Toothbrush/buttonhole/amish knot stitch
Learn how to do a basic knot, and of course there are a few rules to making your rug.Fabric, what kind and how much. I recommend cotton fabric but you can use just about any type of fabric such as flannel, fleece, an old sheet or whatever. Be creative because really with this type of rug making there are not a lot of rules that you must go by. How much depends on the size of the rug you want. There is a little math involved you will need to multiply the square footage by .50 and this will give you an estimate per pound, one pound of fabric = approximately 4 yards Sample: we want a 5 x 5 rug so we would do the following calculations: 2 x 3 = 6 (square feet) x .50 = 3 pounds x 4(remember 4 yards per pound) = 12 yards. I personally do not do any calculations; I usually just use whatever I have on hand but you never know when you might need to use this. Now lets learn the basic knot: You will need your needle, safety pin, and your fabric strips**you will have to pin the knot to something so don’t wear your good clothes to start a rug**. Join two fabric strips (or you can us 1 strip of fabric to start, tie a knot in the middle) insert the safety pin into knot or bump and pin it to your pants, or cushion, shirt, something stable. Thread the needle with one of the fabric strips (doesn’t matter which one). Now from here one out the fabric strip you put your needle on will ALWAYS (ok there was a rule) be your Knotter and the fabric strip without the needle will ALWAYS be the Core for the whole project. From here forward remember: Knotter = is the fabric WITH the needle on it Core = is the fabric WITHOUT the needle on it With Knotter, go under core (1,2), see the loop made with the knotter,(between 1 & 2) it is toward you, insert your thumb or index finger into it, this is how you keep tension, knotter is now in “back” of core, with knotter go “over” core(3) and insert into the loop your finger is in (go under 1)Pull to tighten up but not too tight looser is better. Now repeat. See diagram below:
This may be easier to learn if you used one color for the core and one color for your knotter. Then you will be able to see a little better how the knot is made. Easy right. !!! See how the Core really doesn’t do anything but stay straight and keep your work stable , but we do need it. This is it, the whole thing, you will just repeat this stitch. Finally a fast, easy way to start a toothbrush rug. Most recently, I taught a toothbrush rug class and one of the students just could not get the hang of it. She was really having a hard time starting it and I have a personal policy that I will do everything in my power to teach someone or I fell that I must give back their money because honestly they did not learn anything and should not pay. I was just about to tell her that and she said “I can crochet anything” well my old mind just started working overtime and I thought why can’t you just crochet a chain for the start and go from there and taa daa you can. To begin you will need a 2 yard piece of fabric and a large crochet hook, you don’t really need one but it is easier to make the chain. Fold it in half, and tie a slip knot in the middle, you will then have a 2 yard piece with a slip knot at the top and the two loose ends are hanging down, see url for crochet site to make a chain. If you do not want to use a crochet hook, insert your thumb and index finger thru the slip knot, grab both strips and pull it thru your slip knot, now keep your thumb in the loop you just made and adjust it by tugging on the loose ends of the strips. You want to try and make the chain a even as possible. Now insert your thumb and index finger into the loop you just made and again grab the strips and pull them thru, keep your thumb in the loop and adjust, repeat for desired length. You do not count the loop as a chain. When you have your desired length, pull both strips completely thru you last loop and give it a good tug. You should now have a chain with 2 strips of fabric at the end. Pick one to be your worker and one to be your center, use the cut and slit method to add fabric and start making your rug. In order to make a round rug, you will need 4 chains, join to the first chain to form a small circle, and you will work into the chains of that circle. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or post in the forum. Learn how to do the next round and the big rule about increasing stitches for your toothbrush rag rug. Next round: I say round because even though you can make rectangle/square rugs with this method, it is just so much easier to make ovals, half moons, odd shapes, hearts instead of squares but again please feel free to create whatever you want, be your own designer. After you base row you will now start to build your rug. You will insert the Knotter into the loops previously made making sure to carry your core with you. From here forward you will insert the Knotter down into loop previously made this will form a loop and again insert your thumb or index finger into it , behind core, up through loop (from the back) on your finger, pull to tighten***Remember not too tight. See below diagram follow the 1, 2, 3 again make sure you carry your core, always go DOWN into previous loop, forms loop on finger, behind core, through loop.
<img src=http://www.crochetqueen.co/junk/Bellarug/too4.jpg>
Increases: There is a rule about increases, The ONLY time you place more than one stitch in a loop is 1. Starting a circular rug 2. In the curve of the FIRST row of an oval rug The reason you can’t increase or shouldn’t increase in a single loop is because it does leave a big ugly hole and you don’t want that. Below is a diagram that shows WHERE to place increases.
Insert knotter in between the fabric of the two loops. This is one of the reason why you DO NOT want to pull your stitches tight. And yes you go down in between the loops, use your finger for the loop, behind the core, from the back, insert knotter through the loop, pull to tighten. Now that you know how to do the stitch and the 2 rules, go tear up some fabric and make a rug.
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