Braided Rug

My daughter loves the American Girl books, and though I don’t consider them high quality literature, they have sparked her interest in history. The craft books that accompany the American Girl books are very well done. She was assigned a presentation in our book club to read a "How-to" book and explain how to make or do something in the book. She chose to read Kirsten’s Craft Book.

She decided to make a braided rug.

The first step is making strips of fabric. Lucky for her, I actually had some fabric strips that I had saved for way longer than I care to admit. I hate that my pack rat ways have been rewarded, because now I’ll have an even harder time getting rid of craft materials.

Next, take 3 strands and tie them in a knot. Tape the knot to a table and start braiding.

When you reach the end of the fabric strips, hand stitch another one to the end and continue braiding. After the braid is complete, tie a knot in the other end. You can decide that the braid is complete by running out of strips, getting tired of braiding, or if you’ve planned ahead, seeing that the braid is long enough to make the size rug you desire.

Beginning at the knot, wrap the braid around the knot and stitch the braid to the knot. Continue winding the braid around and stitch the outer section to the inner about every inch. Make sure the rug is laying flat as you stitch.

Here’s my daughter’s completed rug.

I was very proud of how hard my daughter worked on this project. The rug doesn’t exactly lay flat, but it is still pretty and functional for her dolls.

Here’s a great video that I found that shows the process of making a braided rug.

By Kristen H.