Neon Jersey Rug (crochet craft)

Brighten up any room in your home with this colorful and fun Neon Jersey Rug.  Made with strips of jersey fabric, this DIY crochet rug pattern is soft on your feet and comfortable to sit and lay on.  This pattern is great for beginner and advanced crocheters alike.  You can make your rug striped like this one or use a single color to make a solid rug that will liven up your living room or bedroom.

Materials:

• Dressmaker Shears (9")
• 7 yards of tan jersey knit
• 5 yards bright yellow jersey knit 
• Crochet hook N (9.00mm)

Instructions:

1. I bought several yards of jersey knit from the fabric store. Jersey knit can be bought at a very reasonable price if you shop around. I think the tan knit I bought was $3 a yard and the bright yellow was $2 a yard, making my project cost about $30 total. However, as with many crafts what you save in money you spend in time!
    
2. To cut the fabric into yarn, it is necessary to have a pair of long, sharp scissors. You are going to be doing A LOT of cutting and it makes sense to have the scissors do the work – not you! I used my favorite 9” Dressmaker shears, with its long blades that cut easily through 2 layers of fabric with very little strain to my hands.
   
    
    
3. I began by folding my fabric in half over my cutting table and starting at the raw edges, cut across the fabric towards the folded edge about 1” in from the bottom.
   
   
    
4. Stopping ½ ” short of the folded edge, I turned my shears back towards the direction they had come from and cut 1” above the previous cutting line.
    
5. As I reached the raw edges opposite the folded edge, I again stopped ½ ” short of cutting through to the end, removed the shears and brought them back around to the outside of the raw edges and cut again.
   
   
    
6. I worked back and forth in this manner for about 1 yard’s length of fabric, at which point I cut the line completely at the folded edge, to remove the fabric from the remaining yardage.
   
   
    
7. Next I had to cut into the fabric to create one long strip which I did by finding the folded edges I had left, and snipping them apart through the fold.
   
   
    
8. To make the jersey more ‘yarn-like’, I pulled it tightly through the handles of my scissors (for friction) to make the edges curl. This turns the fabric from strips into something resembling twine or string.
   
   
    
9. I then rolled the yarn into a ball and repeated the process for the remaining yardage.
   
   
    
10. Ch 5. Sl st into 5th Ch from hook to form ring.
     
11. Ch 2. 11 dc in ring. Join to ch 2 with sl st. (12 st)
     
12. Ch 2. Dc in same stitch. 2 dc in each stitch around. Join to ch 2 with sl st. (24 st)
     
13. Ch 2. Dc in same st, dc in next st. *2 dc in next st, dc in next st* all the way around. (36 st)
     
14. Ch 2. Dc in same st, dc in next 2 st. *2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 st*all the way around (48 st)
     
15. Ch 2. Dc in same st, dc in next 3 st. *2 dc in next st, dc in next 3 st* all the way around (60 st)
    
    
     
16. Continue to increase according to pattern until you get to the desired size. I changed colors whenever I felt the need. Because the stitches are large and the yarn forgiving, I simply cast on the new color yarn by tying it on to the previous strand, hiding the knots on the underside of the rug.

.