A homemade felt prayer rug is a precious Ramadan gift for young ones, especially for those aged around 7 – 10 years. As children get older and grow out of it, hang it up on a wall as a tapestry. Inexpensive and easy to make, it is a keepsake to cherish through the years.
Materials
- 1 yard acrylic felt, The Felt Store
- Wool needle
- Yarn
- Gold vinyl, available at fabric stores
- Fusible web spray such as Aleene’s
- Clipart
Steps
- Double fold felt and cut two pieces of fabric 24″ x 36″ in dimension.
- Sew the two pieces of felt together using blanket stitch (see below for instructions on how to blanket stitch.)
- Using downloadable clipart, cut out 8 pointed star from gold vinyl.
- Spray fusible web onto the back of the vinyl and adhere to prayer rug.
- Cover vinyl with cotton pillowcase or similar fabric and iron on heat setting indicated on spray bottle to permanently adhere star to the rug.
How to Blanket Stitch
- Cut an 18″ long piece of yarn and single thread it through wool needle. (For beginners, this means thread yarn through the needle, then pull on one end of the thread to make it longer than the other end. Tie knot at the longer end.)
- To start your blanket stitch, bring your needle down about an inch from the edge on the bottom piece of felt. Pull needle to leave knot (image 2).
- Now, on the top piece of felt, bring your needle down at the same location you brought it down in the previous step creating your first stitch (image 3 and 4).
- Bring your needle down next to the first stitch. This will create a loop at the edge of the felt. Pull your needle all the way through this loop, making sure the loop is under your needle (image 5 and 6).
- Repeat this process all the way around the edge of the prayer rug.
- When you run out of thread, bring your needle down next to your last stitch but this time only through the top layer of felt. Remove thread from the needle (image 7) and tie a knot beneath the top layer of felt (image 8). You will be left with a diagonal stitch. Thread more yarn through your needle and start the stitch by securing a knot on the bottom layer of felt (image 9). Bring your needle from under the diagonal stitch you left (image 10) and continue with the blanket stitch.
- For corners, the technique is the same but on a diagonal.
- To finish, connect your last stitch to your first stitch by bringing the needle through your first stitch (image 11). Remove needle (image 12) and tie double knot (image 13.) Cut off tail for a seamless look.
TIP: For an adult sized prayer rug, begin with 2 yards of fabric and use an existing prayer rug for measurements.
For photographic purposes, to distinguish this craft as a prayer rug, a brand new pair of shoes are shown on the rug. Of course, when using you’ll want to make sure the shoes are completely off the rug.
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