Tuesday 4 October 2016

Sea Shore Inspired Toothbrush Rug



Toothbrush rugs are thought to be Scandinavian in origin, before being taken across to America, where they are more commonly known as Amish rugs. They were traditionally made using thin lengths of scrap material and the handle of an old tooth brush - hence the name.

Back when they were made from wood, toothbrushes would have a hole drilled in the end to enable it to be hung up by the sink (in fact, if you look at most modern plastic tooth brushes they still have a dimple in the end of the handle). Once the head of the brush was no longer useable, you would simple chop the end off, and use it as a large needle to make a rug.

I still use a toothbrush handle (although a plastic one) to make my rugs and old cotton sheets in a range of colours (washed thoroughly first), as they are hard wearing, easy to wash and a great way of recycling.


To make a toothbrush rug you will need:

Fabric strips of your choice - cotton or lightweight fabrics are easiest to use when you are starting out.

(Note - if using duvet covers with a printed design, make sure the intensity of the print is almost the same on the reverse side of the material otherwise, when the strips are knotted, you will be left with the majority of the paler material showing in the rug).

A toothbrush needle

A safety pin

Pair of scissors

An old cushion

A flat surface to work on (table / floor etc)


How to do it:

Cut or rip a piece of fabric lengthways into strips of about 1.5 inches wide. If you rip the strips, you will need to pull out any loose threads. Ripping the strips can also create a lot of dust, so rip them either outside or in a well ventilated area.


Take two of the strips and cut a small slit near each end of both strips. (I am using strips of contrasting fabric for illustrative purposes but would usually use two strips of the same colour to make a rug).



You will now need to join the two strips together to form a flat knot.


Thread the end of one of the strands (Strand A) through the slit on the other strand (Strand B)



Now thread the far end of Stand A, through the slit on Strand A


Gently pull all the way through




To make a knot


Push the point of the safety pin through the knot and attach it to an old cushion or something similar.. This will act as an anchor, enabling you to form your first round of stitches.




Knotting The First Round

Thread the end of the left hand strip of material through the hole in the toothbrush needle. This is the LIVE STRAND. The right hand strip of material is known as the CORE STRAND.

To make a stitch, cross the live strand over the core strand, then pass it behind the core and thread it back through the loop you have made. Pull this live strand reasonably tight to form the first stitch.





 Repeat 5 more times.


 You should now have a row of 6 stitches


Unpin the material from the cushion and remove the safety pin. Remove the toothbrush needle from the live strand and thread it onto the core strand. Push the end of the toothbrush needle through the very first stitch you made in the chain to form a ring of stitches.








Knotting The Second Round

Rethread the toothbrush needle onto the live strand.

Push needle back through the first stitch, but this time, pass the live strand under the core strand and back up through the loop, in the same way that you made the first row of stitches. Repeat this step - making another stitch in the first stitch of the first round. Continue around the ring, working in a counter clockwise direction, making two stitches in each stitch from the previous round. Your second round should now have 12 stitches in total.

NB - if you are left handed, the right hand strand of material is the LIVE strand, the left hand strand, the CORE and you will work in a CLOCKWISE direction.

(It may help to re-pin the safety pin into the first stitch in round 1 so you can easily identify where each round begins).



 







Round Three

Again make two new stitches in each of the stitches from the previous round, making a total of 24 stitches.




Round Four

For the fourth round, make one stitch in each of the stitches from the previous round = 24 stitches.

CHANGE COLOUR OF BOTH THE LIVE & CORE STRANDS. (again I am using contrasting colours for demonstration purposes).




The live strand will naturally twist whilst you are working with it. Simply hold the rug in one hand and let the needle and live strand fall, and allow it to untwist itself.

Break off any loose cottons as you go.

To  add new strips of material or change colour of strands , use the same flat knot you used to connect the very first two strips of material.


Round Five

For the fifth round, make two stitches in the first stitch from the previous round and then a single stitch in the next two stitches from the previous round. Continue this pattern all around the circle until you come back to the place where you changed colour.







Round Six & Seven

Make two more rounds with a single stitch in each






Round  Eight Onwards
After round seven, there is no set pattern for making a toothbrush rug as it depends on the type of material being used and the tension of the stitches. However, to enable the circle to grow bigger without curling up, you will need to make additional stitches every so often ( similar to round five). For the first few rounds, this may be needed every second stitch or third stitch.

When the stitches are too tight together, too many increases have been made, when the stitches are too loose / long, more increases are needed.

The two most common problems are either;

The edges curling up like a bowl
This is either because the tension of the core strand is too tight (to correct work on a flat surface and regularly press the rug out flat with the palms of your hands) OR because there are not enough stitches  (to correct add more).

The edges start to go wavy
This is an indication that there are too many stitches being put in. Again, ensure you work on a flat surface so you can keep a check of what is happening, an make several rounds of single stitches until it evens out again.


To Finish

When you have made the rug to the desired size (or run out of material), thread the tails of both strands through the nest two stitch spaces and then weave the ends towards the centre of the rug through the rows for about two inches. Make sure you finish on the underside of the rug.to continue stitching as before.

To add further rows at a later date, simply un-weave the strand ends and attach new strands.



For added security, you could also sew the ends into place with needle and cotton.