Braided Rag Rug

Besides knitting, another hobby that I really enjoy and is fairly new to me is braiding rag rugs. There are so many colorful, beautiful examples all over Pinterest and Etsy that I just had to try it out for myself.
I started by collecting old tee shirts from family members. I got so many that I was able to fill up our pack-and-play over the top. I think I have a photo of that somewhere, maybe I'll eventually be able to dig it up.

This red rug is the first one I made and I use it in the kitchen so it has been used HARD. I'm waiting for the weather to warm up so I can launder it again and hang it outside.
I would say it is slightly thicker than an average store bought rug, so that makes it nicer to stand on for long periods of time when  I am cooking or washing dishes.

The rug below is another one I have been working on. I intend to use this one in the bathroom. It will be slightly smaller than the first one. I used two yards of a purple and turquoise sheep fabric that I got for really cheap at a yard sale. I used that to help determine the other colors I chose, so I ended up using an equivalent amount of tee shirts to make up the braid. As you can see I haven't finished sewing the braid together.

While I love that these rugs are thicker than an average rug you would buy for a kitchen or bathroom, the fact that they are so thick makes it hard to sew them on the sewing machine. They barely fit under the presser foot. I'll have to look into how other people do it because this purple/turquoise rug keeps getting snagged and so I have started hand sewing it, which is exactly why it's not done yet. I've put it aside to work on projects that give me more immediate satisfaction.

Thanks for checking it out!