Tutorial - Bathroom Floormat - knit (from repurposed curtains)

In our new residence, all bedroom windows have pretty wooden blinds, while in our old place, I had sewn and hung curtains in Aurelia's room.

What to do with these old curtains? I am not a fan of the 'throw-away' mentality (growing up in 80's Frankfurt/M. thanks to Joschka and the gang, made me become an environmentalista) and so was thinking about how to recycle these.

I decided to recycle Aurelia's curtains into a bathroom floormat for the master bathroom, which still needs some (errr complete) remodeling. With that, I am also deciding on the colors, hehe (in theory). While I love them, Robert doesn't dig aqua-tones ...

#1 Rip or cut the fabric in strips, I made mine about one inch wide. While cutting won't leave you with all those frail threats, ripping is WAY more fun. Rippah-dee-dooo-uh! Rippah-dee-yay, my oh my what a recycling day ... (ok, I will stop).

#2 Tie them all together at the ends, thus creating a 'fabric yarn ball'.

#3 Knit or crochet or weave. I used super-large knitting needles; they are size 19 ... They are a tad awkward to handle.

#4 Spread, damp, pin and let dry.

#5 Voila. New bathroom floormat. Note: I haven't done #4 yet but wanted to show how it looks ...

With this fabric-strip technique, you can also weave and crochet. I chose knitting because it is somewhat more airy and thus the final item not so heavy.

Need some inspiration as to what to make?

I have made this bathroom floormat, but am thinking to do a grocery tote next. For the tote, I recommend to knit with an airy ajour-pattern or crochet with a pattern from granny's doily patterns since with all that fabric the item will get heavy. On the other hand, pick a pattern that ensures that the tomatoes won't fall out.