Tuesday, March 10, 2009

From Chef's Pants to Rag Rug

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

Do you have 2 pairs of hideous vegetable-print chef's pants hanging around your house doing nothing but taking up space? You know the kind that Morimoto wears when he's knee deep in a food battle on that famous food channel. Well I do, and I've been holding on to these in hopes of recycling them into something useful. It just so happens that today I was in a crocheting kind of mood. I have always wanted a rag rug but never wanted to put the time and effort it took into creating one.

So....I pulled these babies out of the recycling pile and made yarn out of them. If any of you are interested in crocheting with cloth, check out my tutorial for t-shirt yarn. You can make a continuous piece of "yarn" with almost anything that is in a tube such as t-shirts and plastic bags. If it isn't in a tube, take it to your sewing machine and sew it into one (reinforce each seam by sewing it twice). You can use fabric straight off of the bolt, sheets, and even old dresses as long as you turn them into a tube first. If you are working with something that already has been sewn into a tube, I would suggest that you give the seams a go over another time so that it holds together after being cut into strips.



I decided that my yarn will be 1/2-inch. Using my rotary cutter made the cutting fast and easy. Just be sure that you do not cut all way to the end or you will end up with many 1/2-inch loops instead of a continuous piece of yarn.



Continue cutting until you have completed the entire length of the pant leg. Refer to my tutorial for the steps needed to complete the yarn process.



This is how much "yarn" I got from just one leg.



After 45 minutes, I have 4 hefty bundles of yarn for my project.



Here is my crocheted rag rug in progress.



You should give this a try sometime. It's loads of fun and a great way to recycle.

Aloha!

26 comments:

  1. I love recycle and reuse!!! I love your T-shirt yarn too. I think I will go and search for some old T-shirts or other garments from my storeroom and start doing it. Ohhh... I hope I have 48 hours a day, I have so many plans to do!!!
    You are so talented!

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  2. You are one creative gal...I really enjoy stopping by to see what you're up to. Hope you have a great Wednesday!

    Amy

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  3. WOW who knew?? I've got to make one of those.

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  4. Another winner of an idea! Now if you could come up with a few extra hours a day for me to make this stuff, you would be my hero.

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  5. Now you can stand on the rug while cooking! Love it!

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  6. Lettie, what a neat project!! I love it when I can make something useful and a pretty out of something that is old and outdated.

    We should challenge each other to do the same.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Great idea, a friend sent the link for t-shirt yarn to me on Monday and I have a rug for my bathroom almost done. Oh, the possibilities, they are endless. We are in the screenprinting business and misprint t-shirts have a whole new outlook for me!

    Cathy

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  8. Love your blog. Thank you for the great tuts!
    I shall have a go at some of them..
    Julia ♥

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  9. This is definitely an "up-cycle" great job! Thank you.

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  10. I've been thinking about trying this for years! I like to stop by and see what you are making, I love your ideas. Kath in England

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  11. What a great way to recycle those funny looking pants.

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  12. I love it! I started to crochet one from the t-shirt yarn...heh,heh...all I have is a chain. lol. I think I gave up on the braided one. If I need help can I email you?

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  13. I love recycling things. My grandma showed me how to do this years ago. The t-shirt yarn is a great idea that I have to try.

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  14. Brilliant! I've made a couple of rugs recently,one from cotton fabrics & one from t-shirts, but didn't know about that way of cutting stips. That will help a lot, thanks!

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  15. Aloha, Lettie. My friend sent me your link. I'm from the Big Island and I now live in Texas.

    I made several of these rugs and had a great time using my scraps. I used the queen size crochet needle for mine. Love your blog!

    Come visit: http://fanniecarte.blogspot.com/

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  16. LINDO. I LOVE RECICLE, BUT YOU VERY VERY CREATIVE. YOUR BLOG IT IS FANTASTIC.

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  17. Muy bonito...de hecho estoy haciendo una blusa con cinta de tela...y ando atorada...pero veré que hacer....saludos y muy bonito tu blog

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  18. Muy bonito...de hecho estoy haciendo una blusa con cinta de tela...y ando atorada...pero veré que hacer....saludos y muy bonito tu blog

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  19. I'm bowled over by this innovative method of yours to save and reuse a nice fabric. Thanks for sharing- now I know what do with all those old shirts I can't bring myself to discard.

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  20. Lettie,One of my favorite projects. I make hot pads and small rugs. I have given away so many, I've lost count. I usually make them during the long winter nights watching my husband's favorite shows with him.We spend a lot of our quality time during the winter,doing just that.Me crafting,him watching TV or sleeping.We are both retired.Works for us.

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  21. Another great tutorial Lettie :) Thank you again!!! I tried out your T-shirt one and made a pot holder (some where on my blog) I must try out this one too. Doesn't it make you feel great to create something out of something that will be normally thrown away:)
    Hmmmm I wonder if DS has any trousers like these he's finished with :)

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  22. I'm beginner in this but I love to recycle. I really like your blog. The ideas and tutorials are fantastic.
    Thanks!!!

    on Serbian:
    Ja sam pocetnik u ovome ali volim da recikliram. Veoma mi se dopada Vas blog. Ideje i tutorijali su fantasticni.
    Hvala!!!

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