How to make a rug out of corks with your own hands: how to pierce the caps and connect them together?
A mat made from plastic bottle caps is a useful and convenient thing. There is a place for it both in the bathroom and in the country house. Some people even make carpets from plastic bottle caps to decorate their walls. And homemade coasters for hot dishes made from lids have already found many fans. The technology for creating all these useful things from plastic bottle caps will be the same. And we will talk about it below.
Mat made from corks for plastic bottles
This rug will be especially convenient in the bathroom or kitchen. It does not slip, does not absorb moisture and is easy to clean. Of course, finding a huge number of caps for plastic bottles is not easy. But if you could find so many of them that it’s enough for a whole carpet, then you should definitely make one.
Some people advise connecting the corks together with glue or melting their edges with an iron and gluing them to the base. We believe that all such connections are fragile. And if you want to make a mat from plastic bottle caps that will last a long time, then the corks need to be pierced and then strung on a thick thread.
How to pierce a plastic plug?
Plastic plugs can be pierced with a shoe awl, but this is dangerous. And if you make a whole rug out of corks, then the risk of getting hurt is very high. The job will be safer and faster if you make a special device for piercing plastic caps.
To create crafts from plastic bottle caps you won’t need much, these are:
- A small wooden block.
- Drill with a suitable drill bit or screwdriver to make a round hole in the block.
- A thin drill bit for drilling the cork itself.
- A vise to clamp a block of wood with a cork.
A device for piercing plastic bottle caps
Before you start making crafts from plastic bottle caps, you need to make such a simple device as in the photo above. And the size of the recess in it should match the size of the plug.
The plastic plugs we are used to have a diameter of 28 mm and a height of 10 mm.
You can try to make a round hole in a wooden block with a feather drill. But a Forstner drill is more convenient; it is designed specifically to create blind holes.
Forstner drill
You also need to drill two or three through holes in the block, in those places where you will then need to drill plugs. The number of holes in the cork depends on which weaving pattern you choose. Make another hole at the bottom of the recess; it is needed to make it easier to remove the plugs from the block later.
Advantages
- This coating is very practical and aesthetically pleasing.
- Minimum material costs.
- Not afraid of temperature changes.
- Lasts a long time with proper paving.
- Easy to repair; if the cover bursts, it is enough to replace it without dismantling the entire covering.
- They do not lose color for a long time, as they contain a permanent dye.
So it is much more profitable to equip paths with this plastic than with paving slabs or other paving materials.
How to make a round rug from plastic bottle caps?
In order to make such a round rug, you need to drill 6 holes in each plug, located at an equal distance from each other. From the wrong side the rug will look like in the next photo.
Round mat made from plastic bottle caps
To tightly weave a cork rug, we suggest using four pieces of thread. In our diagram they are all marked with different colors.
Round rug - pattern made from plastic bottle caps:
Cork mat pattern
Garden path at the dacha
Order and organization are also necessary at a summer cottage, especially within the economic zone. To work, you will need a large number of covers, sand, cement, gravel, formwork boards, twine and pegs for high-quality markings.
Making an original garden path:
- The territory is marked in advance, noting the location of the future path. Pegs and twine are most often used for this purpose.
- The top layer is removed from the soil and a drainage layer (sand and gravel) is filled in.
- Install formwork from boards for high-quality pouring of cement mortar.
- The next step is to mix the cement mortar.
- Pour the solution within the formwork.
- Plastic covers are immersed in the solution, lightly trampling them into the cement mass.
It is better to divide the work into several stages, so that mixing the solution and installing plastic covers is carried out in strict order. With this approach, the garden path will have the most even surface possible.
Examples of rugs made from plastic bottles
Rugs made from plastic bottle caps are very different. For example, the next small rug is very bright. Because the lids are covered with fabric with beautiful prints. This rug was made in Rwanda. You can borrow the idea and make a similar mat from plastic bottle caps with your own hands.
Rug made of corks covered with fabric
A rug with fabric is fine to put on a chair or table, but is unlikely to be suitable for the floor. But the next cork mat has a very useful practical application. It is non-slippery and easy to clean, so it is used near the front door.
Cork mat at the front door
Cork rugs are also comfortable in the bathroom. And the patterns on them can be very different; sea waves, fish, and a children’s pattern with a duck like the one in the next photo are suitable for a bathroom.
Rug with a duckling for the bathroom
Some craftsmen make quite large rugs from corks. The next photo shows an interesting and practical carpet for the kitchen.
Mat made of plastic corks for the kitchen
There is also room for an interesting cork rug in the nursery. And they can be very interesting and different. For example, with your favorite fairy-tale characters. They say that a cork mat is not only an interesting toy, but also a useful foot massager.
Children's rugs made from cork
First way
- rigid base made of plywood, chipboard or thick cardboard;
- glue;
- covers.
Everything is very simple. Lubricate the lids with glue and place them on the base. For reliability, press them with a heavy press, you can use books.
They are bright, colorful, retain color for a long time, durable and, most importantly, affordable.
To make the carpet brighter and more interesting, use the patterns offered on the Internet to create beautiful patterns or entire paintings.
They allow you to create any ornament, create exclusive pictures on benches and tables, etc.
Advice! Involve your friends in collecting caps, this will speed up the process. To make the search even more interesting, distribute the lids by color, let everyone collect lids of a certain color - arrange a competition.
Children will take up this with particular enthusiasm.
Crafts made from plastic bottle caps
If you get a device for drilling corks and a large amount of material, you can make not only a mat from corks, but also many other crafts. Thread curtains made from corks of different diameters look bright and presentable.
Thread curtains made from plastic bottle caps
Corks from plastic bottles are often used to make hot coasters. But why not make a whole tablecloth for the table?
Cork tablecloth
Your wall clock is broken, but the working mechanism remains? Original and beautiful watches can be made from plastic bottle caps.
Hours of traffic jams
Crafts made from plastic bottle caps sometimes create an entire interior using corks. In the next photo, a lampshade, a rug on the sofa, and a flower vase are made from them.
Plastic plugs in the interior
On the streets of European cities, traffic jams are turned into art objects. Such cork panels decorate the streets of many European cities.
Art objects on the streets
Our compatriots also liked this idea. The next photo shows a decorative panel made of corks on the playground and the author of this cute work.
Picture of traffic jams on the street
What kind of caps can I use?
Colored, white, large and small - almost all bottle caps are suitable for creating country crafts.
The main thing is to give free rein to your imagination.
You can your loved ones and friends in collecting
This material can be used in a wide variety of ways, and for this you need quite a lot of it.
Coasters for glasses and hot dishes, children's toys and rattles, country rugs and seats, lampshades and curtains, garden furniture - and this is only a small part of what can be made from plastic bottle caps. Next we will look at several master classes that can become a source of inspiration for you.
