Gettin' Shaggy Wit' it

T-shirt Shag Rug
I attempted my own rug, using t-shirts left over from the quilt my mom & mother-in-law had made for me.  Our boys' bathroom is blue/white, so navy, white & grey worked out pretty well color-wise.

The only problem I saw with this technique is that if I want to throw it in the wash, I may have strips that come out. So my addition to the instructions was to use fabric glue and put a dab under each loop on the back-side.  It was a little time consuming - so if I do it again, I might try sewing this time...

I tested out a sewing technique on a smaller project - a shag hand duster!

 Here's what I did

• took the back side of an old t-shirt and folded it in half length-wise
• measure up from the bottom hem about 4 1/2 inches and cut straight across from the unfinished edge to the folded edge - this will make your "pocket"
• next, cut the remaining folded fabric (from unfinished to folded edge) into strips about 3 inches wide (can be wider or shorter depending on how long you want your shag) - I made 5 strips.
• unfold your "pocket" and lay flat. take one strip and lay it on top of your pocket so that the lengths match up.  I put my first strip in the center. now sew it down - one pass right down the center (I used a zig-zag stitch, but a straight stitch would be fine too).  Depending on how particular you are, you may want to pin, but I just eyeballed it and held it in place as I went.
• attach each strip in the same manner, making sure to fold any attached strips out of the way so that you don't tack them down on your sewing pass.
• once you have your strips sewn on, lay them toward the middle and fold your pocket together along the original fold, so the strips are touching. you are going to sew the long edges, making a kind of small pillow case, with the short unfinished edge open. Again, if you want to pin the edges before sewing, feel free.
• now, turn your duster inside-out and you are almost done!  this is where you make it "shaggy". go along each strip, cutting straight in toward your stitches, making each shag piece as thick or skinny as you would like. Keep cutting until each strip has been cut and your pocket will begin to look like a shag duster.
• You can stop here and get right to cleaning. OR, if you want to add a piece of elastic along the inside to hold it on your hand, but a small piece of elastic about the size of your wrist. Pin it in about 4 places, evenly spaced inside your pocket. Sew between each pin, stretching your elastic to match up with your fabric as much as possible.

There you have it! Your own shag duster!

I think this technique would work for the rug as well, you just might need to sew strips closer together to get them to "stand" up a little more. Once your strips are sewn on, sit and cut your shag into it while you watch tv!