My last post featured a bunch of my favorite trends happening in the decor world at this moment in time. One of those trends are beautiful and funky woven tapestries that bring texture and life to a blank wall. After perusing online to see if I could find one I loved and could afford, a thought popped into my mind to just make one of my very own. I had no desire to actually WEAVE one, I’m way too impatient for that kind of project, so I came up with a little “hack”. I ran to “Ross” and “Michaels” and began creating a DIY Fiber Art Tapestry From a Rug. I lucked out and found a rug that not only was cheap ($10) but also had my home colors in it and followed my diamond-pattern theme that you’ll find throughout my living space. The jute threads and the woven pattern were the perfect start to my art project.
Cost: $10-$25 depending on whats on hand.
Supplies:
– A natural woven floor mat in the size and design of your choice. “Ross” and “TJMax” have great selections.
– Fluffy wool yarn in the color of your choice. “Michaels” has great clearance options. I got mine for $3 each.
– A curved upholstery needle. The curved shape was SUPER helpful when sewing the yarn to the rug.
– Wooden beads if you’d like them.
– Any other fibers you’d like to add: leather, feathers, scrap fabric, etc.
– A wooden dowel.
– Sharp scissors.
|1. The first thing I did was cut off the top and bottom binding, leaving the raw edge to begin unraveling.
|2. Next I started unraveling the bottom of the rug until it was frayed to the length I wanted. I also kept the threads that came from the rug to use later.
|3. I made sure the bottom fringe was long enough to tie knots and still have plenty of pretty fringe hanging below.
|4. Then I began tying off the fringe in about 1.5″ sections. This prevents the rug from continuing to fray.
|5. I created a shorter fringe on the top and just tied off the sides to prevent continued fraying. Then I lay the dowel across the top where I wanted it to fold over.
|6. Using the curved upholstery needed and cream thread I reserved from fraying the rug, I tacked the top of the rug over the dowel to the body of the rug in several places to keep the top folded over and keep the dowel in place.
|7. After playing around with a layout for a while, I decided on a strategy and proceeded to make many knotted strands of fluffy wool thread. I did this by making a haphazard loop at the top of the strand and then knotting it in place. Then I sewed it to the rug with the curved needle and cream thread. So to be clear, I cut many many strands of thread to the same length, then looped them under, created a knot under the loop, and let the excess hang. I repeated this process following my desired pattern with cream and black yarn until I was satisfied.
|8. Once the strands were fixed in place, I unraveled the wooly ends until they were fluffy and then I cut them with sharp scissors to my desired pattern. Be sure to leave enough strand to create the cuts you’d like so each piece look sleek and uniform.
|9. I made long tassels with the reserved colored jute thread by looping the strands together a couple of times and then wrapping the tops with a jute thread and tying them off, then cutting the bottom loops. I then used the needle and cream thread to attach them to the inner part of the design along with a wooden bead.
|10. Once the design was finished and cut to what I wanted, I used the extra jute thread to hang the DIY Fiber Art Tapestry from the wall by tying it to the dowel on either side.
Well there you go! I really like how it turned out. This is a great alternative to expensive wall art and something that is completely customizable and fun to make. The whole project cost my about $15 and took around 4 hours to complete.
So, what do you think? What other things could you use to fill empty wall space besides artwork and mirrors? I’d love to hear your creative ideas! Thanks so much and don’t forget to be creative. ;)
