My Un-Cat-Like Crocheted Rag Rug

Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, stepped off your bed onto a rug which you mistakenly thought was a cat, making you hop around awkwardly on the verge of falling over?  Well I did the other night.  I decided it was time to replace the fuzzy rug to avoid further confusion.  So, I present to you my new un-cat-like crocheted rag rug!



I recently ran across a braided rag rug I had started in high school.  My braiding skills back then were impeccable, however my sewing skills left much to be desired.  The sewn stitches between the braids were pretty loose and instead of a nice round flat shape, the rug more closely resembled a sombrero, (albeit a very poorly constructed one).  Rather than try to fix it, I dissected it, and used the long strips of sewn together fabric pieces (which on average were about 4 inches wide) to crochet a new rug.



Using my Q (15.75mm) hook, I started with a magic ring (aka an adjustable ring.  I prefer "magic" as it's much more fun.) and crocheted in the round.  I first crocheted 7 sc, and instead of joining to the first sc, I started crocheting my 2nd round in the first sc.  To help keep track of where I was, I marked the first sc of each round with an improvised stitch marker- a piece of yarn that I tied around the stitch.



Here's the break down of the simple circle I made:
(*crocheting in back loop only!)
1st rnd-   7 sc
2nd rnd- (2 sc) in each stitch until end of round
3rd rnd-  (sc, 2 sc) repeat until end of round
4th rnd-  (sc 2, 2 sc) repeat until end of round
5th rnd-  (sc 3, 2 sc) repeat until end of round
Repeat pattern adding one more single crochet between increases (2 sc) on each round.

I also staggered where the increases fell on each round to help make more of a circle shape.  For example, say on the 7th round, which would be (sc 5, 2 sc), I might start by crocheting 3 single crochets, then my 2 sc in the next stitch, then following the (sc 5, 2 sc) for the rest of the round, ending with single crochets in the last two stitches.  Does that make sense?



Because of the differences in fabric thickness, the circle is a bit wonky, but I still like it!  The fairly wide fabric strips also made for a pretty thick rug.  (In the future I may cut fabric strips maybe 2 inches wide.) But most importantly, I shouldn't confuse it for my cat in the middle of the night.  Well, as long as she doesn't find this new rug as the perfect sleeping spot, we should be ok...