Behind the Scenes at Ragged Life: Peg Looms, Mohair and More…

You may have noticed that I completely dropped off the face of the planet last month. I was so busy rag rugging away to get my second batch of ten rag rug projects done for the new book that everything else faded into the background. The good news is that I just now dropped off those projects with the stylist and I’m a free woman again. At least until I start the next ten projects which are due at the end of the month… eek! So, here’s what I’ve been up to…

Sales Blad Front Cover:

Before a publisher has all the photos, step by steps and illustrations ready to make a craft book, they create what is called a sales blad using some of the content that they get soonest. This sales blad helps them to sell the book into shops and retailers in advance of getting it printed. Essentially, it’s designed to build a bit of buzz! Generally, a sales blad has a front cover, back cover and one or two projects from the book as a little teaser.

The publisher sent me the sales blad for the new book the other day and I thought that I would share it. The basket featured on the front cover is one of the projects in the book, made using my old school friend’s childhood curtains.

This may not be the final front cover of the book, but gives you a good idea of what is to come 🙂

Rag rug techniques for beginners book by Elspeth Jackson

Playing with Mohair…

Every time I visit the mills in Yorkshire to pick up more 100% Woollen Blanket Yarn, I always have a little nosey around to see if there is anything else exciting that could be saved and given a new lease of life in a rag rug (a lot of the offcuts at the mill get pulped into insulation which seems like a waste).

The last time I drove up there, I discovered a full bale of gorgeous mohair fents (that’s the technical term for a piece of discarded fabric, or so I’m told). The colours I could see peaking out the top of the bale were absolutely stunning, so I took a punt and bought the bale.

I’ve been so engrossed in the book projects that I haven’t had a proper chance to use it for the shaggy, short shaggy and loopy techniques yet, but I did use it for one of the peg loom projects in the new book and it created the softest rug in existence. Here’s a little glimpse of the peg loomed mohair rug and some of the mohair fents. When I finally get the time, I’ll have a play around and then I’ll pop some on the Ragged Life Shop, so you can have a play around with this beautiful material too.

Peg loom weaving with fabric mohair fents in stripes

Online Bouquet Workshops:

A couple of weeks ago, I ran my first ever online Rag Rug Bouquet workshop. I had a lovely bunch of six ladies join over Zoom to learn how to make our Ragged Life 3D flowers. I’ve got a few more sessions scheduled between now and April, so book in here if you’re interested in learning remotely. All the tools and materials are sent directly to you at home 🙂

fabric flowers made in the shaggy technique of rag rugging with recycled fabrics

Playing around with Sari Silk Ribbon:

You may have seen in the latest Rag Rug Inspiration Newsletter, that we’ve just launched our recycled sari silk ribbon. It’s lovely for adding a bit of lustre and richness to any rag rug design.

Well, as well as selling all the ribbons individually, we also have combined them together into colour schemes that work beautifully together (you can browse those here). That’s what I spend yesterday doing. Here are a couple of behind the scenes photos of that process…

Thanks for staying tuned everyone! Browse more behind the scenes blog posts here or sign up for the inspiration newsletter to keep posted on what me and the Ragged Life team are up to.

Love, Elspeth x

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