How to Make a Rag Rug: A Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners and Beyond

There is something deeply satisfying about making a rag rug. You take fabric that might otherwise end up in a landfill — old jeans, worn-out bedsheets, outgrown children’s clothing, curtains that have seen better days — and you transform it into something beautiful, functional, and entirely your own. Rag rugs have been made for centuries across cultures and continents, born from the very human instinct to waste nothing and create something from everything. Today, that tradition is experiencing a genuine revival, and with good reason. Making your own rag rug is affordable, sustainable, beginner-friendly, and endlessly customizable.

Whether you want a bright, cheerful mat for your kitchen, a cozy round rug for a nursery, or a rustic statement piece for an entryway, this tutorial will walk you through everything you need to know. We will cover the different styles of rag rugs, the tools and materials you need, how to prepare your fabric strips, and detailed instructions for the most popular methods including braided, loomed, and crocheted rag rugs. By the end, you will have all the knowledge and confidence to make your very first rag rug — and probably several more after that.

Why Make a Rag Rug?

Before we get into technique, it is worth pausing to appreciate why so many crafters are drawn to this particular project.

Cost: Rag rugs are among the most affordable craft projects you can take on. If you use fabric you already own — which is the whole point — your material cost can be nearly zero. Even if you source fabric from thrift stores or fabric remnants, you can make a substantial rug for just a few dollars.

Sustainability: The environmental case for rag rugs is compelling. The fashion and textile industry produces enormous amounts of waste. By turning old clothing and household linens into rugs, you keep textiles out of landfills and give them a second life that could last for decades.

Creativity: There are no rigid rules about color or pattern when it comes to rag rugs. You can go monochromatic, create a rainbow striped design, work with a specific color palette to match your décor, or simply use whatever you have on hand and let the rug tell its own story.

Accessibility: Unlike some fiber crafts that require years of practice, rag rug making is genuinely accessible to beginners. The techniques are simple enough to learn in an afternoon, and the forgiving nature of thick fabric strips means small errors are invisible in the finished piece.

Choosing Your Rag Rug Style

The first decision you need to make is which type of rag rug you want to create. Each method has its own look, feel, and skill requirements, though all of them are well within reach of a motivated beginner.

Braided Rag Rugs are perhaps the most iconic. Long strips of fabric are braided together and then coiled or shaped into ovals, rounds, or rectangles. Braided rugs have a classic, country farmhouse feel and are extremely durable. They require no special tools — just your hands and a needle and thread or some coiling clips.

Loomed Rag Rugs are woven on a frame loom or a traditional loom. They produce a flat, woven texture with a clean, structured appearance. This method gives you the most control over pattern and stripe placement. Small frame looms are inexpensive and easy to build yourself, or you can purchase one ready-made.

Crocheted Rag Rugs use a large crochet hook to work fabric strips into rug form, just as you would crochet with yarn. If you already know how to crochet, this method will feel immediately familiar. The result is a chunky, textured rug with a handmade look that is both charming and cozy.

Twined or Knotted Rag Rugs involve knotting or twining fabric strips around a warp thread or rope base. These tend to be slightly more advanced techniques but produce beautiful, artisan-quality results.

For this tutorial, we will give detailed instructions for three of the most popular methods: braided, loomed, and crocheted. Start with whichever appeals to you most or best matches the fabric you have available.

Gathering Your Materials

Regardless of which method you choose, the material preparation process is largely the same.

What kinds of fabric work best?

Cotton is the gold standard for rag rugs. It is easy to cut, holds its shape, launders well, and softens beautifully with use and washing. Old cotton bedsheets, cotton t-shirts, cotton curtains, and cotton dish towels are all excellent choices.

Denim is another fantastic option, particularly for braided rugs. Old jeans cut into strips make incredibly durable rugs. The weight of denim means your rug will feel substantial underfoot.

Wool, while more expensive to source, is wonderful for rag rugs. It is naturally resilient, somewhat water-resistant, and creates a luxuriously soft finished product. Wool sweaters found at thrift stores can be felted first (run them through a hot wash cycle) and then cut into strips that will not fray at all.

Flannel and fleece are also popular because they are soft and do not ravel. Fleece in particular is forgiving and easy to work with.

What to avoid: Very stretchy knit fabrics can be tricky for loomed rugs (though they can work for braided and crocheted styles). Fabrics with embellishments like zippers, buttons, or heavy decorative stitching should have those elements removed before use. Very thin, delicate fabrics like silk or chiffon tend not to hold up well to the wear a rug receives.

How much fabric do you need?

This depends on the size of rug you want, but a general rule of thumb is that you need about one pound of fabric for every square foot of finished rug. A standard 2 x 3 foot bathmat will require roughly six pounds of fabric. A larger area rug (say, 4 x 6 feet) will need considerably more. It is always better to have more than you think you need.

Tools you will need:

For all methods, you will need sharp fabric scissors or a rotary cutter and cutting mat. A ruler or yardstick is helpful for cutting uniform strips. Beyond that, the tool requirements vary by method:

Braided rug: large-eye yarn needle (also called a tapestry needle), coiling clips or safety pins, and strong thread or cording for sewing the braid together.

Loomed rug: a frame loom or table loom, a shuttle or stick for passing the weft through, and a weaving comb or fork for beating the strips into place.

Crocheted rug: a large crochet hook (size N/15 or P/16 is typical for fabric strips), and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Preparing Your Fabric Strips

Cutting your fabric strips is the most time-consuming part of the process, but it is also meditative once you get into a rhythm. Put on a podcast or some music, settle in, and enjoy the process.

Standard strip width: For most rag rug projects, strips cut between 1 and 2 inches wide work well. Thicker fabric like denim can be cut narrower (around 3/4 inch to 1 inch). Lighter fabrics like cotton jersey or flannel should be cut wider (1.5 to 2 inches) so they have enough body. Experiment with a small test section before cutting all your fabric.

Cutting method one — straight cuts: Lay the fabric flat, mark your measurements, and cut parallel strips. This method is precise and works well for woven fabric like bedsheets and curtains.

Cutting method two — the continuous strip spiral: This is an incredibly clever technique that turns a rectangular piece of fabric into one very long continuous strip without any joining. Fold the rectangle slightly offset (not perfectly aligned at the top edge), cut parallel strips stopping about an inch from the edge to keep the piece intact, then unfold and cut diagonally between the offset strips. You end up with one long, unbroken strand of fabric. Watch a video demonstration of this technique if the written description is unclear — it is one of those things that becomes obvious the moment you see it done.

Joining strips: When you run out of one strip and need to add another, there are a few approaches. The simplest is to tie two strips together with a square knot and trim the tails. The knots will be hidden within the body of the rug. For a neater join, particularly with woven fabrics, you can cut a small slit near the end of each strip and loop them together in a lark’s head knot, which lies flat and is nearly invisible.

Pre-washing your fabric: If you are mixing fabrics that have not been washed before, or if you are concerned about colors running, wash and dry all your fabric before cutting. This also preshrinks everything so your finished rug will not change size or shape after its first wash.

Method One: How to Make a Braided Rag Rug

Braided rag rugs are timeless, durable, and require absolutely no special equipment. Here is how to make one.

Start by joining three long strips of fabric at one end. You can simply tie them together in a knot, or pin them to a heavy clipboard or door handle to give yourself something to work against. Braid the three strips together as you would braid hair — right strip over center, then left strip over center, repeat. Keep your braid firm and even but not so tight that the fabric bunches or distorts.

When you need to add new fabric, join it on with a knot or a lark’s head connector, staggering your joins so that all three strands do not need new fabric at the same time. This keeps the braid even in thickness.

Braid until you have a good length of braid built up — for a medium-sized oval rug, you will want many yards of braid, so it is worth braiding a large batch before you begin coiling.

To coil an oval rug, lay the beginning of your braid flat and begin coiling it. For an oval shape, fold the first section back on itself to create a short straight section (this determines how long your oval will be), then continue coiling around that initial fold. As you coil, use a large needle and strong thread, or a waxed linen cord, to whip-stitch or lace the adjacent rows of braid together. You can also purchase special coiling clips designed for this purpose that hold the rows together as you work.

Continue braiding and coiling until your rug reaches the desired size. When you are ready to finish, taper the end of each of your three strips to a point and braid those tapered ends so the braid gradually narrows. Tuck the final tip of the braid under the rug and stitch it down securely.

For a round rug, begin coiling from the very start of your braid into a tight circle rather than folding it into an oval. The principle is identical.

Method Two: How to Make a Loomed Rag Rug

A loomed rag rug requires a frame loom, but these are easy and cheap to make at home. Take a sturdy rectangular picture frame or build a simple frame from wood, and hammer small nails or screw in cup hooks at even intervals (about half an inch apart) along the top and bottom edges. This becomes your loom.

To set up the warp (the vertical threads that run the length of the loom), tie a length of strong cotton string, twine, or thin rope to the first hook at the top. Run it down to the first hook at the bottom, wrap around, come back up to the second hook at the top, wrap around, come back down, and so on. Pull the warp taut but not so tight that it bows the frame. This warp will form the skeleton of your rug.

To weave, cut or tear fabric strips into your prepared lengths. Take one strip and weave it horizontally through the warp threads — over one, under one, over one, under one — all the way across the loom. Push this strip gently down toward the bottom of the loom. For the next row, reverse the over-under pattern so the strip interlocks with the previous row. Use a weaving comb or a fork to beat each row down snugly before adding the next.

Join new strips by overlapping them by an inch or two within the row, tucking the ends to the back side of the rug where they will not be visible. Continue weaving row after row until you have filled the loom.

To remove the rug from the loom, carefully lift the warp loops off the hooks and tie them off in pairs with simple overhand knots to secure the weaving. Trim the knots to create a short fringe, or tuck and sew them under for a clean edge.

Method Three: How to Make a Crocheted Rag Rug

If you know how to crochet a chain and a single crochet stitch, you can make a crocheted rag rug. If you do not know how to crochet at all, those two stitches are all you need to learn and they can be picked up in about thirty minutes with a basic YouTube tutorial.

To make a round crocheted rug, start with a magic ring or a chain of four stitches joined into a circle. In round one, work about six single crochet stitches into the ring, then join with a slip stitch. In round two, work two single crochets into each stitch to increase, giving you twelve stitches. Continue working in rounds, increasing every few stitches to keep the work flat and circular. If the work cups upward, you are not increasing enough. If it ruffles and waves, you are increasing too much. The exact rate of increasing will depend on your tension and the thickness of your fabric strips.

To make a rectangular or oval crocheted rug, start with a foundation chain the length you want the shorter dimension of the finished rug to be. Work single crochets along one side of the chain, then work around the tip, and single crochet along the other side of the chain. This forms an oval. Continue working in rounds around the oval shape, increasing at the curved ends to keep the work flat.

Join new strips by crocheting over the tails for an inch or so to hide them, or tie strips together and let the knots sit on the back of the rug.

When your rug reaches the desired size, fasten off the last stitch, cut the fabric, and use a tapestry needle to weave in any remaining ends.

Caring for Your Rag Rug

Most rag rugs made from cotton or cotton blends can be machine washed on a gentle cycle in cold water. Place the rug in a mesh laundry bag to protect it. Tumble dry on low heat or lay flat to dry. Avoid high heat, which can cause braided or crocheted rugs to shrink or distort.

Denim and heavyweight rag rugs may be too large or dense for a home washing machine. Take these to a laundromat with a large-capacity machine, or spot-clean as needed.

Shake your rug out regularly and vacuum it occasionally to remove dirt and debris. If you have placed it in a high-traffic area, rotate it periodically so it wears evenly.

A non-slip rug pad placed underneath any rag rug will keep it safely in place and extend its life significantly.

Tips for a Beautiful Finished Rug

Plan your color palette in advance if you want a cohesive look, but do not stress too much about it. Some of the most beautiful rag rugs come from an entirely spontaneous, use-what-you-have approach.

Cut your strips as evenly as possible. Uniform strips produce a more polished finished result.

Do not be afraid to mix fabric weights within a single rug — denim alongside cotton jersey, for instance — but be aware that the denser fabric will dominate the texture.

Work with clean fabric. The finished rug will be much nicer if you start with freshly washed materials.

Take breaks. Cutting strips and braiding or weaving is physical work. Your hands and wrists will thank you for regular rest.

Display your rug with pride. Something you have made entirely from discarded fabric is a genuine achievement and a conversation piece.

Making a rag rug connects you to a long tradition of creative thrift and transforms something ordinary — a worn-out shirt, a faded curtain — into something that could last for generations. The first one you make might not be perfect, but it will be yours. And chances are, once you have laid that first hand-braided, hand-woven, or hand-crocheted rug on your floor and felt the satisfaction of standing on something you made yourself, it will not be your last.