Happy New Year from all of us here at Ragged Life!

Last year’s New Year’s blog post reflected back on highlights of the previous year, but in the spirit of exorcising 2020 from my psyche, I’ve decided to skip the “looking back” section this year and focus purely on the looking forward part.

I’ve got a good feeling about 2021 and the plans below reflect that. Read on for what you’ve got to look forward to…

New Rag Rug Book!

Our biggest bit of news to share is that finally I’m writing my second rag rug book. I’ve been threatening to do it for a while now, but lockdown has given me the kick up the backside I needed to actually sit down, make and write.

This book is going to be completely different from my first book “Rag Rugs, Pillows and More”, which covered the two main British techniques of rag rugging (shaggy and loopy) as this new book will cover ten techniques to make a rag rug. Each technique will include a project to make a rug, as well as two smaller projects.

Exciting right?

I’m currently beavering away to make the projects in time for launch in Autumn 2021, but you can stay tuned to my Behind the Scenes at Ragged Life series for glimpses and hints of what you can expect in the book.

We’ll hopefully be putting the new book up for pre-order in September, so it’ll make the perfect Christmas present for any avid crafters out there 🙂

Updated Cover for Rag Rugs, Pillows & More

While I’m on the book topic, “Rag Rugs, Pillows & More” is getting a refresh this year with a hot new book cover. The classic rainbow rug is being swapped out for the crowd-pleaser “Cosmic Rug”.

If you prefer the old book cover then we’ll be getting some more in stock in early February, so stay tuned to the Ragged Life Inspiration Newsletter to find out when those come back in.

If you’re interested in the new cover then that will be coming out in late March 2021.

Recycled Sari Silk Ribbon Launch

One of the launches that I’m most excited for this year is Recycled Sari Silk Ribbon that we’ll be making available on the website next month (wow, so soon!)

For those of you who don’t know what sari silk ribbon is, it’s the equivalent of our blanket yarn, but is made from silk sari ends, as opposed to wool. Like blanket yarn, it comes in a lovely long strip that is perfect for rag rugging (in fact, it’s thinner than blanket yarn, so doesn’t need cutting lengthways) and, like our blanket yarn, it’s fantastic quality.

The reason why I’m so excited by this launch is that the sari silk ribbon has a beautiful sheen to it, which adds lustre and depth to any rag rug project. Victoria used a few different sari silk ribbons in her India-inspired short shaggy rug below for example….

This February, we’ll be launching 33 colours, from beautiful seascape colours to vibrant mixes like above. You’ll be able to buy individual 100g skeins or groups of colours that we’ve paired together.

Twining Videos:

Last year, we experimented with a new form of rag rug making that is popular in the States called “twining”. Well, I found it quite difficult to explain how it is done, so I’ve decided to create a YouTube series in case anyone fancies giving it a go at some point. We’ll also be running twining workshops and selling the looms here in the UK later this year, so keep your eyes peeled!

Pre-Printed Hessian:

We’ve been toying with the idea of pre-printing patterns onto the hessian for a while now, but couldn’t quite work out the logistics of how to do it. But, finally, we’ve made a breakthrough and in March, we’ll be launching our first two “paint-by-numbers” style pre-printed rug hessians.

One will be a hallway runner (although you can always cut it down to length) and the other will be a 140 x 100cm rectangular rug.

I have a feeling that the filling in of the shapes will be very mindful – like adult colouring in!

We’ll be doing a limited run of each, so stay tuned to bag yourself a pre-printed design.

New Tools and Kits:

With the launch of the new book, you’ll be needing a few different tools to get you started on the new techniques. We’ll be sourcing all these materials into one place, so that you can easily get hold of everything you need on the Ragged Life Shop. We won’t give the game away yet, but these will be launched later in the year.

Thanks for reading…

Right, hopefully that gives you plenty to look forward to this year. Let me know what you’re most looking forward to by commenting on the blog post below.

Sending lots of love your way for the new year,

Elspeth x