When designing with rags, I usually make a plan, a blue print, to follow as I go, based on the amounts of weft I have. Using recycled materials means I sometimes have really limited resources as far as color choice goes, but I still want to make things that look good, right!! When weaving I often use two thirds of recycled textiles and one third of industrially produced weft; of course preferrably from recycled cotton too. The reason for this is mainly esthetic; if I have som