Ahhh W/e... i deff am posting to the wrong kind of people. I mean heck i wouldnt pay a ton of money for a rug that i could almost make myself esp if i had access to a ton of rope. So ill just stick to giving them as gifts and to friends and prizes at our local bouldering Comps. (at least they get out)

A few of my friends have tried different variations as in brading the rope or loosely taping it and sometimes it worked and other times it didnt. As i said it doenst really matter, this is just the wrong crowd to sell too.

This is just a heads up to anyone interested in weaving their own rugs. I have a sweet pattern that makes a doormat sized rug in a rectangle. A friendly climbing gym owner shared it with me, and I figured I'd return the favor to all of you. The one caveat is that you really have to want to make more than one as it takes about 2.5 hours to weave one of these babies even after you've got it dialed, and it takes about 150 feet of rope. I don't have any pics with me, but I will post some when I remember my flash drive. The key is to create a template weave pattern that has a 5 x 7 grid (or 7 x 9 for larger rugs). The spacing is a little trial and error, and to make the ends nice you need to pony up and buy a rope melting gun. I gave several as gifts and always keep a couple on hand for anyone who wants to drop some coin. I hooked up a couple pro climbers with rugs too (Joe Kinder, etc.) for scoring me some retired rope, and they seemed to think they were the best they'd seen. I've also developed a SWEET round pattern, but it is crazy intricate, and takes about 5 hours to weave (people have paid $100 for these babies!). All said for one of MY woven rugs, I typically make about $15/hr for my time + materials. I don't do it for the greenbacks, but because it's a chance for me to be creative/artistic.

If anyone wants to check them out, or talk to me about making your own I'll have a couple samples at the Red Rock Rendevous this March. I also gave a big rectangle one as a gift to Brian @ Paradise Rock Gym in Denver. Drop me a line...

MM

Alright, I finally got some pictures uploaded and now know how to post them here. These are a few of the rugs that I have made.

This is a shot of a trivet (to put hot pots on a table) and a bathroom mat.

Trivet and bathroom rug. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Mix-design rug. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Heart-shaped wall hanging. (Deulen's Christmas Gift) Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Joe Kinder's Rug- This rope is also photoed in Climbing Magazine Issue#248; pgs. 58-59. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Large round kitchen/area rug. This one is in Paul Fish's office at Mountain Gear's main office in Spokane. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Close-up of round weave pattern's center. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Paradise Rock Gym's rope rug; made from their own retired top-ropes. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Do you have any pics of the 5X7 pattern? thanks, cool rugs.

Very nice. Thanks for posting the pics.

Matt, Those rugs are very impressive! For reference, are those 12" floor tiles? What are the lengths of the ropes? I've got an old 50m I've been thinking of braiding and am wondering what sized rug I'd get.

Wow never seen those sqaure ones! Very cool! Thanks for posting up! THOSE you could sell!

Thanks for the kudos. The tiles are 12", making the large rectangle rugs about 2' x 3' and the small rectangles doormats about 1.5' x 2'. I've been making the large round ones about 2.5 to 3' across now (compared to the one in the previous picture).

The lengths of rope of each time through the pattern is unique to each rug, but a small rectangle one or small round one can be made with a single 50m rope. I usually weave a couple different colors together, as I like the colors to compliment each other.

I don't have a pic of a small rectangle one with me, but I was making a couple last night, and will try to post something. Here's a close-up of the 'looser/bigger' round weave:

Loose/bigger round weave pattern close-up. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 23, 2007

Awesome rugs, Matt. I love supporting local artists.... so I have a 60 meter solid yellow rope you can have, as I'm retiring it for a new bi-pattern one. I'll bring it to Cheeseburger L.V. tonight. Keep up the good work!

G

Here is a link that explains how to make the rectangle rug. I did it last night it was surprisingly easily but time consuming. Blow up his pattern and then it will be a lot easier when you can lay the rope directly on the pattern and tape the loops. I did a triple weave like the ones above and it was a perfect size. it ate up about 40 meters of rope. good luck

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=29819>>>>>

Just for fun I looked back to see which magazine had Joe in it climbing on the 'rope rug' rope. It was Climbing #248; pgs. 58-59.

Joe Kinder's Rug- This rope is also photoed in Climbing Magazine Issue#248; pgs. 58-59. Submitted By: Matt McMurray on Jan 21, 2007

Matt, I still have the yellow rope in my trunk for you, and Karen. It's been through many "adventures" okay...epics in Red Rock, and will bring anyone who buys the rug made from my rope, good luck!


P.S. I may be interested in buying a rug from you, but can't decide which color, and shape I want yet.

Later.............G

This one is from OldRopes.com

The weaving ones are pretty sweet. And the rolled together ones that i make can be heavy, and if they are not done right if you grab them they can fall apart. But all of mine have stood up to some beatings. Outdoors for a year or more and none of the tape or backing has come off.

I've received numerous emails asking for more detail on how I weave my rugs. I've been super busy doing a remodel on a house so i haven't been able to post any pics to MP of the jig. Basically, it's a 1/2" piece of plywood that I drew the pattern onto, so that I could follow the drawing when I retraced the rope through the jig. This proved to be a HUGE help in avoiding mistakes when weaving the first run of rope. I drilled 3/8" holes in the jig at all the places where the rope had a bend and placed a dowel in the hole to hold the rope in place. This is key if you want the rug to have a uniform shape. DON'T remove the dowels until you have two runs of rope through the jig. At that point you can pull all the dowels and complete the final two traces. If you don't have a rope melting gun, get one. I haven't found any other method that looks even remotely as good for bonding the open ends together.

Cheers.
MM