Alternate Title:  Your new name is (insert first name until after the first syllable and then add Gyver to it.)  You are caught in the biggest design dilemma of your life. With no way out. You have to save an entire room design with a single paperclip. This is what you do.  I mean, it may be a little long, but it totally would work right?!

If your name is Mandi your McGyver name is MaGyver. Coincidence? I think not. (I will thank you later Mom!)

You may be wondering why making a rug is a Basic DIY. The good news? We are not talking major rug making. (if you are feeling extra motivated check out this post on how to really MAKE a rug.)

We are talking, you have a funky size requirement, or can’t find a rug in the size/color/pattern that you are dreaming of, or want to be cheap.

Or if you are feeling extra unlucky all 3.

I dont know about your Homegoods/TJ Maxx but every one that I seem to visit have the same situation going on. Big rugs? None. Small Rugs? 5 zillion. Those are not good odds my friends. And living in Southern Utah, where my options are HG or Target, sometimes you have to let your inner McGyver duct tape his way into your heart.

To make a rug you will need at least 2 smaller rugs, but up to as many as your little heart desires. If you have a large area to fill then you will need more.

1 roll of heavy duty twine

1 small paperclip bent in 1/2

The best rugs for the job are ones that are flat woven. They make this project much easier. And they are reversible, so all is not lost when your kid *cough* husband spill something on it.

Make sure that your pattern lines up and that you are using the same side of the rug if you are going for a continuous pattern.

Like this:

Not like this:

“Thread” your paperclip with the twine. Push it through one of the end loops of your rug. Pokey ends first. *If you have a knitting needle that will absolutely work too. But for my life, this is what tends to happen.

Pull enough of the twine through the loop that you will be able to stitch the entire length of your rug. Its much easier to do this now than to try and coax it through 39 loops.

Feed it through a loop on the other rug. Keep it uniform and pretty,  it looks better and is easier that trying to skip around. I did mine through all of the white cotton loops.

This is a great project to do while you catch up on your fave tv show or all of the news coverage about Miley’s Twerking fiasco.

To finish it off just knot it a few times and cut your twine.

I made my rug to fit this hard to fit space in my living room.

It totally brightens up the corner, compared to the last one that I had there.

Each of my rugs were 2.5×4 so my finished rug size is 4×5 and it is just the right size.

And the other good news? You now have a McGyver name. Which basically means that you are cooler than roughly 79% of the population.

#congratulations

The post Basic DIY: How To Make A Rug With A Paperclip appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

You. Guys. I am having the best time working on Cara’s Office this week, if have you ever questioned her genuine-ness, let me tell you, this girl is the real deal. I don’t know if I have ever met a nicer person in my life. We have talked about everything under the sun,  and one of my favorite chats was about YOU!

Have you ever heard the expression Too Far Down The Tunnel? I feel like every project/room that I do is bigger and better than the last. I LOVE trying new things and rarely do things more than once. The problem? The stuff that I am doing is WAY down deep in the tunnel of DIY skills. I just think (even though I know that this is SO NOT THE CASE) that everyone of you have read my blog from the beginning. Travelling the same DIY journey and acquiring the same skills.

So. Chatting with Cara my eyes were totally opened to the error of my ways when she said “I love looking at your projects, but I don’t think I would ever attempt them.”

Ding! (That click was the light bulb in my brain FINALLY understanding  a few things that have kept me up at night.)

So I am going to be sharing a post with you every Friday called Basic DIY. It may be something from a room project that I am working on, or my favorite tips, or a project that you can execute in less than 10 minutes. Its all about the basic skills that you need to get started working on your own fun projects,  so that you can follow your gut intuition when it comes to decorating for yourself (remember no PB catalog should dictate how your house FEELS.)

Are you as excited about this as I am? Are you ready to start walking into the tunnel of DIY love?!

I want to know what YOU want to learn. It could be something as simple as my trick for getting paint off of outlet covers (because sometimes/all the time, I am too impatient to track down a screwdriver and think that it will be fine…)

So speak up, what Basic DIY skills do you need to know to conquer your DIY demons?

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