely from supplies that I had on hand.
2. A TOTAL Scrap BUSTER! I save every piece of fabric…from every project.  I have years of memories in my scrap bins, but a MESS of a Sewing Studio that I am determined to get organized.
3. It’s RAINBOW!  Every beautiful color…and it makes me smile.
4. NO SEW! I love sewing, but sometimes a girl just wants her glue gun, ya know?

I started this over a year ago…my oldest daughter asked for a rainbow rug for her and her sister’s room.  After looking at the options to purchase a rug, I decided we didn’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a rug that, let’s face it, someone’s going to pee spill on at some point.

Turns out, I had PLENTY of scrap fabric that needed to be used, so off I went and started braiding.

If you have a TON of hot glue & you can braid (and have a bunch of fabric to rip up), you can make this too!

You don’t need a sewing machine AT ALL.  I mean, you could sew this together if you wanted to…but I chose to go with hot glue…you do you, I won’t judge.

Are you READY to Make one of these Masterpieces????

SUPPLIES YOU’LL NEED:

1 1/2 (or more) yards of FELT:  depending on how large you want your rug.  (Remember, I said I used my scraps, so I went with Red…I would probably go with that again even if I had to purchase)

Strips of Fabric in 4 inch widths:  I ripped the fabric apart to make it faster.  BLEW my kids minds when I showed them how woven fabric rips right along the grainline once you start with a little cut.  They loved helping with this part.  Also, found it fascinating how different fabrics made different sounds when ripping

Hot Glue Gun & LOADS OF GLUE STICKS: I recommend getting the large sticks…this will take a LOT of glue .  Just make sure you grab the right size (width) for the glue gun you own

CLIPS of some SORT: to hold the ends of your braids while you work.

Let’s GET STARTED!

I’m going to show you how I made mine.  There are obviously many ways you can vary this project…that’s what so fun about the creative process!

 

1. Start with the RED….Cut or RIP (my preferred method) your fabrics in 4 inch widths. Clip 3 strips together and start BRAIDING! It’s actually best of the strips are NOT the same length….this is important for when we have to attach the next strip.
2. When one Strip gets short, you’ll take another strip of fabric and tie a knot to strand them together. (if all the knots fall in the same place, it will be too bulky and harder to hide while braiding)
3. Then Just KEEP BRAIDING, JUST KEEP BRAIDING….BRAIDING….BRAIDING….BRAIDING….you’ll braiding for days! (or if you’re like me, years!……I may have started this project before last Christmas 😉 I PROMISE you, once you get into it, I won’t take that long…in fact, you’ll be able to see where I left off and where I picked it up when we get to that part.
4. When you’re ready to switch colors, simply start tying the new color in. My Georgia told me she loved how I transitioned each color by gradually adding the next color: I had 3 reds…and then 2 reds and 1 Orange…then 2 Orange and 1 Red….Then 3 Orange….and so on!
5. My method was to BRAID ALL of the rug before I started gluing. I haven’t decided yet if this was the right move. What happens is: it twists….and there’s a lot of maneuvering to straighten it if you don’t glue it down as you go. But I also loved to look at it all jumbled up!
6. When you are ready to assemble your rug, you will lay down a piece of felt. (if you’re not familiar, you are able to purchase felt by the yard) I started with a square piece of felt. Glued the start of the braid in the center and began my circle….hot gluing it all down as I went around…and as my rug grew, I simply cut more felt and hot glued it to the first piece.
7. Continue attaching more felt to the base as it gets bigger, this part doesn’t have to be pretty…you won’t see it.
8. This is strictly assemble and access as you go. When I felt it was ready for the next color I switched! When I started, I was braiding very tightly…so you see the RED-ORANGE-YELLOW looks a bit “cleaner”….turns out though, if I make this again, I prefer the looser braid, as it’s more comfortable and squishy when you walk on it 🙂
9. Watch it grow!

 

 

I’m excited to try different things with my next braided rug! I might try using knit fabric….maybe assemble in a back-n-forth pattern to make a rectangular shape instead of circle….hmmmmm….the possibilities! I’m going to have to figure out something because the boys want one for their room now too! Maybe Denim? I could use all those jeans they rip holes in!

Okay, one more pic before I go….

Easy peasy, no?

I’d love to see yours if you make one!