Yay, it’s not long now before we have the honour of hosting expert natural dyer Zoe Burt at our Ragged Life HQ in Hertfordshire. Zoe will be running a natural dyeing workshop for us 10:00-16:00 on Saturday 14th September 2024, and personally I can’t wait to get stuck in. However, for those of you who can’t …
Q&A with Eco-Printing Expert Fiona Balding
Some of you have been quick off the mark and have already nabbed a place on Fiona’s eco-printing workshop at the Ragged Life Herts HQ on Saturday, 7th July 2024. However, for those of you who can’t make it or aren’t quite sure what eco-printing is, we thought it would be a nice idea to do a …
5 Beginner-Friendly Rag Rug Patterns
Hello, rag rug enthusiasts! Whether you’re just starting your rag rug journey or looking to expand your collection of beautiful handmade pieces, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re diving into some beginner-friendly rag rug patterns and designs which work brilliantly for the traditional shaggy (proggy), short shaggy and loopy (hooked) techniques of rug …
Circular Braid-in Rag Rug Instructions
I’ve been on the hunt for new rag rug techniques for years now and one of my latest obsessions if a form or rag rug making called braid-in (or sometimes braiding-in) rag rugs. It’s a style of rug making where strips of fabric are woven together using a basket weave then threaded through previous stitches …
My First Braided-in Rag Rug – What I Learnt
I’m always on the lookout for new rag rug techniques to try and was so happy when I came across Ilka White on Instagram. She makes braided-in rag rugs, as well as other beautiful, sustainable textile techniques. Having made a classic plaited rag rug for my first book “Rag Rugs, Pillows and More”, I was …
5 Projects from Blanket Selvedge Strips
Throughout September, four full time crafters and I each worked on a project using six balls of woollen blanket yarn (blanket selvedge strips rescued from the Yorkshire mills). We wanted to generate some fresh ideas for what could be made using this beautiful waste material and encourage people to think outside the box. The Knitting and Stitching Show …
Making a Braid-in Rag Rug: Part 1
If you’re a subscriber to the Ragged Life Inspiration Newsletter then you’ve probably heard me rabbiting on about the September Sustainability Challenge that I’m taking part in in 2023. If you haven’t then you can read a bit more about it here. Long story short, me and four other full-time crafters are each making something …
Q&A with Lucy Rowan – Maker and Weaver
Those of you who follow Ragged Life on Instagram, Facebook or subscribe to our Newsletter may have seen that we are soon starting our September Sustainability Challenge. You can read more about it here, but to briefly summarise, we’ve asked four full time crafters to join us in a friendly competition to each turn six …
Elspeth’s Sustainable September Project Begins…
This September, four very talented full time crafters (@jenerates @cocoonandme @afrayedupcycling and @peasandneedles) and I will take part in a September Sustainability Challenge where we are each making a project of our choice from six balls of blanket edging saved from landfill from the Yorkshire mills. You can read a bit more about the challenge …
September Sustainability Challenge
For the month of September, I have gathered together a talented group of five full-time textile designer / makers for a friendly “Sustainability Challenge”. As part of the challenge, we will all have a month to make something spectacular, but sustainable from six balls of blanket yarn (offcuts from the woollen mills in Yorkshire). I …