Have a Go at Rag Rugging - The Fascinating Art of Scrap Transformation

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Have a Go at Rag Rugging - The Fascinating Art of Scrap Transformation

Rag Rugging is a centuries old art form which exists in many forms all over the world. It is a fantastic way of transforming scrap fabric into useful, practical and beautiful objects that can be used and admired everyday.

It requires just a few basic tools and materials to get started and is easy to learn, which makes it an economical, fun and relaxing hobby.

What You Will Need

Rag rugs are usually worked on burlap/hessian. You don’t need to buy the expensive kind – ordinary hessian sacking is fine. In fact, that is how rag rugging started – to make good use of the sacks that everyday goods like potatoes were delivered in. All you need is burlap that has a weave of 10 holes per inch.

Basic Tools - Cutting

Self Healing Cutting Mat
Rotary Cutter – eg Fiskars
Sharp Scissors
A Rag Rugging Gauge (Optional)

To cut your fabric into strips, you will need a self healing cutting mat and a rotary cutter. Fiskars is always a reliable brand to choose. A cutting mat and a rotary cutter is a good craft investment because you can also use it for many other craft projects. Your fabric needs to be cut into long strips about 2cm wide. With a good rotary cutter, you can cut through four or five thicknesses of fabric all at once which speeds things up considerably – so don’t be tempted to buy cheap – it is false economy!

It is good to choose fairly lightweight fabric that has some colour on both sides (rather than being very pale on the wrong side) as the strips will be seen from both sides when woven into your rag rug. Lacey fabrics also make great rag rugging materials and add a pleasing lightness and texture to the finished piece.

Once you have a nice pile of long strips cut, you need to chop them up into lengths about 9cm long. A Rag Rugging Gauge is a great time saver for cutting the long strips up into short strips and also makes the strips a more uniform length. It isn’t an essential tool though – a pair of good scissors is sufficient. With a gauge, you can roll your strips around the gauge and then cut through them all in one go. The more loosely you roll your strips, the longer they will be once cut.

Rag Rugging Tools

There are several rag rugging techniques which each create a unique effect which lends itself to different projects. I have tried out three techniques so far:

Shaggy/Proggy
Short Shaggy
Hooking/Looping

Shaggy/Proggy Rag Rugging is the easiest technique to learn. The only tool you need is a Rag Rug Spring Tool which is used to grab your fabric strip and pull it through your hessian.

Short Shaggy Rag Rugging is slightly more difficult because the strip needs to be folded in half before it is pulled through the hessian. It creates a denser finish – great for a project that is required to be hard-wearing.

Hooking/Loopy Rag Rugging requires a Rug Hook/Latch Hook to pull your strip up through the burlap to create a series of short loops. It is a great technique for making good use of old T-shirts which lend themselves very well to the looping/hooking technique.

Creating Patterns

Once you have mastered the basic techniques of rag rugging, you can have endless fun creating patterns with your fabric. Have a go at making circles, triangles, chequerboards, stripes – and of course – you just have to make a heart shape?!

Simply trace out the shape you want to make on your hessian and work your rugging along the drawn lines – let your creativity flow!

Where to Buy Rag Rugging Tools

One of the best places to buy rag rugging tools and equipment is on line at Ragged Life. If you are lucky, you may be able to pick up second hand tools on eBay.

Elspeth Jackson – who runs Ragged Life – has also written a superb book on the subject – Rag Rug Techniques for Beginners – which is great to get you started.