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 …

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 …

Our Rag Rug Materials Explained

Here at Ragged Life, we love nothing more than saving fabrics from going to landfill. That’s why, over the years, the number of rag rug materials that we stock on our Online Shop has got larger and larger. You should see the fabric mountain that is our studio!!! In this blog post, we wanted to …

Tartan rag rugs: Tartan is the new black…

We’ve been saving beautiful, woollen selvedge offcuts from the Yorkshire mills for a couple of years now and still the novelty of picking up yet another batch of soft and cuddly yarn hasn’t worn off yet. I think it’s because it’s exciting not knowing what different colours and patterns we’ll get each time we visit. …

5 Ragged Life Gifts for the Craft Lover in your Life

I don’t know about you but this year, more than any other, I really want to find the perfect presents for my loved ones. There’s nothing like time apart to make you appreciate who you have in your life. This year, I’m trying to avoid big stores and “shop small”, and if you’re trying to …

Cosy Cottage Proggy Rug

My mum, Victoria, has been on an absolute rag rug roll recently. Remember her upholstered rag rug chair from only a few weeks ago. Well, she’s been at it again and I wanted to share her latest proggy rug, made for a cottage with flagstone floors in the Lake District.  This particular rug (done in the shaggy technique of rag rugging with a …

Chenille Yarn – Buy it Hot from the Mills

The British woollen mills are having a bit of a tough time of it at the moment with the pandemic, which is one of the reasons why the last time I went up to my blanket yarn supplier in Yorkshire, I tried to take as much textile yarn off his hands as I possibly could …

Blanket Offcuts 1kg Lucky Dip Pack

Our beloved 100% Wool Blanket Yarn has established itself as a staple here at Ragged Life. After discovering it at the Knitting and Stitching Show back in 2018, blanket offcuts have fast become one of my favourite materials to rag rug with. Who can blame me right? It’s gorgeous! Well, recently I made the long …