Braided rag rugs? Finally the mystery is solved!
Last week I attended a two day rag rug making workshop with Ilka White, a textile artist from Victoria. Ilka shares her knowledge so generously and is such a beautiful gentle soul. It was the best two days.
You can read more about Ilka's work here.
About ten of us shared two full days of artsy conversation, creativity, home made yummy morsels to eat and lots of laughter. All enjoyed in a beautiful old stone building at the Greenough Pioneer Museum about 20k out of town.
A very luxurious break from normality.
My place mat sized start was a whole two days work. Believe it....it's true.
I've used op-shopped men's shirts in all natural fibres - a mix of linen, hemp, bamboo and cotton and will tailor the colour scheme as the fabrics become available. Hopefully mostly chambrays and neutrals so it will sit comfortably with any decor.
I'm so in love with this process, despite making numerous mistakes in the beginning which Ilka good naturedly fixed up! I also expected the braiding technique to be a lot harder on the hands, but it's really quite gentle and soothing.
Here are the beginnings of some awesome rag rugs. I had to cut everyone's heads off as I don't like to post pics of people on the internet without their permission. That's why you only ever see my ugly mug!
I had the best time....and it must have been apparent because Ilka mentioned that my "contentment was spilling over".
2 comments :
I did a rag rug course - only a couple of hours, but I did buy a book. I think you can use hooking or progging- is that what you learned? I actually made a Christmas tree using the technique: http://fadanista.com/2014/11/22/camping-christmas/. I love your colour scheme and am looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
We learnt actual braiding using four or more 'weaving' or weft strips, with no tools involved except our nimble fingers. It was lovely to just use our hands and not rely on tools to yank the threads...although some of us used a crochet hook when our tension got too tight! (Love your Christmas tree).
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