Rug Starts

Does this look like a couple of rag-shag throw rugs to you??  Those pieces of fabric are doubleknits.  I don't like doubleknit, but I can't seem to throw it out, sooo...

These will be throw rugs for Aaron and Joanna.  The dark colors will be for Aaron; the pastels for Joanna.

     

I have just begun cutting 2" x 3" rectangles.  So far, it feels just like quilting -- except doubleknits are a whole lot harder to cut through.  {I’m a-gonna get rid of this stuff, do or die.  One way or a-tuther, I'm a-gonna get rid of it!}

Here are my instructions: 

Cut a piece of heavy-duty fabric for the backing, and finish the edges.

Start at the outside edge and draw lines one inch apart in decreasing rectangles (or straight lines).

Cut lots and lots of 2” x 3” rectangles of denim or doubleknit.

Starting in the center of the backing, and working outwards, begin sewing the fabric rectangles to the backing fabric.  Sew straight through the middle of the rectangle width, so both sides stick up evenly.  As you lay each rectangle down, push it into 3 or 4 pleats so that the 2 inches of width are gathered into about 1 inch, overlapping each rectangle just a bit, an eighth an inch, a little more at the corners.   

When you have gone all the way around one rectangle, sew it down again to secure it.

For the last rounds, cut the rectangles in half along the length, to make rectangles that are 1½ inches by 2 inches, and sew along the edge of the backing fabric, so that the last row lies flat.