Frugal Handmade Gift Idea - Crochet Slippers and a Free Pattern Link

Crochet Slippers

I LOVE it when I find cute, simple patterns that are suitable for gift making and giving!  I think these adorable crochet slippers fit the bill perfectly!  And better yet is that there is a FREE CROCHET PATTERN made available thru the Redheart website! You can find the pattern by clicking here!

I changed up the trim around the slippers just a bit by crocheting a picot border instead of that in the pattern.  I really like how these slippers turned out.  So much so that I made another pair in a colorway similar to that on the website! 

It takes less than a skein of yarn to crochet the slippers.  You can even use yarn scraps to make the flowers, leaves and border using yarn stash that you have on hand.  That is a pretty frugal and thrifty gift idea in my book!  And they are SUPER CUTE! 

I am happy to add these slippers to my gift stash! 

Do you keep a stash of handmade gifts on hand too?

Recycling Fabric: Make a Fabric Basket

Make a Rag Fabric Basket / Bowl

Recycling is a good thing in my book! So, with leftover fabrics from the rag rug that I recently made, (tutorial here) I decided that I would make a small rag basket.  Little baskets like these are great for holding all kinds of small things.  This rag basket / bowl was crocheted using only two types of stitches..... a chain stitch and a single crochet stitch.  Simple and very easy to do.  I found several free patterns over on Ravelry.  For those of you who do not know, Ravelry is a free to join knit and crochet community and has thousands and thousands of patterns with many of which are absolutely free!  I hope you will give this simple little basket a try!

 

How to Make A Rag Rug

I love recycling when I can.  I especially love to be able to upcycle discarded or unused items into something that is pretty or useful in my home.  So enter into the world of rag rug making with me!

I love thrift shopping and often find pretty fabrics, sheets, clothing  and such.  Sometimes the fabrics are still in very good condition or even new condition.   The cost of fabric at the fabric store for new fabric is getting out of sight, especially when the purpose is for rug making.  So why not take advantage of re-using and repurposing fabrics, sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, curtains or old clothing into something practical and useful?


How to Make a Rag Rug

I thought I would welcome you into the world of rag rug making with something very simple.  This rag rug is crocheted using a large hook (I used a size M hook) and strips of fabric that are upcycled from found fabrics.

First, look thru what you have at home in your linen closet.  Look for unused sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, curtains, or whatever kind of fabrics you can find that you no longer have need of.  If you need more fabrics  go shopping! Yay! I especially l-o-v-e bargain shopping!!!! It's all about the thrill of the hunt, right folks?

So, keep your eyes open for fabrics that you can incorporate into your rugs.  Ashamedly, I have to admit that I have a more than ample supply of fabrics that I can recycle into rugs.  But if you are a rug maker it is nice to find fabrics that coordinate with one another, right?  Yes! But, if you can not find coordinating fabrics I have seen many beautiful rugs that are just all different colors of fabric.  Strip by strip they all incorporate into a nice rug! It all works!

Now you have some fabric.  So start tearing your fabric into strips.  First snip down about two inches long across the  width of the fabric about every two or three inches.  I usually tear the strips about a couple of inches wide. The wider the strips, the larger the hook you will use.  Yes, I tear my fabric strips.  I then pull off  as many of the strings that I can.  I don't stress over what I can not pull off.  As the rug is being made, washed and used everything just works out.  Ok?  So.....don't stress! It will be beautiful!

You can also cut your fabric strips with scissors or a rotary cutter.  Not my way of doing things but if you are that kind of a gal then go that route.  All of that tearing up of the fabric is actually kind of fun and very stress relieving! Do this job outside!  Lots of fiber dust comes off when you are tearing those fabric strips.  For that reason  I recommend that you wear a dust mask.  And especially make sure to wear a dust mask if you have any respiratory issues.  Protect those lungs!

Fabric strips for rag rug making

After I tear my fabric into strips I fold my fabric strips and put them into neat little piles and store them in see thru  zip lock bags.  That way when I am ready to begin my rug making I have already accomplished that part of the process and can go to my stash and grab out the fabrics that I want to use. 

There are several ways to join your fabric strips.  You can hand or machine sew them together.  Or you can use the "fold, snip, and attach" method, as I refer to it!  Do not make this harder than it is.  It is really very, very simple.  Ok?  When you are ready to add a new strip of fabric follow these steps:  Take your time..... and just follow these directions step by step! Don't make it harder than it is!  I apologize that I can't add a photo for this step, but I only have two hands!

First, as you are crocheting along and near the end of your WORKING fabric strip, fold the end of the fabric down about an inch and with a pair of sharp, pointed scissors just take a little snip into that fold (only big enough that when unfolded back out that your next strip of fabric will fit into the hole that you just cut).

Next, choose a fabric strip that you want to connect to your working fabric strip.  We will call this the NEW strip.  Do the same thing.  Fold the end of the fabric strip down about an inch and cut a little snip into the fold of the NEW fabric strip about the same size as the cut that you made into your working strip.  Easy enough, right?

Place your NEW strip that you are adding ON TOP of your WORKING strip aligning the little hole snips in the fabric. 

OK..... now pick up the tail end of your NEW strip and from the bottom or underneath the two strips being held together just insert the tail end  of the NEW strip into the holes cut in the two strips that you are holding together on top of one another.

Pull the tail end that you just fed thru the cut all the way thru until your strips are joined.  Tug gently on the strips and that will join the WORKING strip to the NEW STRIP.  Viola!! You have now added your two strips together without sewing!  

The above rag rug was made in a square(ish) shape.  You can make them round, oval, rectangular and more.  For simplicity we are making this one square(ish). 

This rag rug was made using only a chain stitch (which made the foundation row) and single crochet stitches.  Both of these stitches are very simple.  If you do not know how to do a chain stitch or a single crochet stitch I am going to refer you to the wonderful world of YouTube.  Simply type into the YouTube search bar "crochet chain stitch" and "single crochet stitch" and you will find many tutorials of how to do these simple stitches.

So LET'S MAKE A RAG RUG!

Supplies:

Fabric Strips
A crochet hook that is the appropriate size for your strips
( I used a size M or 9 MM hook)
(The wider your strips are the larger hook you will need)
Yarn rug needle with a big eye

Foundation: Chain 41 stitches

Row 1:  Single crochet into the first chain stitch and into each chain stitch to the end of the row. Chain 1. Turn.

Row 2:  Chain into the first single crochet and into each single crochet to the end of the row. Chain one. Turn.

Repeat Row 2 until you have made the rug as long as you want it to be. 

Bind off   (YouTube videos will show you how)  OR you can first single crochet around the entire rug for as many rounds as you would like in order to give your rug a more finished look)  To accomplish neat corners simply single crochet three stitches into your corner stitches to allow for a smooth transition in the corners.  Then bind off if you choose to crochet around the entire rug.
With a large eye yarn needle, weave in any ends.

TUTORIAL:  HOW TO MAKE A RAG RUG

Handmade Rag Rug

That's it!!

Crocheted Rag Rug

I hope that this tutorial on how to make a rag rug is helpful for you to be able to make your own rag rugs!

Are you excited and ready to make a rug?  I hope you will come back to tell me all about it and to  show me your creations!!

Happy rag rug making!

How To: Wind a Center Pull Yarn Ball or Yarn Cake From a Hank Using a Nostepinne

 

How to Wind a Center Pull Yarn Cake with a Nostepinne

 

When I purchase a hank of yarn at my local yarn shop I sometimes ask them to go ahead and wind the hank of yarn into a ball if I plan on using the yarn soon.  If I don't have the yarn shop to wind the yarn for me I end up winding it myself by hand since I do not have a yarn swift or a yarn winder.  But the other day I was at Hobby Lobby and saw this handy little gadget called a nostepinne.

 

 

 

The cost of the ball winder or nostepinne was $6.99 but with my 40% off coupon it only cost $4.19 plus tax.  So I bought it.....  Love those 40% off coupons!

 

To use the nostepinne to wind a center pull yarn ball or yarn cake this is what I did:

 

First, lay the hank of yarn out in a circle on a flat surface and find the ties on the yarn hank.  There will most likely be several of them.  With scissors snip the ties off  being careful not to cut into your yarn hank.... only cut the ties that hold the yarn together. 

 

 

Tie a slip knot.

 

 

Undo a length of yarn from the hank and begin to wind the yarn around the nostepinne an inch or so from where you tied the yarn onto the nostepinne rotating the nostepinne as you go along.  It helps keep your yarn ball or yarn cake looking neat by keeping your thumb at the bottom of the yarn ball and your pointer or first finger at the top of the yarn ball.   As you wind the yarn lay the yarn as close as you can to the prior string of yarn and rotating your nostepinne as needed.   I hold the nostepinne and the yarn ball in my left hand and I wind the yarn using my right hand.

 

Continue to wind and wind and wind and wind!  When you finish winding the entire hank of yarn into a yarn ball untie the slip knot and slide the center pull yarn ball off of the end of the nostepinne.  Tuck your yarn ends under a few strands of yarn on the ball.

 

 

So there you have it!! A pretty little yarn cake or yarn ball!!  If you aren't going to use your yarn immediately you can tie your yarn tag onto the yarn ball for future use or fold it up and insert it into whole created by winding it onto the nostepinne. 

 

Why hand wind your yarn into a center pull yarn ball?  Well, for one thing if there are any knots or breaks in the yarn you can take care of that at this time before you start knitting and happen upon it while knitting.  Also a center pull ball allows you the opportunity to knit from either end of the yarn ball. This comes in handy particularly when you are working with several balls of hand dyed or kettle dyed yarns.  And they stack so pretty in your storage container!

 

While I was outside clipping some of my hydrangeas to bring inside I noticed that my pretty yarn cake is about the same beautiful color of some of my hydrangeas.

 

 

 



Have a wonderful day!

 

Partying over at:  Nifty Thrifty Tuesday,  Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #82