Denim Rug Project - Sewing Techniques

Last week I made a long blog post on this project.  If you would like more detailed information on this project, please scroll back through the posts for this year. 

Since I posted last week, I have been working on putting together denim strips.   I have been cutting denim strips for the project and sewing them into thirty-inch strips.  Since not all of the strips are long enough on their own, I have two sew two or three pieces together.  Then the pieces have to be folded in half to find the center line, and the outer edges are folded into the center.  Once the strips are folded, they are sewn along the open edge.  This minimizes the fraying.  My week has been very busy, but I managed to get thirty-one strips completed.

Making the strips is quite time consuming.   I have streamlined the operation somewhat, so I thought I would mention that today.   When I first started making the strips I was ironing each one in half and then ironing again with the outer edges folded into the middle.  I was even pinning the strips so that they would not come apart.  This made the sewing go faster, but it was adding to the prep time for each strip.  After experimenting with a couple of different methods, I finally decided that the strips did not need pinning.  Nor did they need me to be so meticulous with the ironing. 

What I am doing now is folding the strip in half and ironing it down so that I have an easily visible center line.  After I have many strips folded in half I go to the sewing machine.  I fold the out edges of the length of the strip to the center and sew across the end of the strip to secure it.  With the needle down, I turn the strip lengthwise and slowly fold in the fabric to the center as it is sewn down.  It means starting and stopping the sewing machine frequently.  Stop with the needle down, or turn the knob to drop the needle when you stop.  Before I sew the next segment, I check to make sure the edges of the open side are even.  When reaching then end of the strip, turn the strip crosswise and sew back and forth to secure the fabric.  This is not a quick process, but it is quicker than what I was doing before, with no loss of quality in the strip.

I have not done any weaving on the rug this week.  I am considering making an adjustment to the strips that are already woven.  I have a small amount of very light denim.  It is such a pale blue that it is almost white. There are two strips of it woven into the rug.  It really stands out from the other fabrics.  The strips are also a very light-weight shirt fabric and they tend to deform when the other strips press up against them.  I don't think I have enough of it to make it look as if it really belongs in the rug.  I will remove those strips and replace them with a different color.  Sometimes I have to make adjustments to the project.  That is okay.  Not everything is perfect on the first attempt.

That is where I am on the project at this time.  Before I go further, I want to have the rest of the strips made.  That will help me make sure that I don't have too much of one color of denim in one place.  At this point, I have just about reached the end of the denim jeans I have available.  I will need to get some more, before I can complete the strips.

I will be blogging about my quilt project next week.  Hopefully, that will keep the blog posts on the project from becoming monotonous.

Progress on the Denim Rug Project

Fraying denim.

I have been working on the denim rug project for a while.  After a long period of very little progress, I have finally started moving forward on this project.  I will give a brief summary of the project to date so that new readers will have some background on the project.  Sometimes, knowing what went wrong is as important as knowing what went right.  For more detail, scroll back through my blog posts for this year. 

Folded strips waiting to be sewn.

I started this project near the beginning of the year.  I had been warned by a friend who knew someone who had made a denim rug that it was one of those projects that could really bog a person down.  The person said she would never make another.  I have found that this was true.  When I finish this project I am never going to make another one either.  So, if you are planning on making a denim rug, I suggest you read this post and ask yourself just how badly you want a denim rug.

Rolls of denim.

 Cost can be a factor in this project.  To keep costs down, I was using old denim jeans of my own plus some collected from friends.  I calculated the cost of the rug in my initial project would have been about four hundred dollars (US) if I had purchased old denim jeans from thrift stores.  The down side of collecting random jeans is that you end up with a variety of colors and weights of denim.

Dowels and bands hold fabric strips in place.

When I started the rug project, I was working from some minimal directions that came with a magazine article.  The picture of the rug in the article, shot from from a distance, looked nice, but when I was browsing online, I decided that this type of rug was not my style.  Also, the article did not mention that the cut pieces of denim were going to fray badly and leave little bits of denim threads everywhere.  At first, I thought, "No problem, I will just zig zag the denim so it won't fray.  That only helped marginally.  It was still fraying.  The picture of frayed denim will explain it better.  I finally ended up folding each strip edge into the center and sewing down the open edge to get the fraying under control.  This left me with long lengths of half inch (1.27 cm) strips of denim. 

At this point, I thought I might crochet the denim, but the strips were a little too wide for crocheting easily.  I could have made it work, but if I had started with one inch wide strips (2.54 cm) rather than two inch wide (5.08 cm) strips, it would have been easier to crochet.  The strips proved to be a bit too bulky.  By this time I was thoroughly frustrated with the project and had to take a bit of a breather before tackling it again.  The project was turning into much more work than I had expected when I started the project.  Switching plans after the project had started had not helped that situation. 

So, now I was on to Plan C.  I decided that I would weave these strips into a mat.  This is the plan that actually worked for me.  However, it was not without its pitfalls getting started.  I had all of the fabric needed for the length of the project sewn into strips.  I was planning on making a runner of roughly five or six feet long (aprox. 1.52 to 1.82 meters) and two feet (0.60 meter) wide.  The trouble was that you cannot just start with strips of that length.  As the cross strips are going to be woven in and out, it will be lifting or lowering the long strips the thickness of the cross strip.  I tried searching on the internet for some information on how much extra length I should have on each strip but I was not coming up with anything.  I finally decided that I would make each of the long strips eight feet.  I can cut some off if I hit my desired length.  If it is too short, I guess the rug will end up being a little short.  I will let you know when I get that far.  I expect that I will be cutting off some extra fabric.  That is okay, I expected to have to straighten the edge anyway. 

The first row was the most difficult and once again I had to experiment before I found out what worked.  Visualize this, the rug is going to be two feet wide.  Since those strips are half inch strips
that means that I had twenty-four eight foot long strips to try to get into a straight row and keep the rows straight the entire length of the rug.   I have to say my first attempt was pure comedy.  I ended up with a lot of snarled denim strips.  It was back to the drawing board.

I needed some way to corral all the denim.  The photo is going to be much easier to understand than my explanation here, but I am adding the explanation for details.  I went to the craft store and bought three 3/4 inch (1.91 cm) wooden dowels.  The dowels were 36 inches long (0.91 meter).   The dowels were a little long, so I had to cut them down a few inches.  When I was making the fabric strips, I had rolled them into disks.  I inserted one dowel into the center so that all twenty-four rolls of fabric were placed tightly next to each other.  One dowel in front and one in dowel was placed in back of the rolls of fabric.  On each side, I used two heavy duty rubber bands: one band between the center and the front dowel and one band from the center to the back dowel.  I doubled each band to make it a tight fit.  The bands hold the rolls of fabric tightly together and also prevent them from rolling away.  When I need to to release the roll as I weave, I just take off the rubber bands, reposition the center dowel and replace the rubber bands.  It does work.

You might think that is all you need to know, but wait, there's more!  One thing you need to know is that if you are planning on trying this you need to be wearing safety glasses at this point.  Keep that in mind as you read on.  Getting the first row started was problematic.  There may have been a way to sew that first row down with a sewing machine, but I was not able to figure it out.  I ended up with another mess of tangled fabric when I tried.  What I ended up doing was to hand sew twenty-four strip ends to the first cross piece.  After that, I would only need to sew each end of the cross piece.  My plan became to hand stitch the ends and when the rug was assembled to sew around the edges with the sewing machine. 

Hand sewing these strips was not easy.  Since each of those strips is folded in on itself and sewn, the strips are four layers of denim.  Since I am sewing two strips together, I am sewing through eight layers of denim.  Some of the light weight denim was easy enough to sew.  The heavier denim was harder to get through and I ended up using needle nose pliers to pull the needle through the fabric.  Sometimes the fabric was so thick that I had to pull really hard.  Once in a while, the thread would hang up and release with a jerk.  That was when I was glad that I was wearing eye protection.  One of those quick releases came uncomfortably close to my eye.  I was truly glad I had something between myself and that needle.  Keep you lengths of thread fairly short will help keep you safer.  I also found that the wear on the thread caused it to break frequently.  After making a few stitches, I would knot the thread on each piece.

One item I found to be very helpful were finger cots.  The rubber finger tips cushioned my fingers.  That allowed me more sewing time without discomfort.  It nubs on the bottom of the finger tips helped me keep a grip on the needle.  I have a whole set for each hand.  I don't remember where I bought them.  I generally use them when I am machine quilting, so probably at some fabric or craft store.  Although they helped with cushioning the fingers, there is no help for the overall discomfort of the hands.  Some nights my hands were throbbing.

When I started working on the cross pieces, I ran into the same problem I had encountered with the long strips.  I did not know how much extra fabric to allow for the two foot wide rug.  Besides adding length as it goes over and under the strips, some of those strips are going to have added bulk where one piece of strip joined another.  This meant that some strips were going to be longer than others.  I decided that I would make a few strips thirty inches (0.76 m) and see what happened how much was left over when they were woven.  There was a significant difference in how much extra fabric was on each strip.  Eventually I decided that I would make thirty inch strips and cut off the excess.  That seems to be working.  I hand sew both sides of the strip as I go along. 

When I sew the cross pieces in place, I make sure that they are snugged up tight against the previous piece.  As I weave the cross pieces, I also have to tighten the center weave.  I guess how much you have to tighten is a matter of taste.  I prefer to have mine in a fairly tight weave so I tighten up the fabric by pulling it down close to the cross piece next to it.  For this step, I used a crochet hook and pull the fabric down next to strip next to it.  I find that the strips do tend to loosen a little even if there are several in place.  I will continue to tighten them up as I go along and also give the entire piece a thorough check when I have finished all the weaving.  Ironically, the lighter weight denim that is easier to sew is the worst to work with when it comes to trying to tighten up the fabric.  It is soft enough that it tends to crumple when you pull on it and needs to be straightened the length of the piece each time.

This is about where I am on the project now.  I have some denim cut for the cross pieces, but I will need to cut more.  After that, I have to fold them and sew them to prevent the fraying.  I also have to sort the denim by color so that I don't get too much of one color clumped into one place.  I need another 144 strips of denim to complete the project.  At least they only need to be thirty inches long this time. 

At least the project is underway.  It is taking a lot of time.  There have been times that I just wanted to quit.  I just have to be stubborn and say I am not going to allow this project to defeat me.  However, if you are reading this article and thinking about making a denim rug, you might want to ask yourself just how badly you want this rug before you get started.

Check back next Sunday for the latest on this and on my quilting project.

Pictures from the Road - Cabin 2019

First view of the mountains.

Cloud shadows on the mountains.

I haven't posted in a month.  I can hardly believe it.  Regular readers know that it means I have been up in the mountains.  I was only there for a week, but it takes me nearly a week to get ready for the trip, and another week to get everything caught up when I get back.  It is probably not that much work, but we work so hard up there that we are completely worn out when we get back.

If you ask anyone that has a vacation home whether it is in the mountains or the beach, he or she will tell you that when you get there, mostly what you do is work.  Since we are only there occasionally, everything that is normally done over the course of days or weeks at home has to be crammed into the few days we are at the cabin.  We are surrounded by trees, so the first order of business is to pick up sticks and branches so the yard can be mowed.  My husband mows the yard, and I start the cleanup process inside.  Since this was the first trip up this year, everything needs vacuuming and dusting.  The floors need mopping and the bathroom needs cleaning.  As soon as we get there, we go into "get to work mode."

Trillium

This year, we were up there in time to see the Trillium blooming.  Many times they flower before we make the first trip up for the year.  It was a real treat to see them blooming.  The Trillium prefer moist, shady conditions.  They are mostly found in the lower part of the yard under the trees.  It used to be that most of the Trillium up there were pink.  I noticed this year that we had more white Trillium.  It looks like natural selection is making a change in the flowers up there.

Apple tree blossoms.

Every year, we get to watch Spring come in twice.  When we left home, the trees had already started to leaf out, but had not yet fully finished putting out their full size leaves.  Up in the mountains, almost all the trees were bare except for the apple trees and the Dogwoods.  The apple tree in the yard had leaves and a few blossoms when we arrived.  By the end of the week it was covered in blossoms.  The Dogwood by the porch had just the tiniest of green leaves out, and it set out its blossoms by the time we left.  The bare maples and oaks had started to set out their first shoots of green leaves.  Every day that we were there, we watched the mountains become greener.

It looks like this will be a good year for apples.  The tree was covered with blossoms.  Butterflies and moths fluttered among the blossoms.  There were so many there that it looked like the tree was alive with movement, even when there was no wind.  I had not realized before that butterflies were such big pollinators of apple trees.  Up until now, I thought that bees were the primary pollinators.

When we travel to the cabin at this time of year, we have to pack both warm and cold weather clothes.  The weather can be unpredictable.  Sometimes it snows in April.  Sometimes it is really hot. This year it was both cold and hot.  The first night we were there the low was thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit.  Some of the days it was in the fifties.  A couple of days the highs were in the upper seventies and very humid.  I think one day it hit eighty.  We almost did not bring enough warm weather clothes.  We were expecting it to be a little cooler.  Although we did use the radiator heaters on a few times, we only started the wood stove twice.  It was started the day we arrived to help heat the place up, and the next morning to break the chill.  After that, it was too warm to use it.

We are home now.  I am starting to get caught up on all the things that were left hanging while we were away.  By that I mean that I am getting caught up on all the normal things that should have been done while we were away.  I am still working on Spring cleaning.  I should stop calling it Spring cleaning.  By the time I am finished with all of it, it seems like it is time to start the Fall cleaning.  Maybe I should just call it cleaning.  By the time I get the place clean, it is time to start all over again.

Despite appearances to the contrary, I have been working on my projects.  I finally found my way out of the situation that had me bogged down on the denim project.  I will have some exciting news when I post on the blog next Sunday.  The quilt project is moving along as well.  Things are starting to come together.  Projects can be like that from time to time.  Just when I think a project can be a complete waste of time, you hit a point in the project where things take a leap forward.  Check back next Sunday afternoon for an update on those projects.