Earthworms Rug - close-up of the texture

Hooked Rug from Recycled T-shirts – Earthworms

I started this rug in January 2014. It was my back-up project whenever I was between more urgent projects. My goal was to experiment with hooking t-shirt strips. Most rug hooking is done with strips of wool or yarn. But t-shirts are so plentiful, I thought it would be a nice change.

Earthworms Rug - hooked from recycled t-shirt strips
Earthworms Rug – hooked from recycled t-shirt strips

I learned:

  • Since jersey fabric is thinner than wool, the hooking takes longer. I pull up more loops to cover the same area.
  • But it’s easier to hook than wool, because it pulls through the holes more easily.
  • It sheds little balls of jersey fabric all the time.
  • The finished result is not as soft as wool, but I really like the texture.

I called this my Earthworms Rug because I think the peach colored t-shirt strips look like earthworms. I imagine them crawling across the ground – brown, black and white ground (perhaps there is snow?) Those were just the most common colors of t-shirts that I wanted to recycle.

Earthworms Rug - close-up of the texture
Earthworms Rug – close-up of the texture