How to Make Beautiful Rag Rug {& DIY T-shirt Yarn} – A Piece Of Rainbow
There is something deeply satisfying about turning a pile of old clothes into something you can walk on every single day. A rag rug made from repurposed fabric strips carries a kind of warmth that store-bought rugs simply cannot replicate — not just the warmth of texture and color, but the warmth of knowing you made it yourself from things that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill. This is one of those projects that rewards you twice: once with the meditative rhythm of making it, and again every time you step onto it in the morning.
In this guide, you will learn how to make a beautiful rag rug from scratch, starting with how to create your own DIY t-shirt yarn (sometimes called tarn) from old cotton tees. Whether you want to crochet, braid, or weave your rug, the foundational skill is the same — transforming flat fabric into long, workable strands. Once you understand that process, the creative possibilities are genuinely endless.
Let’s start at the very beginning.
What Is a Rag Rug, and Why Should You Make One?
Rag rugs have been made for centuries across many cultures, from Scandinavian woven floor coverings to braided oval rugs common in early American homes. The concept is elegantly simple: take fabric scraps or worn-out clothing, cut or tear them into strips, and work them into a durable floor covering. These rugs were born from necessity — nothing was wasted, and every scrap had a purpose.
Today, making a rag rug is as much about intention and creativity as it is about thrift. It is a wonderful way to honor clothes with sentimental value (a child’s outgrown shirts, a collection of faded band tees, soft old bedsheets) by transforming them into something new and lasting. It is also a genuinely beginner-friendly craft. You do not need an expensive loom or advanced crochet skills to make something beautiful. What you need is fabric, a little patience, and the willingness to experiment with color.
Materials You Will Need
Before diving into the how-to, gather your supplies. The beauty of this project is that most of what you need is probably already in your home.
For the T-shirt Yarn (Tarn):
You will need old cotton t-shirts in whatever colors you love. Jersey knit fabric works best because it has a natural stretch that causes the cut strips to curl in on themselves, creating a rounded, rope-like strand without any sewing. Cotton and cotton-blend shirts are ideal. Thick, heavyweight shirts give you chunkier, more substantial yarn, while thinner shirts produce finer strands. Aim to collect at least five to ten shirts for a small rug, and many more for a larger project.
Other materials include a pair of sharp fabric scissors or a rotary cutter with a self-healing mat, a ruler or cutting guide, and a flat surface to work on.
For the Rug Itself:
Depending on the method you choose, you will need either a large crochet hook (a size N/P or 15–20mm hook works well for chunky t-shirt yarn), a tapestry needle for finishing braided rugs, or a simple frame loom if you plan to weave. You will also want a non-slip rug pad for underneath the finished rug to keep it safely in place on hard floors.
How to Make DIY T-shirt Yarn
This is the foundation of the entire project, and it is genuinely one of the most satisfying preparation processes in all of crafting. Watching a plain old t-shirt transform into coils of colorful yarn is oddly magical.
Step 1: Prepare Your Shirt
Lay your t-shirt flat on a hard surface. Smooth out any wrinkles. Using your scissors, cut off the hem at the bottom of the shirt — that thick stitched band needs to go, as it will not cut or curl the same way as the rest of the fabric. Similarly, cut along the underarm seam to separate the body of the shirt from the sleeves. Set the sleeves aside; you can use those separately for thinner strips.
You are now left with a tube of fabric — the main body of the shirt, open at the top (neckhole) and bottom (where you cut off the hem).
Step 2: Make the Loop Cut
This is the clever part that lets you cut one continuous strand rather than lots of individual loops. Fold the tube of fabric almost in half, leaving about an inch of the back layer extending beyond the front layer. This offset is important.
Now cut horizontal strips across the fabric, working from the folded edge upward, cutting through both layers. Make your strips about three-quarters of an inch to one inch wide, depending on how thick you want your yarn. Here is the critical detail: stop cutting about one inch before you reach the offset edge. Do not cut all the way through. Every strip should remain attached at that edge.
When you unfold the tube, you will see that all the strips are connected at the back by that uncut section of fabric. This uncut column of fabric is your cutting guide for the final step.
Step 3: Connect the Strips into One Continuous Strand
Open the fabric tube so you are holding just that uncut column. Working diagonally, cut from the bottom of one strip to the top of the next, connecting them in a spiral pattern. This converts what would have been a series of separate loops into one single, continuous length of yarn.
As you cut, give each strip a gentle tug. The jersey fabric will curl inward, transforming a flat strip into a rounded, stretchy strand that behaves remarkably like commercial yarn. Roll the finished yarn into a ball as you go.
Repeat this process with all of your shirts, keeping colors separate or mixing them together deliberately to create gradient or marled effects.
Tips for Better T-shirt Yarn:
A wider strip (around one inch) gives you a chunkier yarn that works up quickly and is great for beginner crochet rugs. A narrower strip (half an inch) gives a finer yarn better suited for weaving or more intricate braiding patterns. If your strips snap when you tug them, your scissors may be dull — invest in a good pair of fabric scissors and they will make an enormous difference. Store your finished yarn balls in a basket or bag to keep colors organized and tangle-free.
Choosing Your Rug-Making Method
There are three main approaches to making a rag rug: crocheting, braiding, and weaving. Each has its own rhythm, its own look, and its own learning curve. Here is a brief guide to help you choose.
Crocheted Rag Rug
Crocheting is perhaps the most popular method for t-shirt yarn rugs because it is fast, forgiving, and produces a thick, cushioned fabric with lovely texture. Even if you have never crocheted before, the basic stitches needed for a round or oval rug can be learned in an afternoon. The large hook and chunky yarn mean you can see your progress almost instantly, which is enormously motivating.
Braided Rag Rug
Braiding is the oldest and simplest method. You braid three strands of fabric together, then coil the braid into an oval or round shape and stitch the coils together as you go. The result is a classic, folk-art-style rug with a beautiful textural pattern. No tools are required beyond your hands and a needle and thread. This method is wonderful for using fabric that is too short or thin to work up well as crochet yarn.
Woven Rag Rug
Weaving produces the most structured and even result, with a flat surface that works well in entryways and high-traffic areas. A simple frame loom can be made from a wooden picture frame or built from scrap wood, and the weaving process is wonderfully meditative — over, under, over, under — for hours on end. Woven rugs have a distinctly graphic quality that allows you to create striking stripes, plaids, and geometric patterns.
How to Crochet a Round Rag Rug
This is the method most people fall in love with first, so here is a detailed walkthrough.
Starting the Magic Ring
Begin with a magic ring (also called a magic loop or adjustable ring). Hold the end of your yarn between your fingers, wrap it around your fingers to form a loop, insert your hook through the loop, and pull up a new loop of yarn. Chain two stitches, then work six single crochet stitches into the ring. Pull the tail end of the yarn to tighten the ring closed. You have just made your first round — a small circle of six stitches.
Building the Circle
The secret to a flat, non-curling circular rug is a simple mathematical principle: each round, you increase the stitch count by six. In round two, work two single crochet stitches into each stitch around — you will have twelve stitches. In round three, alternate between one single crochet and an increase (two single crochets in one stitch) — you will have eighteen stitches. Continue this pattern, adding one additional plain stitch between increases in each new round.
If your rug starts to curl upward, you are not increasing enough. If it starts to ruffle and wave, you are increasing too much. A little adjustment in the number of increases will fix either problem. Because t-shirt yarn is thicker and stretchier than standard yarn, you may find you need to increase slightly more or fewer times than a typical crochet pattern suggests — trust your eyes over the numbers.
Changing Colors
One of the most exciting parts of making a rag rug is working with color. You can change colors at any point in the round by simply cutting the old yarn, leaving a six-inch tail, and joining the new color with a slip knot on your hook. Work the tails into the back of a few stitches to secure them. For smoother color transitions, pull the new color through on the last pull-through of the final stitch in the old color.
Consider planning a loose color scheme before you begin. A rag rug built from warm tones of rust, mustard, and cream has a very different personality than one built from cool blues and greens, or a riot of rainbow stripes. Laying your yarn balls out and looking at them together before you start can save you from color combinations you will regret midway through.
Finishing the Rug
When your rug has reached the size you want, cut the yarn and pull the tail through the last stitch to fasten off. Use a tapestry needle to weave in any remaining ends. Flip the rug over and take a look at the back — any loose tails can be hidden and secured with a few more passes of the needle through the fabric.
How to Braid a Rag Rug
Cut or tear your fabric into long strips about one to one-and-a-half inches wide. Safety-pin three strips together at one end and anchor them to something stable — the back of a chair, a doorknob, or a heavy book. Braid the three strips firmly and evenly, adding new strips by folding the end of the old strip over the beginning of the new strip and continuing to braid. The join will disappear into the braid as you work.
When your braid is long enough to begin coiling, fold one end back on itself slightly and begin stitching the coil together with a curved upholstery needle and strong thread, or with strips of matching fabric. Work through the edges of the braid on both sides of the join, pulling the stitches snug but not so tight that the rug puckers. Continue braiding and coiling, stitching as you go, until the rug reaches your desired size. Finish by tapering the final braid to a point and stitching it neatly to the edge of the rug.
Care and Maintenance of Your Rag Rug
Because rag rugs are made from cotton fabric, they are generally washable — which is one of their greatest practical advantages. For crocheted and braided t-shirt yarn rugs, machine washing on a gentle cycle in cool water is usually fine. Use a mild detergent and avoid high heat in the dryer, which can cause shrinkage and stress the seams of braided rugs. Air drying flat is always the safest option.
For woven rugs, check whether any of your fabric strips contain materials that might shrink differently than the others and wash accordingly.
Shake your rug out regularly to remove dust and debris. In high-traffic areas, rotating the rug every few months will help it wear evenly.
Ideas for Using and Displaying Your Rag Rug
A finished rag rug is a piece of functional art, and the places you can use it are limited only by your imagination. A round crocheted rug looks stunning in the center of a children’s bedroom, made from the colors of their favorite outgrown t-shirts. A long braided runner in earthy tones transforms a hallway. A small woven rug in the bathroom adds warmth and personality without overwhelming the space.
Rag rugs also make extraordinarily thoughtful gifts. A rug made from a loved one’s old clothes is a deeply personal present — imagine making a rug from a parent’s worn flannel shirts, or from the sports jerseys a teenager has grown out of. The material memory woven into every strand gives the finished object a meaning that no purchased gift can match.
The Joy of Making Something From Nothing
There is a particular quality to handmade things that mass-produced objects simply cannot replicate. The slight irregularities in a crocheted rug, the gentle color shifts in a braided one, the unique texture that comes from using fabric that was once something else entirely — these are not flaws. They are the evidence of a human hand, of time spent, of care given.
Making a rag rug is also a quiet act of sustainability. Every shirt that becomes yarn is a shirt that does not end up in a landfill. Every evening spent braiding or crocheting is an evening not spent consuming. The result is something durable, beautiful, and entirely your own.
So pull out those bags of old clothes you have been meaning to donate or discard. Cut them into strips. Curl them into yarn. And make something that will last on your floor for years, carrying the colors of everything it once was.
That is what a rag rug is, at its heart — not just a thing you walk on, but a small piece of your own history, remade into something new.
