RECYLED CRAFT- DOOR MAT

Door mats are very useful and necessary thing in our day to day life. There are different types of door mats available in the market, made of coir, nylon, rubber, cloths, etc. The cost also will be high. 

There are a lot of materials that you can recycle into handmade mats for your house. For that just clean your wardrobes…… You will find your old cloths such as torn salwars, sarees, unused dupattas etc. By make use of these things you can make a unique doormat. It also looks better than the other one which we were buying from outside.

When I was doing my post graduation we were in hostel. At that time we had a lot of time after the class, so we learned some crafts from our room-mates. One of my friends told me she will teach how to make mat using old cloths. After finishing the course I tried it in my house. It was very easy to make and also looks good. Then I taught this to my mother and she also like this very much. Now she is very busy with this mat making and also shares some of her creativity with our relatives.

This is a very easy craft and I will share how to make a stylish mat for your house. For that first you have to cut the cloth into long strips with one or two inch width. Next you have to sew strips together end to end that will make the strip lengthy. You need 3 such long strips for the braiding (like our hair braiding) process.  Start braiding tightly and if your desired length is not reached attach new strips using needle and thread. As your work finish, shape the mat into round, oval, rectangular or square according to your preference. Then sew it together with strong thread and tight stitches. The stitches should be very strong, otherwise it will begin to unravel. You can also put a thick cloth as a base for the mat and sew over it. This will give more strength for the mat.

I prefer my mother’s old sarees for this because it is very long and enough for one perfect mat. The pallu side can use for the centre part or the outer border of the mat. Different colored duppattas also look good, for that you have to select the combination colors.

Please try this and make your house clean……….