All The Dude Ever Wanted Was His Rug Back

image: screenjunkies.com

Ever see The Big Lebowski? I am a huge fan. I love (most) Cohen brothers movies, and I had a lot of time on my hands in college. Actually tried to go as Maude Lebowski one year for Halloween but it didn't quite work out. Maybe if I ever make it to a Lebowski Fest.

Somewhere between the Montessori idea of play areas being defined by a play mat and not wanting to get paint/marker/water/half-eaten Cheerios on the carpet in the new play area (COMING SOON!), I decided I needed to make Jamie a rug, much like one I found on Pinterest.  Or maybe I found it on Ohdeedoh and pinned it - can't remember, but I do remember someone saying to use outdoor cloth, which I took a step further and got oil cloth. And duck cloth instead of a drop cloth, which was more cost effective and came in a size big enough to do both this rug and a table runner I needed to make.

First of all, duck cloth is a pain to work with, especially for a novice sew gal like me. It doesn't want to starch for anything and it's really thick. When I got my sewing machine repaired yesterday, the guys said not to try to do anything big or bulky - oh, if only they could see me now! But after playing with it and a few frantic text messages to my sister-in-law, I managed to get the tension correct to accommodate the duck cloth, heavy duty thread, and a super tough needle. I attempted (somewhat in vain) to iron down the seam before I stitched it.

There. No more raw edges. I feel good about that. I made sure my oil cloth fit perfectly and I used spray adhesive to tack it down. About 99% sure you can't iron oil cloth but I'm not about to find out (especially since I'm done, but feel free to Google that one on your own.)

Genius Engineer that I married had a great idea - use a rolling pin to smooth it down. It worked pretty well considering it was as close to ironing as I was going to get. He also pointed out that the rolling pin is a multi-tasker, maybe because we've gone too long in this blog without an Alton Brown reference.

Once I got the oil cloth where I wanted it, I folded over the seam from the duck cloth and tried to stitch the new seam right down the old seam. If I was any good, this would have been awesome, but fortnuately I have no plans to show you any scrutinized up-close shots of this project. If you are an excellent seamstress, you're probably saying to yourself one of two things: 1. "Oh, no problem. I can so do that." or 2. "Pssh, I have a better idea. Rookie."

Don't forget to thank your help. Thank you, Billy! 

Aaaand, voila! A spill-proof, mess-proof, darn near baby-proof rug that really ties the room together (you'll see - work in progress!)

Link parties I'm adding this little guy to: