Saturday 13 January 2018

A Rug ..... for now

I have a wretched time finding any rug I like.  Every project has been the same - bar one - when I discovered a great rug maker and maker of 'lino' and all kinds of interesting floorings, all historically accurate and beautifully made.  By the time of the next project she had stopped working!  So four out of five of my builds I have flailed around trying to find rugs that are even acceptable. I fairly recently paid forty pounds for a couple of rugs printed for me with all kinds of assurances from the maker that the colours would be accurate etc etc.  My required pale pink and faded mossy green sitting room rug arrived in shades of yellowy, beigy, allsorts and the sharp black and gold music room rug was muddy brown and lighter muddy brown!  I rest my case.

At Christmas I bought a couple of packets of very cheap felt from the hobby shop to make stick-on reindeer noses and eyes..... don't ask.


It occurred to me to try printing a rug on the white sheet that was in the pack it they looked to be the right size for the printer and seemed more 'stable' than ordinary felt fabric.


So, OK, it is a long way from perfect but it is as good as any I have paid an arm and leg for.  Indeed I might be happier that it is not so bright as the paper version lying on top of it.  My husband did say the colour could be increased and I could tweak this and that to get it better, but for now this will do just fine.  I may have another go when I have time.  It was good enough to know it can be done without bunging up the printer and exploding my other half's brain.

Moral of this story is - if you think it, try it, you never know your luck.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Marilyn, Your "rug for now" may well be your rugs for later. Your printed version looks great to me and I am intrigued by your use of the felt, which I would have thought might have jammed up the rollers.
    But in your quest for the right rug, you have paved a new way and proven that printing on felt can be successfully accomplished- Way to go Columbus! :D

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    1. It is unusual felt and is described as felt sheets. Unlike felt fabric it is stiff not floppy and one side is decidedly smoother than the other, so it went through the printer fuzzy side up and I think the back was near enough to paper smooth notto grip in any way. That's my theory. Heart in mouth moment though when the button was pressed.

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  2. I think you on on the verge of something wonderful Marilyn! Soon the days of searching will be replaced by your making exactly what you want! Go get 'em tiger!

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    1. Decidedly a verge....can I find the same sheets again? Can I find white ones? Will the printer refuse next time? Seriously though I will give it several more goes as it is so close to solving the rug palaver.

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  3. Hello Marilyn,
    I know what you mean about finding good rugs...so difficult. Your print looks like a rug that has faded with time...it could work quite well if that is something that you can incorporate into your design. Definitely keep at it, you are on the right track.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. The joke about this particular rug though is that it is a crude yellow zig zag that I probably could have just felt tipped in!

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