How to Make a Braided Rug From Old Jeans (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

If you’ve been staring at a pile of worn-out jeans wondering what to do with them, this project is your answer. Making a braided rug from old denim is one of the most satisfying upcycling projects you can take on — it costs almost nothing, produces zero waste, and results in a thick, durable rug that can last for years. Denim is one of the toughest fabrics around, which makes it perfect for a floor rug that has to stand up to foot traffic, pets, and everyday life.

This tutorial walks you through every step, from cutting your jeans into strips all the way to finishing the edges of a completed rug. Whether you’ve braided hair before or you’re brand new to fiber crafts, you’ll find this process straightforward and genuinely enjoyable. No sewing machine is required for the basic version, though we’ll talk about how to use one if you have access to it.

Let’s get into it.

Why Make a Braided Rug From Jeans?

Before we get into the how, it’s worth understanding why denim is such an excellent rug-making material.

Denim is woven tightly, which means it holds its shape well when cut into strips. Unlike a soft jersey knit, denim doesn’t stretch out and become distorted under tension. It’s also remarkably durable — a pair of jeans can survive years of washing, sitting, and wear, and that same toughness translates directly to a rug. Denim braided rugs are known for being nearly indestructible in regular household settings.

There’s also the environmental side of things. Millions of pairs of jeans end up in landfills every year. Turning them into something useful is a genuinely meaningful act of repurposing, and it doesn’t require buying any new materials. If you don’t have enough jeans yourself, thrift stores sell denim by the pound, and neighbors and family members are usually happy to donate their old pairs.

Finally, there’s the aesthetic. Denim comes in a beautiful range of blues, from nearly white to almost black, and many jeans have fade patterns, patches, or worn areas that add visual texture to the finished rug. You can also mix in other denim colors — black, gray, or colored denim — to create patterns and visual interest.

What You’ll Need

Getting your materials together before you start will make the process much smoother. Here’s a complete list of what you’ll need.

Materials:

You’ll need somewhere between 4 and 10 pairs of jeans depending on the size of the rug you want to make. A small accent rug (roughly 18 by 30 inches) takes about 4 to 5 pairs. A larger area rug (around 3 by 4 feet) will require 8 to 10 pairs or more. When in doubt, gather more denim than you think you need — you can always set some aside, but running short mid-project is frustrating.

Tools:

A good pair of fabric scissors is essential. Denim is thick, and dull scissors will make your hands tired quickly. If you have a rotary cutter and self-healing cutting mat, those tools will speed up the strip-cutting process considerably and give you cleaner edges.

You’ll also need a ruler or measuring tape, a few large safety pins or binder clips to hold strips together while you work, and a blunt tapestry needle for the finishing and joining steps. If you plan to sew the rug together rather than hand-stitch it, a heavy-duty sewing machine needle (size 16 or 18) is ideal for denim.

Optional but helpful: a seam ripper for removing belt loops and pockets, and a marker or chalk for measuring strips before cutting.

Step 1: Prepare Your Jeans

The first step is to break down your jeans into usable fabric. Start by laying each pair flat on a work surface.

Use your scissors or seam ripper to remove the waistband, belt loops, and any thick seams along the inseam and outer seam. These seams are multiple layers of reinforced stitching and they’ll create lumpy, uneven strips that are difficult to braid. Removing them gives you flat, workable panels of fabric.

Cut off the waistband straight across, then cut up both side seams so that you end up with two separate tubes of fabric — a front panel and a back panel for each leg, plus the main body of the jeans. You don’t need to be perfectly precise here; close enough is fine.

Lay each panel flat and cut away any remaining hemming from the cuffs. Once you have flat panels, you’re ready to cut your strips.

Step 2: Cut Your Denim Into Strips

This is the most time-consuming part of the project, but it’s also meditative once you get into a rhythm.

For a traditional braided rug, cut your denim into strips that are 1.5 to 2 inches wide. Narrower strips (1.5 inches) create a finer braid; wider strips (2 inches) create a chunkier, more rustic look. Both work beautifully. Just be consistent with your width throughout the project so your braid stays even.

Cut across the width of each fabric panel, parallel to the original hem, working your way up each panel. You’ll get strips of varying lengths depending on which part of the jeans they came from — leg strips tend to be shorter, while strips from the main body of the jeans will be longer.

Don’t discard the shorter strips. You’ll be joining strips together as you work, so length variation is completely manageable.

Once all your strips are cut, sort them by color if you want to plan a pattern, or leave them mixed if you prefer a random, patchwork look.

Step 3: Join Your Strips Into Long Strands

To braid continuously without stopping to add new fabric, you’ll want to join your short strips into longer strands before you start.

The simplest method is the slit-and-pull join, which requires no sewing at all. To do this, cut a small slit about half an inch from the end of each strip. When you want to join two strips, feed the end of the new strip through the slit in the old strip, then feed the other end of the new strip back through its own slit and pull snug. This creates a flat, secure knot-like connection that hides inside the braid. It’s quick, strong, and completely invisible in the finished rug.

Alternatively, you can sew strips end-to-end with a diagonal seam (also called a bias join) to reduce bulk. Place two strip ends right sides together at a right angle, sew diagonally from corner to corner, then trim the excess fabric. This gives an even flatter join than the slit-and-pull method.

Whichever method you choose, join your strips into three long strands before you start braiding. Aim for each strand to be at least 6 to 8 feet long to start; you can add more as you go.

Step 4: Begin Braiding

Now the real magic begins. Secure the three strands together at one end by tying them in an overhand knot or clamping them together with a binder clip. Attach them to something stable — a door handle, a chair leg, or a hook — so that the strands are under slight tension while you braid. This makes the process much easier and keeps your braid consistent.

Braid the three strands together just as you would braid hair: right strand over center, then left strand over the new center, and repeat. Keep the tension firm and consistent. The braid should be tight but not stiff — you want it to remain flexible enough to coil.

As you run out of fabric on any strand, add a new strip using your chosen joining method. Try to stagger your joins so that no two joins fall at the same point in the braid at the same time; this prevents weak spots and lumpy sections.

Keep braiding until you have a long, continuous rope of braided denim. For a small rug, you’ll need about 15 to 20 feet of braid. For a larger rug, you may need 40 feet or more. It’s fine to braid as you go rather than making all your braid upfront.

Step 5: Coil and Join the Braid

Once you have enough braid to start shaping your rug, it’s time to coil it and join the rows together. This is where your rug takes its final shape.

For an oval rug — the most traditional shape for a braided rug — start with a straight section of braid and fold it back on itself, creating a U-shape. The length of this initial straight section determines how elongated your oval will be. A 6-inch straight section gives a nearly round rug; a 12-inch section gives a more elongated oval.

From here, coil the braid around the initial straight section, stitching adjacent rows together as you go. Use your blunt tapestry needle and a length of strong thread, twine, or thin cord to lace together the loops of adjacent rows. Don’t pull too tight — you want the rug to lie flat, not pucker. Some rug makers use a waxed linen thread for this step, which glides through the braid easily and is extremely durable.

The lacing stitch is simple: push your needle through a loop on the outer braid, then through the corresponding loop on the inner braid, and pull gently. Alternate sides as you work around the coil. The joining should be nearly invisible in the finished rug.

As you work around the curves at each end of the oval, you’ll need to be a little more generous with how many loops you skip — this is what allows the braid to curve without buckling. If your rug starts to cup upward or ripple, ease up on the tension and allow a bit more slack in the curves.

For a round rug, simply start by coiling the braid in a circle from the very beginning, stitching as you go. The technique is the same; you’re just working in a circle instead of an oval.

Step 6: Keep Building and Adding Braid

Continue braiding and coiling, adding to the circumference of your rug row by row. The rug will grow quickly once it’s a few rows in because each new row is longer than the last.

This is also a good point to step back and check that your rug is lying flat. Place it on the floor periodically and press it down. If it lies perfectly flat, your tension is right. If it cups in the center, your inner joins are too tight. If the edges ruffle and the center pops up, your outer joins are too tight. Small adjustments now will save you from problems later.

This is also where any planned color patterns come into play. If you want to create concentric rings of different denim shades, switch to a new color strand at the beginning of a row. Since the braid itself is made of three strands, you can also create a subtler effect by introducing a new color in just one of the three strands.

Step 7: Finish the Edges

When your rug has reached the size you want, it’s time to finish the end of the braid cleanly so the rug doesn’t unravel.

Taper the end of your braid by gradually narrowing it. You can do this by trimming each of your three strands down to a point, so that the braid becomes thinner and thinner over the last several inches. Braid the tapered end out as far as it will go, then fold it under the edge of the rug and stitch it down securely on the back side.

If the end is lumpy or obvious, you can conceal it further by hand-stitching it flat against the previous row of braid. From the front, the ending should be nearly undetectable.

Tips for a Better Finished Rug

A few extra pointers that can make a real difference in the quality of your finished rug.

Pre-washing your jeans before cutting them is a good idea if the denim hasn’t been washed recently. This prevents any shrinkage in the finished rug later on, and it also removes any stiffness in older jeans.

Keeping your strips folded inward as you braid — so the raw edges are tucked inside — gives the braid a cleaner, more finished look. This takes practice and is easiest with slightly wider strips (closer to 2 inches). Many experienced rug braiders fold each strip in thirds lengthwise before braiding, essentially creating a fabric rope. This hides all raw edges completely and gives the braid a rounder, more polished appearance.

If you want extra durability, run a thin bead of fabric glue along the joined edges before you stitch them together. This is overkill for most household use, but it’s worth doing if the rug will be in a high-traffic area.

To clean your finished rug, shake it outside and spot-clean as needed. For a deeper clean, most denim braided rugs can go through a gentle machine wash cycle in cold water. Lay flat or hang to dry rather than putting it in the dryer, which can distort the shape over time.

Variations and Creative Ideas

Once you’ve made your first rug, you might find yourself looking at old jeans differently forever. There are a number of creative directions you can take this project.

Mixing denim with other fabric strips — old flannel shirts, cotton sheets, canvas tote bags — adds texture and color variety. Lighter fabrics braid slightly differently than denim, so it’s worth experimenting with a short test braid before committing.

Adding a non-slip backing is a practical upgrade that makes a huge difference in safety, especially on hard floors. Cut a piece of non-slip rug pad material to fit the back of your rug and either hand-stitch it around the edges or use fabric adhesive to attach it.

Making a matching set — a large area rug and a smaller doormat or bathmat — gives your home a cohesive, intentional look that feels genuinely designed rather than improvised.

You can also use the same braiding technique to make other items: trivets for hot dishes, coasters, or even a braided basket if you stiffen the sides with heavier stitching as you work up from the base.

Final Thoughts

Making a braided rug from old jeans is the kind of project that rewards patience and produces something genuinely beautiful and functional. It’s a craft with deep roots — braided rugs were made by American families for centuries as a way of repurposing every scrap of worn-out clothing — and there’s something meaningful about connecting with that tradition using the most ubiquitous garment of modern life.

The process is forgiving enough for beginners but engaging enough to hold the interest of experienced crafters. Each rug you make will be entirely unique, shaped by the specific jeans you used, the pattern you chose, and the hands that made it. When you lay it down on the floor of your home, you’ll know exactly what it’s made of and how it got there, and that’s a feeling that a store-bought rug simply can’t replicate.

So gather up those old jeans, clear some space on your table, and start cutting. Your next favorite rug is already in your closet, waiting to be made.