Upcycled T-shirt Rag Rug

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After making a t-shirt quilt last week, to make a start on using up my t-shirt stash, I was still left with a large pile of t-shirt fabric - since the quilt only used the pretty logos and pictures from the fronts of the t-shirts.

I still had all the t-shirt backs and scraps to use up.

I decided to use them to make a rag rug - something I've wanted to try for a long time - and finally I got A Round Tuit! 

I used a great little tutorial that I found via Pinterest from 

Proverbs 31 Living. She used denim scraps for her rug, which looks great, but I figured it would work just as well with t-shirt scraps.

So I cut my remaining t-shirt fabric into rough squares.

Now when I say 'rough' I really do mean it. They were lots of different sizes and some were square, some rectangles, some neither - but they did have 4 sides!

For the backing I used part of an old towel - another thing used from my 'to be upcycled' stash.

For the design, I did consider keeping the colours together and making a rainbow design, but in the end decided it was easier to just mix them all together.

So then it was just a matter of folding each 'square' into a kind of triangle and placing them on top of each other, then stitching in rows onto the backing towel.

I stitched row after row of these triangles, overlapping each other, and each row was about 1' (2.5cm) apart.

Once I'd used up all the t-shirt pieces, I trimmed the edge of the towel and finished the edge off with a double folded hem to stop it fraying.

I love how my new rag rug looks, and feels.

All I have to do now is decide where to use it.

Both of my girls tried to claim it when they came home from school and saw it, but I think I might keep it in the kitchen, to keep my feet cosy when I wash the dishes!

Have you ever made a rag rug?  Did you make it like this or a different way?

I love how this turned out so much that I'd like to make more - and I know I have plenty of fabric in my stash. Next time I'd try a different method though - I'd love any suggestions.

So that's a whole box of t-shirts from my stash used up, into a quilt, a mini quilt, a balloon dog and a rag rug.

Not only have I used up a whole box from my fabric stash, I've also completed three projects that I've had on my to try list for a long time! It feels good to be actively doing, instead of just planning.

Time to look in my stash and see what to use up next - in my bid to 'use up all of my stash'.

How about you? Do you have things in your fabric or crafting stash that you need to or want to use up?  Do you have many projects on your 'to try one day' list?  Why not get started on something today?

If you need some inspiration, why not check out my free sewing tutorials. There are over 100 to browse through, for all levels of sewing ability and a large variety of projects.

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