Ever wondered what six pounds of woolen blanket selvedge look like?
It looks like a huge mess.
This wonderful stuff comes courtesy of Pendleton Woolen Mills where, for the low, low price of $3/lb, you can buy blanket selvage for crafts. Six pounds plus shipping came to around $32.
What did I want with all of this selvage? To make a rug, of course! This stuff is so thick, it makes a great woolen base.
I started with one ball of scrap, 10 chain stitches and a size S hook. If you've never seen a size S hook before, it has the diameter of a shower curtain rod. Given that my normal size G hook is narrower than a chopstick, it took a while to get used to. But single crocheting in the round couldn't be easier. It's not like the stitches need to be perfect.
This is about 2/3 done. Each scrap ball can be crocheted in about 30 minutes, which goes by really quickly while watching TV. I got this far in five days.
When one ball was finished, I pulled some of the frilly bits from the end of the scrap and the beginning of the next scrap to tie them together.
No added bulk.
I chained one whenever I thought the rug was curling inward. Towards the end I added a few too many stitches which lead to some ripples. Luckily, those could be stamped out.
The end product was mostly round. Instead of single crocheting the last ball as I did for the rest of the rug, I simply did slip stitches around the border.
This was much easier than I had imagined, though crocheting wool in 90 degree heat was not my smartest idea. 10/10, would crochet again.
