Blue Jeans Mug Rugs

I have a bag of blue jeans selvage from Pendleton Mill that works great as weft for mug rugs.  It adds an interesting texture and weaves up quickly.

I warped up a board with natural cotton rug warp. I used blue jeans selvage in a basket weave pattern as weft with tabby shots of cotton rug warp between. Here the tabby is bubbled before beating with the tapestry needle.

tabby weft with bubbling

Here the blue jeans selvage weft is pulled straight while holding onto a loop at the other end. This keeps the mug rug from pulling in.

blue jeans weft pulled straight

And here's the finished mug rug.  Note the hem stitch.  I won't take it off the board as yet because I can weave a second mug run on the reverse side.

mug rug with hem stitch

I won't take it off the board as yet because I can weave a second mug run on the reverse side.

warp on the reverse

 Here's a rag weave variation:

sample rag woven mug rug

The weft is cut from strips of fabric.

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Supplies:

canvas art boards
self-sticking label squares
cotton warp
bamboo skewers
tapestry needles
blue jeans weft
scissors
6" ruler
ziploc baggies
pencil & paper

Waiting on the Canvas Boards -- Mug Rug Class

Time to get ready for my Mug Rug class at Fiber Retreat, May 14-16.  Waiting on the canvas boards for the looms.  6"sq.  I'll warp them up double-sided and each student will get 2 looms for a set of 4 mug rugs.

I'll bring tapestry needles, yarn, cotton rug warp, but I suggested students bring their own yarn as well.  They can be free-for-all or twill, or any fancier pattern than someone might want to weave.  I'll have books for basic weave patterns, or just make handouts.

They can be worked on after the class and taken home to finish if necessary.  Pretty basic.

These are sample mug rugs -- woven on a table loom -- but pretty much what we'll be doing.

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Yay!  The canvas boards just showed up!

Doesn't look like much, but what it is is a very sturdy board with a tooth, which helps to keep the warp in place and separated.

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I warped the canvas board with black Maysville cotton warp.  1/2 inch margin on either side.  The warp is wrapped around the canvas board with each wrap the distance of a thread apart.  It is tied off at either end, either the top or the bottom.  We will be weaving on both sides of the board.

It might be easier to weave on the back of the board if the text is covered with white paper or tape.  Perhaps blank label paper.

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Picked up some extra tapestry needles at JoAnn's.  Must remember the better tapestry needles are to be found in the crafts section rather than the sewing notions.

The Maysville rug warp came today.  Think I have everything I need for the class.