Friday, January 06, 2012

finish it up Friday, week 9

Welcome to week 9 of finish it up Friday! Today I'm happy to show you a very funky finish.

Out with the old....
this was my very old (12+ years) entryway rug that we've had since our very first house. It's done it's job, but the backing is disintegrating, the edges are raveling...it was past time for something else.

In with the new....
Isn't it fabulously funky? I made it from old knit shirts and upholstery squares. You can read about how I made the squares here.
It wasn't exactly easy zig zagging the squares together, but it came together after a bit of wrestling.
I'm so happy be done and finally using the new rug! I just love it!!! It came together better than I could have hoped. The frugal girl in me is DELIGHTED to have made something so useful out of repurposed materials. When I started out, I thought "at least it will make a good conversation starter". :) In the end, I'm so glad it worked out...and so well!
How about you? Do you have a finish to share? If so, please link up to a specific post from the past week. Then go ahead and visit a few other links and leave a comment when you visit so we cheer each other on in our finishing!

Have a fabulous Friday!

59 comments:

Suburban Stitcher said...

I think it's fabulous! Great job!

Josie McRazie said...

way cute! I have seen this as a no sew and I think I like the idea of it being sewn together much better! Thank you for sharing!!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

So much more fun!! I made a rug too, I used denim and wish I hadn't! It takes forever to dry, I have to leave it out in the sun and we don't get much of that!!

Kelly said...

that's a great rug. i need to do that!

Mantha said...

Wow i love it .. thats made me have the wanties .. :)
Have a great day
Mantha xx

Esch House Quilts said...

So cool and all recycled materials - great job! Hmmm, I could really use a new rug in my bathroom...

PS How did you make that old rug last so long?! I think I'm on my third one in about 11 years.

beth said...

Amazing rug. Simply Amazing.

Taya@TypeB said...

Love this! Now I wish I had more old t-shirts to use. Will put it on my to do for the future list :)

Diane said...

What a great funky welcome mat! it establishes this is the house of a creative woman upon entry.

Carla said...

It looks so soft and what a great way to welcome people into you home. I'll have to give this a try some day.

Little Penpen said...

Love, love, love it!

bethanndodd said...

What a perfect way to welcome people into your home...love it!! Thanks for hosting again. Smiles~Beth

Anonymous said...

OK, I've read the tutorials about making the rug, which by the way I love! I can see that when the gal made the shaggy pillow, it was much easier to sew on the cotton backing then it would have been to sew on the upholstery fabric. Did you use a special needle or some kind of heavy duty needle to sew threw? If so, what size?

I have a sew day tomorrow with my quilt group, but didn't really feel like quilting. Maybe I'll go anyway and begin a rug! Thank you for sharing.

jcleveland03@comcast.net

Judee said...

What a clever and cheerful rug!

Annilu said...

Looks really good - the only question that I have is concerning the backside of this rug. Did you fix some nonskid material there? Because without, this rug might be quite slippery...?

Lee D said...

way to stick it out and get it finished. looks wonderful, so bright, cheery and welcoming!

Chase said...

It looks like it is not an easy sewing job! It is always great that we can recycle and reused! Will you plan to make a simple tutorial for it? Thanks for sharing~

Lynn said...

Love the rug. It's so bright and colorful, I'd make everyone in my house step over on, not on it!! Whenever they came in the door, I'd shout "don't step on the rug!"!

Anonymous said...

That is so very cool!!! Unfortunately I can't get near my cutting table or sewing machine right now. I'm cleaning and it's getting worse instead of better.

retstickan said...

I love that coulorful rug! I´ll have to try that one day.

unfinishedquilts said...

I LOVE the rug! When you first posted that I went on a hunt for rug material, now I will definitely have to put one together! I have a St. Bernard who has to be in the sewing room at all times while I am there and this will be perfect for both her and I!

Heather said...

I love how bright it is! I have been saving old t-shirts to make a rug for a few months now. This post is making me excited to make mine. My husband's closet may have to make a sacrifice and be missing some t-shirts so I can get started on mine.

Annalia said...

Cool! I want a REALLY BIG ONE! :)

Rachel said...

LOVE it! On the way out the door here to take my daughter to the airport to return her to school :-( but I am mentally making a note to go back and look more closely, becasce I want one!!

Becky said...

Love your new throw rug! It is both beautiful and functional...and using recycled materials is an added bonus!

ktquilts said...

Love your rug! Pinning it for future reference. I am linking up for the first time, but have been a lurking follower for years. Keep doing what you do, you do it sooooooo well. I really enjoy your quilty adventures.

Miranda said...

Oh man, I love(LOVE)that rug! I bet it feels really great on bare feet too!

Cheerful Homemaker said...

WOW!

Sarah said...

Oh my! That is a gorgeous rug. Bet it feels great under your feet too. Lucky duck!

mac said...

Love the rug. I want to make a braided rug from Tshirts but have never got round to it. Yours looks fantastic.

Suzanne said...

Awesome! I bet your feet love that--especially barefoot.

I have to decide what to link--the piano cover or maybe the new cowl I finished It was a good week. :-)

I'm glad you are continuing with Finish Fridays. Hurray for all of us!

Quiltn Mama said...

You WANT folks to trudge their feet across that?!? I'd hang it on the wall and call it art..very cute and what a way to repurpose something.

Carolyn J. said...

Love the run! What a great project!

trish said...

What a stunning rug that greets those coming into your home. :o) So cheerful!

Svetlana said...

Oh, my!!!! How cute is that!! What a fabulous idea.

goletagirlwendy said...

Absolutely love the rug!!
Have a great weekend.

Shawn said...

In with the new and fun, looks great Amanda Jean!!

Sarah Craig said...

What a great rug! Thrifty and cool!!

Gari in AL said...

Well, that's just terrific. I wonder if I could use t-shirt fabric? I am just going to have to try this. Thanks.

Marcia - Crafty Sewing and Quilting said...

Cool rug! I linked up and I added your title to my side bar of my blog for the link, so I can link up each week. I also add it to the post that I link up. Do you have a button I should use instead? Thanks for hosting!

Anonymous said...

Way to go with the start of your home decorating for 2012! I have seen a rug like this at a friend's house. It should be very durable!

Thimbleanna said...

I LOVE it CrazyMom! It's SO fitting for your house LOL!

Foolish Feathers said...

I love the rug! I saw something similar made in stripes, but I think I like the randomness. Did/do you have problems with fraying? I am thinking this might be a fin idea for my little girl to be's room. I am running into too many things I want to do just for her, she will have the most decorated room in the apartment!

Miri said...

I just love this rug! I've thought about doing something like this with some jean material someone gave me but I've never done it! Well done.

carol said...

E-gads, it's so pretty, I wouldn't want to step on it!

pasqueflower said...

LOVE the colorful rug! I'm hoping to make a crocheted rug with fabric scraps from my stash sometime in 2012.

Emily said...

Awesome!!

Denise L said...

Very nice rug Amanda Jean. I remember when you first blogged about it. I should definitely try this.

Nicole said...

I'm with Carol - your rug is too cute to walk on! Congrats on finishing it up!

VickiT said...

Ooh I love your rug. I've been thinking about doing those for our bathroom. I'll need to check your tutorial too see if it's easier than the crochet rug I was contemplating.........considering the fact I don't know how to crochet. LOL

Susan said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your rug!!! I saw this made up into a pillow and it didn't really grab my attention but when I saw it made up into a rug...well, all I can say is WOW!! I love how you mixed in different colors too.

Jen said...

That is so neat, I love all the colors! I will have to remember to save all my old knit shirts from now on!

Mike said...

Wow...this is REALLY cool. I love all the colors. It's so nice that I would be afraid to use it!

Amanda Jean said...

jcleveland,

no special needles for sewing through the upholstery. i just used my regular needles. it went through without a problem.

hope that helps!

aj

Amanda Jean said...

Annilu + Pete,

Nope, I didn't add any non skid stuff on the back. it's fairly bulky and a bit heavy, so it doesn't slide around much. it does a bit, but it hasn't been a bother, really.

hope that helps!

aj

Amanda Jean said...

chase,

i don't plan on posting a tutorial...i do have a link in the post that links to the tutorial i used. that should be sufficient, I would think.

aj

Amanda Jean said...

gari,

t-shirt fabric works fabulously! i used plenty of those in my rug, too.

aj

Amanda Jean said...

foolish feathers,

no fraying here! the knit shirts just curl up some of the time. it adds to the texture of the rug. (i typed quilt, ha! shows were my mind is.) :)

aj

Carla said...

I love seeing that I'm not the only one who can't get through their sewing room. I mean are we suppose to be creative or neat but then I'm neither one this past year.
Thanks for sharing