Make a Wedding Gift: Luxurious Area Rug

This is a gift you can make for friends who are getting married.  If you hate them.  Or, if you know (hope?) they will find it amusing.

 

The Frugal Hostess first discovered it in one of the greatest books of all time, ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything.  (Seriously, buy that book.)  Written by the ladies who started ReadyMade Magazine, it details a zillion different amazing upcycling projects organized by material (glass, metal, wood, etc.).  It came out right about the same time FruHo was having a crafty renaissance, so she bought it.  And thus, this project.

The Boutique Bag Rug

If you are like The Frugal Hostess, you sometimes forget your reusable shopping bags and sometimes come home with the fancy handled ones.  You may, like TFH, hoard save them because you feel guilty about getting them in the first place.  For this project, you'll be glad you did.  

Ingredients

Fancy shopping bags

Clear packing tape

Scissors

Ruler

Directions

(Please note: FruHo is TOTALLY making these up based on memory, due to laziness.  If you want to make a non-horrific version of this item, buy the book.)

 

1.  Tear your bags apart on their seams, removing the handles and flattening the paper.

 2.  Cut each bag into strips no more than two inches wide.  As she recalls, they should probably be more like an inch and a half, for ease of weave.  (And, PS, is that not the best turn of phrase you've heard in a while?  Ease of weave.  Unbeweavable.)

3.  Decide how big you'd like your rug to be.  This one was maybe four by four?  Really, who can remember these details?  The important thing is that it's easier to make if it is square rather than rectangular.

4.  However long you decide on, tape the strips of bag together to make strips that length.  Or, if they're long enough, consider yourself lucky.

5.  Tape two pieces together to form a corner.  If you have the choice between sturdier and more flimsy strips, use the sturdiest ones here.

6.  Now that you have a corner, begin to tape and weave strips on either side, like a basket or one of those potholders you made at Vacation Bible School.  You'll want to stop and adjust every now and then, pulling the strips so that there are no gaps.

7.  When you're done, you may discover that your rug is a hideous, hot mess.  If this should happen, feel free to create a diversion by sticking stickers or sprinkling glitter all over the surface.

8.  You may also notice that your "rug" is as flimsy as, well, a paper bag.  Should this be the case, please unfurl an entire roll of packing tape in your attempt to shore up its strength.

Happy marriage and mazel tov, Susan and Jeff!

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