An Introduction to Rag Rugs - Creative Recycling (Crafts)

by Jenni Stuart-Anderson

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

An Introduction to Rag Rugs - Creative Recycling is a useful guide with tutorials for upcycling/recycling fabrics into rugs written and presented by Jenni Stuart-Anderson. Due out 7th Dec 2021 from Pen & Sword on their White Owl imprint, it's 192 pages and will be available in paperback format.

For many of us, being able to buy and consume more or less at will has led to a society which consumes and disposes to an unsustainable degree. Crafting, making, recycling, and reusing materials are more important than ever and especially given the stresses of a consumer driven society, important to mental health and well-being as well.

This book is a nice primer with lots of different techniques and includes an intriguingly in-depth capsule history of fibrecrafts through the ages (starting with prehistory and down to the 20th century). The following technique chapters include general instructions for projects, but not specific step-by-step tutorials. The techniques and illustrated projects are arranged thematically in chapters: prodding & progging, hooking & punching, knitting & knotting, coiling binding plaiting & braiding, finishing & cleaning, and a stunning gallery of works for inspiration. The author has included appendices which contain useful resource lists & suppliers (mostly in the UK but also useful for readers in other locations), a bibliography, and a cross-referenced index.

This would be a superlative choice for library or maker's groups, crafters and fibre artists, or for the home studio. Although there are no specific step-by-step tutorials, there's ample info here for readers to understand and complete projects utilising many different techniques.

Five stars. Well written, accessible, beautifully illustrated, and comprehensive.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.