We have gotten a few inquiries from folks asking if we make these rugs for Anthropologie. We don't. We do have lots and lots of felt balls, and the rugs are made of thousands of felt balls, sewn to a cotton backing. The balls make for a comfortable and bouncy floor covering. I have to say, I have been tempted even though I have a comfortable and bouncy floor covering already in my home (a ten-year-old, 10x14" Tenango that still makes me swoon, thanks Crispina!)
Lo and behold, we received notice that a favorite customer of ours, the talented Claudia, is making a felt-ball rug of her own. She is making the rug in a mix of browns, blacks and whites that will be so lovely when finished. Claudia shared her process photos with us and I am sharing them with you.
Claudia begins by sewing her felt balls into long strands, mixing up the colors as she goes. I didn't ask her if she has a planned-out 'random' for the strands but I think it would work just fine to make them really, truly random.
After she has the individual strands sewn Claudia sews the strands to one-another. She has tested the rug out, too, although it's more of a runner at this point! She estimates that it will take 7000 felt balls to make the rug she wants. Since my floors are pretty covered I am thinking that some placemats would be really cool, or maybe chair pads?
So, what are you making with your Ornamentea or Panopolie crafty ingredients? Send us a message and let us know...Thank you, Claudia, for sharing your photos with us!
Oh that's sweet! I'm thinking about a mini version (and I mean really tiny) as a pendant. Maybe that's already been done.....
ReplyDeleteThat rug looks awesome. I want one!
ReplyDeleteThose would be great wall hangings too, especially colorful ones!
ReplyDeleteohh, Alice, I love that idea. A tiny felt pendant, very graphic. Wall hangings would also be nice. Tonight I laid out a table mat for the center of my round dining table with 570 felt balls, it looks so wonderful now I just need to stitch it up...
ReplyDeleteBut it will cost around $1,000 to make? I wish I could make one, but I can't afford it.
ReplyDeleteseems so cute...
ReplyDeleteHow does she sew the balls to the string? just sew the bottom of the felt ball?
ReplyDeleteDid she make the felt balls or buy them? If she made them, if there a tutorial on that?
ReplyDeletewhere can you get these felt balls?
ReplyDeleteShe bought the felt balls from us! http://www.ornamentea.com/FeltBalls.htm
ReplyDeleteso cute but $1000+ for a rug you have to work so hard to make is nuts
ReplyDeleteIn a busy house like mine, my thoughts are on cleaning the rug. Is it washable? can't vacuum it...Definitely not cost effective or easy care from my vantage point....very cute though! really caught my attention.
ReplyDeleteActually, it's quite vacuum-able. Those felt balls are really tough. You'd care for it the same way you care for any other wool carpet. In my house that means a very rare vacuuming when the dust bunnies start to take over! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhy are the felt balls sooo expensive? Assuming, per the directions that it takes nearly 7000 balls to make. I looked on a different website that sells the rugs already made and they were going for around 300... do people actually spend that kind of money to make their own rug?!
ReplyDeleteI would love to do something like this, but cannot justify putting that much money and time into it...
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ReplyDeleteWell, there are three replies to your comment, anon.
ReplyDeleteFirst-most folks I know don't think of the time they put into craft projects as wasted, but as spent on something enjoyable. I craft a lot. I do not watch television or play card games, keep a farm in Farmville, get my nails done. Perhaps to you putting time into making a beautiful object for your home is wasted, but to me that is an excellent way to spend time.
Second-the $300 version of the rug you have found is perhaps made with less-dense felt balls, less-permanent dyes, in less-than-ideal conditions (sweat shop in China, perhaps?) The original rug that Claudia was inspired by was around $4000. The felt balls we sell are made in small workshops in Nepal where the workers receive fair wages. The balls are very dense and durable and the dyes are colorfast.
Third-if you need 7000 felt balls we might be able to special order them and give you a bit of a discount, don't you think?
Can you show how to acutally sew this together? I am really interested in making one!
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