Those rugs are so pretty! Normally, I’m cutting t-shirts into strips to make tie-ups for tomatoes and peppers in the garden; they like the softness and it doesn’t harm the stems at all if we get some wind.
I’m inspired, now! And that’s just braiding? Not crochet? Then just a slip-stitch to hold it together? Or do you machine stitch them?
My most prized possession is a Quilt my Grandma Edith made that has many pieces of clothing that we’ve all worn (and known and handed down) through they years. It’s the FIRST thing I’m grabbing in case of a fire - after the pets and Beau, of course! ;)
No crochet at all — just a regular 3-strand braid with the fabric edges folded inside. Machine stitching would show on the top and bottom, and would be hard to do on these puffy braids. I described the invisible stitch method for this regular T-shirt weight of jersey in post 33. Hand-stitching is time-consuming; but I use it like a meditation.
One of the nice things if I am hand-stitching leisurely on a rug in a a public place (like an airport or doctor’s waiting room) is that black women and children are usually fascinated and ask a lot of questions. Braiding is a familiar art to blacks. It leads to some good conversations. I remember one young woman who was feeling very anxious because she was waiting for her mom, who was having X-rays due to suspected breast cancer. Asking about the rug gave her an intro to converse with an older white stranger, and receive some emotional support from me about her mom’s health scare.
I use a giant plastic crochet hook for rugs. I am working on one now. I like to use old blankets and start at the outside and cut one continuous strip between an inch or 2 wide. I have 2 on my back step that are over 30 years old. The nice thing about crochet is there is more room for dirt and sand to just filter right through. Easy to shake, slip and sweep off the step underneath. They keep a lot of dirt out of the house.