Looking for a weekend project? How about making a rug out of a hula hoop through weaving. Renee from RenKroDesigns has provides another great upcycle activity for us. Check this one out!
I hope you all had a chance to start on the introduction lesson, “No Sew Linen Yarn.” This quick weekend project will show you how to make a cozy foot rug from the balls of yarn made from old fabric.
I know some of who did see the yarn lesson have all be busily cutting up all your old sheets, pillowcases, and other old clothes. You have probably dozens and dozens of yarn balls by now – and all new bedroom sheets – right? NO? No worries, you can save this lesson for upcoming cold rainy fall days that are sure to be around the corner.
Supplies:
1 Hula Hoop – a 33” one works well and will create the perfect size. *They are cheap during end of summer*
1 Ball of fabric yarn in a neutral color – About 3” diameter (approx. 20 yds)
9 – 10 Balls of fabric yarn in various colors – About 4” diameter (approx. 28-30 yds each)
The yardage/number of balls of yarn is a rough estimate because how much you need will depend on the thickness of your fabric.
Time to wrap the warps
No that is not a typo. The warps are what you are going to weave on. They look like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
Take the end of your neutral colored ball of yarn and tie it to the hula hoop leaving a tail about 3” long. This will be the starting spot for your warp strands. Wrap the yarn in a figure 8 pattern around the hula hoop so that the warp strands meet in the middle.
Each warp strand is comprised of 2 yarn strands (except the starter strand). Create as many warps as you want but you must have an ODD number of strands. I used 17 warp strands for this rug. I advise a minimum of 9 or 11 but it is easier with 17 or 19 to maintain the spacing while weaving and create a more even pattern.
To finish your final warp strand, wrap your yarn around the center of all the strands in the middle. Pull the strands together but so tight that the fabric tears. Wrap again around the center perpendicular to the first wrap and pull. Bring your yarn up to your starting strand, tie it to the tail of the starting strand and double knot it. Adjust the warp strands until they are evenly spaced around the hula hoop. Your hula hoop loom is ready to go!
Working the Weft
The yarn that is woven through your warp is the weft. You can pick any kind of fabric, texture, color, thickness you want here. You have total creative freedom here so have fun. If you are planning on using heavy fabrics like wool or terry cloth, use a thicker fabric for your warps like twill or light denim. For this rug, I used a selection of greens that were linen, t-shirt material and flannel. I knew I was going to put this under my desk in my studio, so I wanted smooth and cozy fabrics.
Starting off
Bring your weft yard up through the back of your loom leaving a tail about 4-5”. Weave your weft yarn over one of the 2 strand warps. Then go under the 2nd warp and over the 3rd warp. Keep repeating this patter of over- under-over until you get around to where you started. Your pattern will then switch. Where you first went over, you will now go under your first, over the 2nd, and under the 3rd and so on.
It is easier to weave toward the edge of the hula hoop (there is more room out there) and then use your fingers to push the yarn down onto the warps.
Keep weaving around the center until you near the end of your first weft yarn. Again, leaving a tail about 4 – 5” long, tie the starting tail and ending tail together to secure the yarn. Trim excess yarn or tuck it back into your weaving.
Second color
Take your 2nd color and weave it through a few warps following the same over – under pattern you were following with your first color, leaving approximately a 3” tail. This takes some care to not disrupt the pattern, so the rug stays uniform. To secure the 2nd color, simply tie the tail to one of the strands from color 1.
Another way you can join different colors of weft yarn is to use what you learned making the yarn by threading the second color through the slit in the first color and pull to join.
Finishing off
Continue weaving and adding colors until your rug is about 4” from the hoop. Take the end of your weft, wrap it around the warp and around the woven row before it and tie a knot.
Cut one warp from the hoop as close to the hoop as you can. Thread one of the warp strands through the last 2-3 rows of weaving and tie a double knot. Trim off excess. Repeat for the remaining warps.
You can stop now and squish your toes in what you have made, but I like to do a little something to hide those warp knots. This is a job for TASSELS!
You can make your tassels any color you want. If you have left over yarn from your warps, you can use that. You can use leftover weft yarn from your weaving. I used leftover weft yarn. Cut your strips in half if they are too long. Thread a slit end of the fabric yarn through the last 2-3 rows of the rug. Then thread the other end through the slit and pull. Continue around the rug. Trim tassels to desired length.
Whoo Hoo! You just wove a rug in a weekend!!
Upcycle mini lesson and yarn created by RenKroDesigns
Check out more Eco-friendly artwork and ideas on Facebook @RenKroDesigns or Instagram @RenKroDesigns
