games

don't junk it - use it

For readers new to the "Don't Junk It - Use It" concept, this is the column that justifies your decision never to throw anything away. For older readers, the first line of today's design may help to explain what I have been doing for the past few months.

1. First, drink 172 bottles of wine, having taken care when extracting their corks (ideally with a "butler's friend" type of cork fork), and assemble the corks.

2. Drill holes through their centres.

3. String the corks together in lines. As corks come in different sizes, check to ensure your lines are all the same length. Leave a little space between each pair of corks and put a figure of eight knot at each end of the line to stop the corks sliding off.

4. Using fresh pieces of string, tie double half-hitches between the corks to tie the lines together.

5. Untie the figure-of-eight knots and attach a string border to the outside of the mat, as plain or fancy as you wish.