Use almost anything that will cut into strips to make dramatic, touchable wallhangings for your home...
| Our elderly cat, immortalised in rags! | |
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No-one can resist stroking this wallhanging, it's so tactile...
I'm not arty enough to make effective collages with textiles & applique, but when I was wondering what to do with the left-over canvas from my rag rug, I decided to use it to make a picture in the same style. I wanted to try ideas like using different lengths of loop and different textures to see what effects I could acheive. This picture of our elderly & now deceased cat Amber was the result. I held the canvas up as she sat on the tea-table (she never did learn any table manners!) and drew her outline as I saw it, then "hooked" various textures of black & grey rag & even shredded binliner through the canvas (using a rug-hook) to acheive the right furry sheen. The loops gradually get longer towards the tail, giving a 3d effect.
The "floor" & "wall" effect was done by hooking the strips in different directions and the little mouse behind her just crept in somehow. She has elastic whiskers, button eyes and a real bell. I painted the back with latex glue, stitched ribbon round the edges and made loops of contrasting ribbon to hang it from rustic poles.
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Close-up of her face showing the details... |
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There are no hard-and-fast rules - you can even use crisp packets to add a bit of glitter; pastel plastic bags hooked then sheared off make excellent flowers. Durability isn't as important in a wallhanging as in a rug, unless you regularly run up the walls!
Visit the Rugmaker's Homestead" for more detailed advice & pictures.
Click here to return to the Crafts section, or here to go back to the Rag Rug instructions.