Family Prayer Rug (Knotted Shag Rug) FINISHED!

From knotted Shag Rug

I am thrilled to let you all know that IT IS FINISHED! I finally finished our Family Prayer Rug. My sweet Jakob is by far the sweetest about this rug. For some reason he has taken a particular interest in it and has encouraged me all along to get it finished. When I laid it out on the floor his first reaction was to curl up on it and sing praises to me. The sweetheart even announced that I had finished it to my in-laws yesterday as we ate dinner.

Have we used it as a soft place to gather and pray? Yes, we actually have and I LOVE it!

If you click HERE you will find the main posts about my rug. I ended up really enjoying this hobby. I'm already looking forward to starting my next rug.

This is a picture of the first loom that Leif made for me to make the string of knots.

From knotted Shag Rug

This is a picture of the loom that he made for me to weave the string of knots and sew them together to make the rug.

From knotted Shag Rug

What secrets did I learn?

• Cut ALL of your material first so that you have an even flow of colors.


• Don't cut the strips too wide or too long, about as wide and long as your finger is good.


• Make the continuous strip of knots before you start sewing it together.


• Sew it together as secure as you're willing. Small stitches will last the very longest. However, large stitches work too.


• Cut the backing the exact size of the rug without stretching the rug.

Life is Good: Day 68

I spent my time in the house today. Temps are almost 100 degrees and tomorrow will hit 100. So I took the opportunity to sew. And GUESS WHAT!? After almost one year, I've finished tying my Knotted Shag Rug (aka) My Prayer Rug. Now I will string it on a quilting frame and sew it together. I'm hoping to finish it soon! I also worked on re-covering Jakob's car seat cover. My goal is to re-cover all of the boys' car seat covers before the baby comes. I have a lot of sewing ahead of me. But I enjoy it when I'm in the mood. Another good day!

From Life is Good Count Down

Family Prayer Rug: Knotted Shag Rug

When I nannied in Chicago the family and I had family prayer together each morning. Every morning we knelt together on the same heart shaped braided rug in the kitchen. I told myself that one day I would have a Family Prayer Rug, a place to gather my family and pray to our Heavenly father. I have finally started the construction of our Family Prayer Rug.

Monday night we had Family Home Evening. Jakob gave the lesson. Because I was the one whispering the message in his ear, the subject was about prayer. We talked about how Heavenly Father has asked us to talk with Him daily and prayer is the way we can talk with Him. After the lesson we went outside together to make the loom for our Family Prayer Rug and to gather material from grandma's sewing room.

Earlier I found the instructions that I needed for our rug. I wanted one that was easy enough for Jakob to help me make the rug. I found two Great websites explaining how to make a Knotted Shag Rug: HERE and HERE. Both websites tell how to construct the simple loom (I'm not sure it's really a loom, but it's the tool needed) as well as pictures and instructions of how to make the rug.

I am going to construct the rug out of old Levis, tee shirts, and knit shirts. I haven't seen or heard mention of any of these rugs made out of Levis. I'm just hoping that it's not a mistake. I have cut the denim strips thin so they knot easier. Our local library has a Freecycle program where they give away thrift store clothing to the community for free. We went to the library and rounded up some yellow shirts for our rug. We then went to the hardware store and purchased some cotton Light Load 2 lb limit Wrapping Twine. This is our first rug and I'm hoping it will be a success, Hoping is the key word!

Here are a few pictures of our project in progress: