Martha Lazar was inspired by Early American braided rag rugs when she designed these colorful home accessories. She says, “Colonists repurposed their rags into these functional works of art. I kept thinking about how I could incorporate knitting and figured that I could substitute I-cord for the strips of cloth used in traditional rugs. The sheer amount of I-cord I would need to make always intimidated me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this idea.”

It was the discovery of an I-cord machine that finally brought Martha’s vision to fruition. With an I-cord tool, you can produce yards of knitted cord in a short amount of time. By combining an I-cord machine and multicolored sock yarns, Martha worked up a delightful throw rug and potholders. You can find the pattern for the Sock Yarn Braided Trivets on page 90, and you can make a rug by just making a bigger potholder! Find a tutorial for making these fun braided items on page 84, plus more information about the Embellish Knit! I-cord machine.

Finished Size 7–8” diameter.

Yarn Zitron Unisono Multi (100% extra fine merino infused with aloe vera and jojoba oil; 328 yd 300 m/3½ oz 100 g): Version 1 (gray): #1201, 1 ball. Version 2 (orange): #1203, 1 ball. Version 3 (blue): #1245 (A), 1 ball. Version 3 only: Zitron Unisono Solid (100% extra fine merino infused with aloe vera and jojoba oil; 328 yd 300 m/3½ oz 100 g): #1185 teal (B) and #1190 marine (C), 1 ball each. Yarn distributed by Skacel.

Needles Size 4 (3.5 mm): Two double-pointed (dpn) or the Embellish Knit! (available at shop.knittingdaily.com)

Notions Tapestry needle; safety pin.

Gauge Gauge is not crucial for this project.