One of the hardest things to admit to myself as an artist is that even I make mistakes. Perhaps that’s one of the hardest things to admit as a human being. I err.
As an artist it’s difficult because I have to eventually put down the mistake and admit defeat, and try again. This is frustrating because an artist puts so much hope and creativity and life force into the things they make, that giving up on something we’ve made feels much like giving up on ourselves. Of course we have to re-align our way of thinking and remind ourselves that a mistake isn’t a bad thing- it’s a learning process.
I have never seen a blog post done about someone making a mistake, though I am sure they exist. So far, my blog has mostly been a tutorial of things to make and to do. Well, today this blog post is about something you should not do.
I attempted to make a rag rug for my best friend’s new baby, and without looking at any tutorials or books, I went for it, and… disaster!
I started by cutting strips of fabric and braiding them together.
Then I started curling the center of the rug, sewing it with needle and thread on the underside.
I kept spiraling outwards, the rug growing ever bigger- and after it had reached the critical mass of a decent rug size, I realized that there was no saving this rug. It was bumpy and rumpled and would not for the life of itself lay flat on the floor! Hardly what you want in a rug! So I stopped, took a deep breath, and convinced myself that this was a good learning experience, and it was time to follow somebody else’s directions.
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 27, 2011 at 3:43 am
Kelsea
Oh dear. . . but hilarious! I bet you’ve found good advice by now, but I love making rag rugs and if you want more pointers I’m more than willing to share 🙂
June 23, 2017 at 9:32 pm
mewithptsd
I found this looking for a how to on making a rug out of a torn sheet and I loved this post, better than finding how to do it! This made me smile. As a novice artist willing to try so many new ideas and a long term (but still learning every day) craft/sewing person I so get the feeling of angst when it’s time to throw in the towel and start again. I am fully aware my first rag rug will most likely look mush worse than your pics but I take comfort in knowing I’m not alone! Also, I love the fabrics you were using. So did you eventually make one you liked?