I braided a rug!

[Val]

Terrific work Deb

[Lynette Smith]

How big is it and how long did it take?

[Caseymini]

I did a tutorial for braided rugs on my blog a while ago. If you want instructions please go here. http://caseymini.blogspot.com/2008/08/laid-to-rest.html You can make it as large as you want. I just did a small one for the tutorial. Simply add more rows to get a larger one. They are pretty easy once you get the hang of it, but quite time consuming for the larger ones. Have fun! <_<

[what2craftnow]

I'm wondering if a computer mousepad might work - the one I have is 1/4" thick and very flexible...might be worth a look-see anyways. <_<

Your rug is fabulous :wub: - I look forward to your tut on this - I would love to give it a go! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

[KathieB]

Oh, upholstering a chair! I've been hunting all over the place for a tut on that. I've got an idea how to do a couch and chair using a basswood frame and beer-cozy foam for cushions (can't find good dense quarter inch foam ANYWHERE so I picked up a beer can cozy made of the stuff!), but I haven't found a tut that does it the way I want. I want loose cushions and rounded arms, traditional style. Do you do that too?

Deb, if you fill the cushions with fine sand, you can gently press an indentation of tiny bottoms, so the cushions will look very realistically as if someone has sat upon them. Also, consider foam core board for the inside of the cushion if you want a cleaner look. You can carve down the edges to round a bit if you like that look. Don't forget, nobody will sit on them, so it doesn't matter how comforable they are! <_<

For rounded arms, try the smallest tampon tubes. I think you can buy an assortment of tampons in a couple or three sizes. They're useful for a lot of things.

[Deb G]

How big is it and how long did it take?

It's 4x6 inches, and making the braid takes the most time. This rug has about 5 yards of braid, and I'm guessing that it takes fifteen minutes a foot (at a leisurely pace, after you get the hang of it), so that works out to three hours and 45 minutes for the braid. I couldn't do it without taking breaks because my hands get tired. All together, I think it took me three evenings watching television to make the braid and one to make the rug.

[Deb G]

I'm wondering if a computer mousepad might work - the one I have is 1/4" thick and very flexible...might be worth a look-see anyways. <_<

Your rug is fabulous :wub: - I look forward to your tut on this - I would love to give it a go! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

Thanks! That mousepad idea just might work! I might even have an extra one around here somewhere. Isn't it weird though that they don't just sell the foam in that size? When I was looking for it at Hobby Lobby, the girl who was helping me said people ask for it all the time. Wouldn't you think that would give them a hint?

[Deb G]

Deb, if you fill the cushions with fine sand, you can gently press an indentation of tiny bottoms, so the cushions will look very realistically as if someone has sat upon them. Also, consider foam core board for the inside of the cushion if you want a cleaner look. You can carve down the edges to round a bit if you like that look. Don't forget, nobody will sit on them, so it doesn't matter how comforable they are! <_<

For rounded arms, try the smallest tampon tubes. I think you can buy an assortment of tampons in a couple or three sizes. They're useful for a lot of things.

That is such a neat idea! Pillows and cushions filled with sand instead of foam would have a MUCH more realistic feel and appearance. I can't wait to try it. The rounded arms idea cracks me up. You guys are so dang resourceful, I am constantly amazed. I bought 3/4 inch wood dowel which would be a pain to saw through. I like your idea much better, and who's going to know the difference?

[Caseymini]

If you don't have sand, you can fill them with salt. I have used that for years.

[Deb G]

If you don't have sand, you can fill them with salt. I have used that for years.

That's a good point, but I happen to have about a quart of fine sand that I picked up the first time I made it to the west coast. I'm such a tourist, I filled the pockets of my jacket with Pacific ocean beach sand along the 17 Mile Drive outside Carmel-by-the-Sea and hauled it all the way home to Ohio. <_< It's been waiting patiently in a zip loc bag in the cabinet under my microwave since 2005. Never knew what I would do with it until today!

[Caseymini]

Deb, I did that a long time ago in California. Be sure to rinse the sand good if you don't want your pillows to smell. I finally threw my keepsake sand out because of the stail ocean smell. <_<

[havanaholly]

Salt does NOT work for pillow-filler in high-humidity climates like ours! My grandma used to boil sugarwater down to soak her crocheted doilies in to starch them; one summer in S FL taught her to use Staley's, instead!

With the way arthritis does my hands these days I only plait dollhair.

[Deb G]

Deb, I did that a long time ago in California. Be sure to rinse the sand good if you don't want your pillows to smell. I finally threw my keepsake sand out because of the stail ocean smell. <_<

Oh, I hadn't thought about that! I guess I'll find out when I finally dig out the zip loc bag and open it. Sounds like I might be in for a bit of a surprise.

And good point, Holly, about the salt and high humidity. Too bad I haven't been keeping the little silica bags that are packed in with electronic equipment. That would stand up to pretty much any humidity.

[Caseymini]

Holly, I have had a few of the pillows get hard. If you just squash them between your fingers a fewof times they break back down to sandlike consistancy. I haven't lost a pillow yet. Believe it or not, AZ does get humidity, especially in Monsoon season every summer. <_<

[havanaholly]

Here the salt absorbs water and puddles out throught the fabric and then when it dries the pillow is empty, flat, hard as a rock & STAINED. Mix a few drops of fabric softener with your stale ocean sand to see if the odor doesn't go away when it dries.

[Caseymini]

Wow! You do have a problem Holly! That is terrible! Did anybody mention that sand is really cheap at pet stores in the aquarium department? I think that is the way to go. You can buy it in small packages and it is clean, usually sterilized sand. Here, some pet stores sell it by the pound and you can buy just what you want.

[doogster]

I braided a rug, it started the whole world, crying...

Sorry, I absolutely COULD NOT resist.

[lmgervais]

That's a good point, but I happen to have about a quart of fine sand that I picked up the first time I made it to the west coast. I'm such a tourist, I filled the pockets of my jacket with Pacific ocean beach sand along the 17 Mile Drive outside Carmel-by-the-Sea and hauled it all the way home to Ohio. <_< It's been waiting patiently in a zip loc bag in the cabinet under my microwave since 2005. Never knew what I would do with it until today!

Guess that I should start making a zillion pillows. Last summer I started collecting sand and a few stones from every waterway we went to (all freshwater) - got three of the Great Lakes, some smaller lakes, etc. I put it on cookie sheets to dry. Now all the sand is either in separate jars or ziplock backs with the date and location marked!

[jeninky]

Love it!!!

[Deb G]

I braided a rug, it started the whole world, crying...

Sorry, I absolutely COULD NOT resist.

Oh, now I have that tune in my head! <_< :wub:

[havanaholly]

The only sand we have collected that will NEVER make it into minis is the wee bottle of holy black sand our eldest ex-Marine son brought to his ex-Marine Dad from Mt Suribachi.

[Luanne]

I'm wondering if a computer mousepad might work - the one I have is 1/4" thick and very flexible...might be worth a look-see anyways. :idiot:

Your rug is fabulous :lol: - I look forward to your tut on this - I would love to give it a go! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

perfect- I need some bay window seats. woo hoo!

[miniwendy]

Are you sure you didn't take a real braided rug and magically shrink it down to mini size?? It looks real!! Nicely done.

[Deb G]

The only sand we have collected that will NEVER make it into minis is the wee bottle of holy black sand our eldest ex-Marine son brought to his ex-Marine Dad from Mt Suribachi.

My dad was on Iwo Jima, and my son in law found a veteran's site that organizes trips there. He's going to bring back some of that black sand in memory of a man he never met. It gives me goosebumps.