T-shirt mat

T-shirts are so stretchy but so soft and nice to work with. This is a great bath mat. Sturdy, soft, thick.

What looked great on my makeshift loom stretched and pulled in every which way but straight when I took it off. I might try spraying it and ironing it to straighten it out but this is mixed straight weaving (under-over-under-over) and a few rows of twined cotton strips to secure the rows.

Materials: t-shirts, cotton cord, cotton bed sheets.

Finished size 70 x 100 cm

Woven Rag Rug

This is a way to get rid of odds and ends scraps that were too ragged even for twining. I set up a kite string warp on a frame from discarded PCV pipes.  Then I made a continuous string heddle as one would do for backstrap weaving.

Small mat, 35 x 75 cm

PCV pipe frame. This is with yarn warp. I undid this one and used kite string instead for the finished mat.

The  fabric strips are hand-stitched end to end to eliminate big bulges. Also, since my fabric strips were so irregular is was easier than knotting them. 

Each strip was 1/2"-1" wide, then folded or tucked under.

Detail of woven rag rug, mixed silks, polys, cottons, wool, denim.

Woven mat from old t-shirts and kite string warp.

Soft bathmat size carpet from old t-shirts, plush bathrobe and fleece muffler.

Woven bath mat using variety of soft cotton strips, heavy cotton cord warp.

Mixed cottons, jersey bath mat

Detail of mixed bath mat, twining and weaving (the twined strips give a little extra strength)

 Then I found the old rigid heddle loom that my mother gave me in 1969. I remember weaving yarn mufflers and mats on this model.



Having a short supply of yarn, I used the yarn for the warp and strips of wool (from an old skirt) left over from rug hooking for the weave.

70 cm x 30cm mat 

80 cm x 30 cm mat

Detail of woven wool strips