Hooked!

Well, today has started with the same crapness yesterday finished with, so I am turning my thoughts to things that make me happy...

Mouse's bedroom has some fairly ill fitting laminate in it, and for years we have been meaning to carpet it, or at least put down a decent rug. After seven years it has become apparent that we will never get around to doing this. So, I have been squirreling away all our stained and holey t-shirts for a few months in order to make her this:

I am pretty pleased with it. I knew I would never have the patience (or abillity) to make a proper braided rug, so I did it this way:

Cut the body of each t-shirt up in a 2" wide spiral from the base to the armpits. You can use each sleeve as well- as long as the fabric is tubular, you can cut it like this. I must say here that I was not particular how I did this- it was not neat and not always 2" wide. Speed, not perfection was what I was aiming for. I roughly knotted all the lengths together then got hooking.

US terminology:

I started with a magic ring and a 15mm hook. Then:

Row 1: 6sc into ring (do not join round, you will work in a spiral. Place stitch marker in last stitch and move up round by round)

Row 2: 2sc into each sc

Row 3: *2sc in next sc, sc into next sc. Repeat from * around

Row 4: *2sc in next sc, sc in next 2 sc. Repeat from * around

Row 5: *2sc in next sc, sc in next 3 sc. Repeat from * around

Continue adding an extra sc inbetween increases on every round. If the rug starts to look a bit floppy and open, just work a round with no increases, then continue increasing as before on the next round.

Notes
:: When I ran out of yarn I fastened off, but i do intend adding to this rug as more t-shirts become available to me!
::I left all the knots visible and raggedy as Mouse liked it that way, but you could crochet over them as you go for a really neat look, or simply pull them through to the other side.
::I like this rug best upside down. So that's how it is. After being walked on for a day or two the curve of the rug flattened out nicely and it is now thick, flat and comfy for play.
::Not to mention machine washable.
::This is a forgiving material to work with as it is so thick. If you drop the odd increase or shift them along the round a bit, it is fine. In fact, if you shift the increases along each round you avoid that slightly hexagonal look that crocheted circles can get- and half of my rug appears to have acquired.

Hope you like it. x