This book isn't cheap—but it's worth it to get crocheted rag rug directions that actually work

Like everybody else, I've got my hobbies. For some reason, many of them are traditional "something-from-nothing" crafts—patchwork, cooking from scratch, and rag rugs. To me, there's something almost viscerally satisfying about creating useful, beautiful objects from "throwaway" materials. ("Blessed rage for order," maybe?)

The most common first method a novice uses to construct a rag rug is fabric crochet. Most people have a crochet hook or two kicking around in the junk drawer, and there are numerous leaflets, booklets and online directions which claim to teach how to make a crocheted rug. The trouble is, most of them don't work. Square and rectangular crochet patterns are relatively foolproof, but be primed for massive frustration if you plan on working a round or oval rug. It's a real chore to create quality round rugs that lie flat. Half the time, your rug squinches up in the middle and around the edges, looking more like a sombrero than a floor covering.

If you've ever set out to make a rug and ended up with a hat, you'll want to know about Diana Blake Gray of Rafter-four Designs. Ms. Gray has spent years researching the history and construction of numerous types of rag rugs. In the process, she's come up with a method for constructing fabric crochet rugs which are guaranteed to lie flat every time. This information and a wealth of other goodies can be found in Crocheted & Fabric Tapestry Rugs, a book in Rafter-four's Rugmakers' Notebooks series.

In addition to the basic pattern for a circular rug, the book gives directions for creating ovals, squares, rectangles, heart-shaped and heelprint rugs, and numerous other shapes. It explains how to double-fold your rag strip in order to create rugs with a smooth, professional-looking finish. If you're not quite ready to tackle a whole rug, the patterns can be easily adapted to create small projects such as hot pads, placemats and baskets.

Once you've mastered the basics of fabric crochet, the book also explains how to do fabric tapestry—crocheting patterns in several colors into the rug. It's almost as simple as doing regular fabric crochet, and the results are spectacular. There are also instructions on string crochet (a method which produces rugs that look loom-woven), "one-way" crochet, and a number of assorted stitches that will change the appearance of your finished rug.

Be aware that this little book is far from professional quality—it's comb-bound, with Xeroxed pages, several spelling errors, and hand-sketched diagrams that are sometimes difficult to follow. Other companies produce slick, polished, inexpensive directions for crocheting rugs from fabric strip. You could purchase them and try to make a rug in hit-or-miss fashion from their untested directions. Or you could save yourself the bother, buy Crocheted & Fabric Tapestry Rugs and do it right the first time.

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