If you thought hula hoop was meant for just playing and exercising, think again. Create your own multi-coloured rug with this cool and easy technique of making your own hula hoop rug which can also double up as a fun family activity as well
What you need
Scissors
About a dozen old large T-shirts
33-inch hula hoop
What to do
For the warp
l Cut one inch-wide loops from one or two large t-shirts (we found a boy’s large t-shirt worked best on our 33-inch hoop) removing the hem and stopping at the sleeves. Ideally these loops should all be the same colour. You’ll need a total of 11 loops. For the weft, cut at least 50 loops from the remaining shirts.
lStretch one warp loop over the hula hoop. Add and secure a second loop, perpendicular to the first. Repeat, filling in the spaces until all 11 loops are in place.
l Push together two warp loops at the top of the hula hoop, as shown. This creates an odd number of warp spokes in your wheel, which allows the over under pattern of the weft to alternate with each new row.
For the weft
lSecure the first weft loop to the centre of one of the warp spokes (we chose the doubled spoke from the earlier step) by wrapping it around the warp and then looping it back through itself.
l Begin weaving the weft over and under the warp spokes, forming a tight spiral. For now, treat both parts of each warp spoke as a single unit, weaving over or under the two together. As you work, push the weft material toward the centre of the hoop and keep it just snug. If you pull the weft tight, the rug will develop lumps or bends. When you reach the end of the piece of weft, add a new loop by threading it through the end of the first and back through itself.
l When your rug is about eight inches across, begin treating each warp spoke as two individual strips instead of a single unit, weaving over or under each strand instead of going over or under the doubled spoke. This increases the number of warp spokes, improving the structure of the project. When you get to the two warp spokes that you pushed together at the top of the loom, separate them. Treat one of the spokes as two individual strips, but continue to treat the other as a single spoke. This maintains the odd number of warp spokes.
lWhen the rug is the size you want, but no closer than 8 inches from the edge of the hula hoop, snip open your weft loop.Tie the ends around a warp spoke, and tuck the ends into the rug.
l Cut the warp spokes off the hoop one at a time.Tie the ends in pairs, then trim them to make a fringe or tuck them back into the rug.