You Can Crochet With Sheets!

I don't know about you, but this is my perfect vision of summer! Well of course I'd like to be sitting next to a beautiful lake with an iced coffee, but for now I'm quite happy sitting next to our largish wading pool with a gorgeous mountain view beyond. You see, when you need to watch your kids in the pool, there's nothing better than a little (or a lot in my case) crocheting! In fact I'm probably the only mother begging her kids to get into the pool, so that I can have an excuse to relax with my current favorite craft!

If you're wondering what ever happened to the crocheting with t-shirt yarn, well suffice it to say I ran out of yarn, and my little rug turned out to be so lopsided that I had to tear about 1/3 of it out. Not to worry, you'll see the results sometime. Now back to the sheets! There are several way to crochet with sheets, and I've chosen the easiest method for my first project, namely not worrying about hiding the rough edges.The look is very shabby chic/vintage and perfect for summer. And as you can see I'm crocheting with a very large hollow plastic crochet hook, which is why my crocheting has so many holes.....I should probably use a hook just a bit smaller, but I don't have one, or make my strips thicker, so there you have it! In any case, if this becomes a rug, I think the holes will be great for helping the rug not to retain as much dust and dirt.

Now before you start dreaming of crocheted rugs everywhere, I should tell you that you'll need quite a few sheets! This little pillow front/rug? measures only 16" (40cm) across and was made with 1 twin fitted sheet. The ball that's attached to the work was made with the matching pillow case. While crocheting with sheets is novel, it definitely doesn't flow like crocheting with yarn, and it's even a bit of hard work at times! Not to discourage you, just do realize that making a rug will be a nice summer project to do over the course of several weeks, unless you are obsessed like me, and then you can probably do one in a couple of days, depending on what other demands you have!

You'll Need:

• lots of sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers (the best, actually)
• a giant sized crochet hook
• some free time
• a refreshing summer drink, and someone to refill your drink

How To:

You can prepare your "yarn" ahead of time, or take turns preparing and crocheting which is my preference.

1. Remove all elastic from fitted sheets and cut corner seem so you'll have  a flat piece. Sheets should be torn into roughly 3/4" strips, make small cuts in top of sheet and tear! Kids love doing this, so enlist their help!
2. Join strips by cutting small slits in each end and then joining with slip knot. (Pull strip A through strip B just a bit, and then pull the long end of strip A through itself. To attach a prepared ball to work in progress you'll need to make a slit big enough to slip the whole ball through, but this gets lost in the crocheting, so don't worry.
3. To make strips from pillowcases and duvet covers, I just thought of a really great time saver! Use the same technique for preparing t-shirt yarn here, it's great! Just be sure to cut off the closed end of the pillow case and duvet cover such that you have a tube. If the duvet cover has a side opening, so work with it lengthwise, even better!

Yes, in the future I will try preparing yarn with ragged edges hidden (there are a few ways) but for now I'm enjoying the almost instant satisfaction of crocheting with the strips as is! Stay tuned for the finished project, and wishing you a wonderful crafty summer!