Mar 23 2008
Doormat: Walk All Over Me
The denim strips just sat there waiting. I was immersed and for a good three weeks, my fiber-y exploits were all about the knitting. I didn’t even take the time to warp the new weaving cones I got. I kept on telling myself that I would do it… but the linen yarn for the planned rag rug sat there untouched.
…and when I finally did it yesterday, it all came together so quickly…
I wound a three yard warp of the linen I purchased from Webs. I sleyed and threaded. I wound the strips of jeans onto the large rag shuttles. I made a rug for my front door. It was simple and relatively quick to complete.
The rags were quite bulky, and much of the beating was actually done by hand. The unevenness of the strips and the frequent bulk of the seams made it nearly impossible to beat with the loom’s beater. I tugged and beat the strips down with my fingers, and they held up well. I hope that means that the rug will hold up well for all of the feet that will be walking all over it:
Humans
Canines
Felines
I loved making something so functional. I love knowing that it will be right inside my front door when I come home. The ease and simplicity of the process were just what I needed to give me a little boost of weaving confidence. I am hoping that with more practice, the pieces will just get better. The real beauty of working with rags is that it will never look perfect. It has the homemade look: scrappy and asymmetrical. It is supposed to be that way! For a beginner, this is a gift!
I love it!
You are so creative and I truly enjoy your site. You give me so much confidence that I will learn to weave sometime in the future.
You are really cranking out the weaving projects! Love the rug.
I Love it !! That is incredibly cool looking!
So funky, I love it! And if you have feline approval, well then you’re all set:)
I love the linen fringe at the ends. It looks pretty rugged. I think you’ll be able to get a good long use out of it.
What a great project! I love it.
I love that rug!!! Great job!
That’s rad! And all the better for being not perfectly square of “flat”.
WOW! Gorgeous rug. You continue to amaze me with your out of the box projects!
it’s perfect! what a beautiful repurposing of old jeans! i love it.
So cool! And I just love how you recycled something into functional craft.
Fantastic! love the furry feet enjoying your hard work; well done.
I love how it turned out! So warming by the door, especially since it’s handmade. Very nice!
Oooh, very cool. I’m sure it will be enjoyed by all feet who walk upon it. The highest compliment will be when a furry animal decides that your rug is wonderful enough to take a nap on.
Wow that came out so great!! You are driving me crazy with the weaving thing though. I am now scoping out looms which can lead to NO GOOD…at least where money is concerned :O)
Thanks for the inspiration
The doormat is beautiful. It’s great to have something homemade to greet you and your guests! I’ve always had a love of rag rugs, but I think I’m particularly fond of your denim one.
Adorable!
I love it!! It looks better than the kind you buy at the store…the color gradations are soo pretty. I bet it will last a long time, that denim will hold up!
It turned out beautifully, I’ve a feeling it will age well too.
Nice one, Lolly!! I love the way the denim translates into that rough, ragged rug. Happy Spring to you!
That is one fabulous doormat. What a way to be welcomed home.
Love the rug! You are so talented and I am in awe!
wow, i love it! it looks so great!
That’s fantastic! What a great sight to greet you when you come home.
i love the denim ruggedness – lovely job!
How Cool! I’m now sitting here telling myself how much I do NOT need another hobby like weaving with a huge loom.. but that rug is so awesome! I have rag type rugs all over the house.. they’re my favorite kind because they have sort of a rustic look to them.
Wow! I love it! The denim and linen are just such a great combo and it should hold up forever! Now you’ve made me curious about weaving.
Very good-looking rug! Great job!
My sister and I have been buying hand woven denim rugs from a shop in our home town in southern MN for several years. And I can tell you they are very durable plus they are washable! What wears out is the warp. And even that lasts a long time.
Wow! I love it!
I think it looks fabulous! What a great idea.
A wonderful new life for your old jeans! The rug is beautiful!
I know I already said so on teh rav, but I LOVE YOUR RUG!
Nostalgia-fest over here — the first house I remember living in (Powder Mill Road, Silver Spring, MD) from age 3 through 5 had a woven denim throw over the couch we had in our screened in porch. Or maybe it was a rug… regardless, woven denim something sturdy, useful, and beautiful (even to a 3 to 5 year old) figured prominently in my memories of being a youngster in that house. Yours is beautiful and sturdy looking — I hope you and your loved ones enjoy it as much as I enjoyed that one so many years ago!
this is such a great project. i love the picture with the kitty paws!
That is such a great doormat! And what a great use for old jeans too!
I love that your pets were immediately all over this new rug. Guess they have good taste and can appreciate a piece of handmade home decor!
This is an absolute GEM of a rug! I really love your weaving!
Love the mat and your feet photos
)
Fantastic! I think it looks great. It’s so pleasing to the eye to see a material you’ve seen a million times used in a completely different way.
Dazzling~and the Grande Finale of the Paws!
You have every reason to be BURSTING with pride!!!!!
Recycling par excellence.
x
s
Amazing, as always. I have loom envy now! And I love, love, love the paw shots of the canines, felines, and people!
great rug! i love it!
Looks pretty awesome!
very impressed! denim is such a strong material that i’m sure that will last forever! it’s good to see it being used by the whole family!
That’s fantastic, Lolly! I love that it’s repurposed, and it looks so freaking cute, to boot! So, so cool!
I love this! I love how organic it looks…like it just grew there. And I love the little gallery of the feet that will use it
I can’t believe that you did that in like one weekend!
Love it!! It looks great.
My mom weaves rugs; she uses cotton string (I think) for the warp and strips of wool cloth. Her loom is quite a bit larger than yours, it goes up to 4 ft wide. I’ll have to ask her to make me a denim rug, I love yours! 
LOVE it! It’s so very aesthetically organic. Really, really neat-looking
Wow! I think it’s so wonderful to be adorning your home with something you made, and it turned out amazing. You are an extremely talented woman.
It looks totally gorgeous and cozy, Lolly!!! *Fantastic* job!
Lolly, this is absolutely lovely! wonderful work!
I spy hockey skates and a stick! Nice looking rug though
It must feel incredibly resourceful. I bet everyone in your family wants one now!
I couldn’t figure out what you were going to do with old jeans that would look good, but this is awesome! Bold and modern and yet fun to walk on. Great thinking, L!
ohmygosh, i LOVE it. sooo cool!
Your rug is so awesome! Very cool.
How incredibly cool is that! You are such a talented artistic person Lolly and you are making me want to run out and buy a small loom to fool around with (in addition to the spinning wheel I want). I also love making functional things. You should also feel good because you are recycling something that might have been thrown away by someone else.
This is great! You are really making me want to learn how to weave.
Totally awesome way to recycle!!!!
Great idea! It looks awesome.
Wow, that came together so fast! It’s functional, eco-friendly and so charming. I love it and I hope it lasts for many days.
I love the rug! The linen looks much thicker than I thought it would be. Would you be able to knit with it? I’m always curious about knitting with weaving yarns.
Fantastic. I’ve been hoarding my husband’s old jeans for some time now….you’ve inspired me to walk away from the computer and cut strips. I’m going to try to knit something in the same vein! Thanks for the inspiration!!
I have been saving blue jeans for years. I was wondering how wide did you cut your strips? And could you recommend sources of information for weaving with rags made from blue jeans?
Thank you, Kelli