Expert: Bea Harrell - 5/25/2008

Question
I am thinking of making Rag Rugs for my grown children for Christmas gifts. I have an idea in mind of what I want to do. I have found the page on how to make bias (actually am a sewer also so had that figured out) the part I can't figure out is how much material it will take? I am thinking of doing 'kitchen' rugs with the letter J (our last name) in the center. My size (in my mind) is 30" x 20". Can you give me an idea of how much material it will take? THANKS. My mom just sent me this link so I might become a 'Fan' or "pest" depending on how you look at it. :-)

Answer
Hey,Gina! There are a lot of variables here! Are you planning on buying material, or will these be true "rags"?  It matters what weight materials you'll be using,as well as what width the strips will be, & wheather you'll be braiding or crocheting.  Let's just say you're going to get a medium weight cotton material, 48" X 36". If you use 2" strips you'll get 24 strips from one yard.Expect to lose about 1/3 to 1/2 (depending on hook size)of the length, when you crochet, so that one piece will give you about 24/18" in length and 1 1/2" wide(allowing a half inch for seams, unless you choose the unhemmed "rustic" look). So,given these variables, 2 1/2 to 3 yards of the main color and a little more for the J, will do one rug. This is, of course, just a rough "guesstament", but hopefully it will give you enough info to figure it out!

Best of Luck,  Bea