Heirloom Rugs with Debra Wade

Calling back to the roots of this heritage craft, you’ll learn how to repurpose old t-shirts into beautiful rugs of your own design. You’ll get started with some plaited braids we’ve already made before Debra shows you a nifty trick for cutting your t-shirts into a single continuous strip. You’ll learn how to turn & taper braids, handstitch & lace the coil & develop your technique from disks to more complex motifs like hearts or owls.

In fact, once you have the principle of the technique, you can apply it to any shape & size, from coasters to floor mats. The joy of using old t-shirts is the ready-worn nature of the fabrics & they are easy to machine wash.

Plenty of t-shirts will be provided for you to work with & we encourage you to bring your own old, clean t-shirts for repurposing. To cut the continuous strip, it’s best if they are still whole, and made from 100% cotton.

All materials & equipment for this workshop will be provided. We will be cutting with scissors - you are welcome to bring your own rotary cutter & mat if you prefer. Some experience of cutting & handsewing is required.

Debra Wade is a designer-maker who creates to commission in re-claimed materials & whose award-winning work is in magazines, international textile fairs & on TV. Currently a Stitch Festival tutor at Alexandra Palace & Islington Design Centre, she loves to share her skills in many textile crafts, art, and re-claimed jewellery. Debra recently led a community project to create 100 giant remembrance poppies by re-using footballs, old records, frying pans, knitting, bottles, plant pots, hub caps, vinyl flooring & more.