9 Ways to Make a Rag Rug You’ll Want to Try!
There’s something deeply satisfying about turning a pile of old clothes, worn-out sheets, and fabric scraps into something beautiful that lives on your floor for years. Rag rugs are one of the oldest and most beloved forms of textile upcycling, and the techniques for making them are as varied as the fabrics you can use. Whether you’re a complete beginner looking for a weekend project or an experienced crafter ready to try something new, there’s a rag rug method here for you.
The best part? You don’t need to spend a fortune on materials. In fact, the whole point is to use what you already have. Old t-shirts, flannel pajamas, denim jeans, cotton bed sheets, wool sweaters — all of it can find a second life under your feet. So gather your fabric stash, clear some space, and let’s explore nine fantastic ways to make a rag rug that you’ll actually be proud to display in your home.
What Is a Rag Rug and Why Should You Make One?
Before we dive into the methods, let’s talk about what makes rag rugs so appealing. A rag rug is simply a rug made from strips of fabric rather than traditional yarn or fiber. The tradition dates back hundreds of years, when frugal households refused to let even the smallest scrap of usable cloth go to waste. Worn-out clothing was cut into strips, braided, woven, or looped together to create functional floor coverings that could handle heavy foot traffic.
Today, making rag rugs has come roaring back as part of the slow living and upcycling movement. Instead of buying fast fashion or discarding old textiles in a landfill, crafters are choosing to transform them into something useful and unique. Every rag rug tells a story — that blue denim might have been your favorite pair of jeans, those floral strips might be from a summer dress you wore for years, and that soft gray jersey could be your kid’s outgrown t-shirt collection.
Beyond the sentimentality, rag rugs are durable, customizable, and surprisingly easy to make once you learn the basics.
Preparing Your Fabric: The Foundation of Every Method
No matter which technique you choose, preparing your fabric properly makes the entire process smoother. Here’s how to get your materials ready.
Start by sorting your fabric by weight. Lightweight fabrics like t-shirt jersey and thin cotton work well together, while heavier materials like denim and upholstery fabric pair better with similarly weighted pieces. Mixing wildly different weights can result in a rug that looks uneven or feels lumpy underfoot.
To cut fabric into strips, you have a few options. For woven fabrics like cotton sheets or linen, you can make a small snip at the edge and simply tear the fabric across the grain — it tears in a perfectly straight line and saves you a lot of cutting time. For knit fabrics like t-shirts, you’ll want to use scissors or a rotary cutter. T-shirt strips are particularly magical because when you pull them, they curl in on themselves, creating a soft, rope-like tube of fabric that works beautifully in almost any rag rug technique.
A standard strip width is about one inch, but this varies depending on the method and the weight of your fabric. Thinner fabric can be cut wider, around 1.5 to 2 inches. Thicker fabric like denim should be cut narrower, around half an inch to three-quarters of an inch. You’ll develop a feel for this quickly as you work.
To join strips, you can either tie them together in a simple knot (which adds texture), overlap them and sew a diagonal seam (which gives a smooth join), or loop the end of one strip through a small slit cut in the next strip and pull it through (the classic fabric connection used in many rag rug traditions).
Now let’s get into the nine methods!
1. Braided Rag Rug
Braided rag rugs are probably the most iconic style, and for good reason — they’re straightforward, require zero special tools, and produce a gorgeous, sturdy result. You simply braid three fabric strips together, then coil and sew the braid into an oval or circular rug.
To start, fold three long fabric strips lengthwise so the raw edges are tucked inside (this makes the braid look neater). Secure one end to something sturdy — a door handle, a clamp, or just have a friend hold it — and braid away. Keep your tension as even as possible.
Once you have a braid long enough to start coiling, lay it flat on a surface and begin stitching the coils together using a curved upholstery needle and strong thread, or even strips of the same fabric laced through the edges. The key to keeping the rug flat is to ease the braid around each curve without pulling too tight. Add a little extra braid at each turn so the rug doesn’t cup or curl upward.
Braided rugs work best with sturdy fabrics and are excellent for high-traffic areas like entryways and kitchens.
2. Locker Hooking
Locker hooking is one of those techniques that sounds intimidating but becomes almost meditative once you get going. You work on a stiff mesh canvas (often called rug canvas or latch hook canvas, available at craft stores), pulling loops of fabric up through the holes and then “locking” them in place with a cord or yarn that runs through the loops using a special locker hook tool.
The result is a flat, tightly packed rug with a beautiful, textured surface that looks almost woven. You can create precise patterns and designs with locker hooking because you’re essentially working on a grid. Geometric patterns, simple pictures, even text — it’s all achievable.
Cut your fabric strips into lengths of about 12 to 18 inches, roughly one inch wide. Using the locker hook, push down through a canvas hole, catch the fabric strip, and pull a loop up to the surface. The locking cord runs through those loops continuously, holding everything in place. Work row by row across the canvas, and finish the edges by folding the canvas border over and stitching it down.
This method is particularly satisfying for color-lovers because the grid structure makes it easy to plan out color sequences and patterns before you begin.
3. Latch Hooking
Similar to locker hooking but with a slightly different tool and technique, latch hooking creates a wonderfully plush, shaggy rug. Instead of continuous loops locked in place, you’re knotting short individual strips of fabric around the threads of a mesh canvas.
Cut your fabric into uniform short strips — about 3 to 4 inches long is typical. Fold a strip in half over your latch hook tool, push the hook down through a canvas hole (and the hole diagonally above it), catch both ends of the strip and pull them through the loop created by the fold, then pull tight to create a knot. Repeat this across the entire canvas.
The finished rug has a full, carpet-like texture and is incredibly soft underfoot when you use jersey fabric strips. It takes more fabric than some other methods, but the result is worth it. This technique is wonderful for bath mats, bedroom rugs, or anywhere you want something with a little cushiony pile.
4. Woven Rag Rug on a Frame Loom
If you want to channel your inner fiber artist, weaving a rag rug on a frame loom is endlessly satisfying. You don’t need a fancy floor loom — a simple rectangular frame loom made from wood or even a sturdy picture frame works perfectly for smaller rugs. For a larger rug, you can build or buy a simple inkle or frame loom sized to your needs.
Set up your loom with a strong warp — cotton twine or strong string stretched from one end of the frame to the other creates the structure of your rug. Then you weave your fabric strips over and under the warp threads in a simple tabby weave (over one, under one). Use a comb or your fingers to pack each row tightly down against the previous one.
Woven rugs have a beautiful flat, firm structure and a distinctly handcrafted look. You can create stripes simply by changing the color of your fabric strips between rows. More adventurous weavers can experiment with twill patterns or other weave structures for more complex textures.
When you finish weaving, remove the rug from the loom and secure the warp ends by tying them off or knotting them into the edge of the rug. Woven rugs lay flat naturally and hold up exceptionally well over time.
5. T-Shirt Yarn Crochet Rug
If you already know how to crochet, making a rag rug from t-shirt yarn is one of the fastest and most satisfying projects you can tackle. T-shirt yarn (also called “tarn”) is made by cutting old t-shirts into continuous strips that curl into a soft, stretchy yarn-like material.
To make t-shirt yarn, lay a t-shirt flat, cut off the hem and the top section with the sleeves, then cut the remaining tube of fabric in a continuous spiral to create one long strip. Pull the strip gently and it will curl into a round, yarn-like cord.
Using a large crochet hook (a size N or P hook works well, or even larger for a more open texture), simply crochet in the round using basic stitches like single crochet or slip stitch. The trick to keeping the rug flat is to increase your stitch count as you work outward — if it starts to cup up, add more increases; if it starts to ruffle, reduce them.
T-shirt crochet rugs are soft, washable, and come together quickly because of the thick material. A morning’s worth of crocheting can yield a beautiful bathroom mat or small accent rug.
6. Knitted Rag Rug
Yes, you can knit a rag rug! Using the same t-shirt yarn or fabric strips described above, a basic garter stitch knitted rug (where you knit every row) creates a wonderfully squishy, textured mat. Use large needles — US size 17 or larger — to keep the tension relaxed and the fabric manageable.
Knitted rag rugs are typically made in long rectangles, which makes them perfect for hallway runners or kitchen mats. Simply cast on the number of stitches needed for your desired width and knit row after row until the rug reaches the length you want. Cast off and weave in the ends.
For a more interesting texture, try a simple seed stitch (alternating knit and purl stitches in a pattern) or ribbing. Stripes are effortless with this method — just switch fabric colors whenever you feel like it, and the stripes show up beautifully in the finished rug.
7. Twined Rag Rug
Twining is an ancient textile technique that predates modern weaving, and it creates a remarkably durable, dense rug. It requires no special equipment — just your hands, a simple frame or cardboard loom, and plenty of fabric strips.
Like a woven rug, you start with a warp. Then instead of weaving a single weft strip over and under, you work with two strips simultaneously. You hold one strip in front of a warp thread and one behind, then twist them around each other between each warp thread so they constantly change positions. This twisting is what gives twined fabric its characteristic look and incredible strength.
Twined rugs have a beautiful geometric texture and are extremely hard-wearing. They also don’t require you to maintain perfect over-under weaving rhythm, which some beginners find easier. The hands-on nature of twining makes it a wonderfully tactile craft that keeps you engaged throughout the process.
8. Proddy (Shaggy) Rag Rug
The proddy technique comes from the traditional rug-making traditions of northern England and Scotland, and it creates a wonderfully shaggy, colorful rug that’s been making a big comeback in the upcycling community. All you need is burlap or hessian fabric as your base, a proddy tool (or a sturdy crochet hook or even a clothespin cut and shaped), and lots of fabric strips.
Cut your fabric into short rectangles, roughly one inch by three inches. Using your proddy tool, push both ends of a fabric strip down through the same hole in the burlap (or through two holes very close together), creating a small loop of fabric that sticks up on the surface of the rug. Continue covering the burlap densely with these prodded loops, working from the center outward or in rows.
The finished rug looks like a lush, fluffy field of fabric tufts, similar to a traditional hooked rug but made from fabric scraps rather than yarn. The variation in color and texture when you use many different fabrics together creates a wonderfully eclectic, folk-art look that’s both charming and unique. Back the finished rug with a non-slip fabric or rug backing to keep everything in place.
9. No-Sew Knotted Rag Rug
This last method is perhaps the most accessible of all because it genuinely requires no tools, no sewing, and no special skills. It’s a wonderful project to make with kids, and it comes together faster than almost any other rag rug technique.
You’ll need a piece of sturdy mesh — rubber shelf liner with large holes works perfectly, as does plastic canvas or even a section of hardware cloth. Cut your fabric into strips roughly one inch wide and six to eight inches long.
Push one strip halfway through a hole in the mesh and tie the two ends in a simple knot on the surface, or fold the strip in half, push the fold through the hole from the back, and pull the two loose ends through the loop to create a lark’s head knot. Continue filling every hole of the mesh with knotted fabric strips until the entire surface is covered.
The result is a delightfully shaggy, colorful rug that has real personality. You can create patterns by placing colors intentionally, or simply mix everything randomly for a charming, scrappy look. The mesh backing keeps the rug stable, and no single strand needs to be secured to another — the knots simply hold themselves in place.
Tips for Making Your Rag Rug Last
Whatever method you choose, a few good habits will extend the life of your finished rug considerably. Always use a non-slip rug pad or backing underneath your rug, especially on hardwood or tile floors. Most rag rugs can be machine washed on a gentle cycle in cold water, but always air dry rather than putting them in the dryer, as heat can cause braided or crocheted rugs to distort.
If your rug starts to show wear in a particular spot, don’t despair — the modular nature of most rag rug techniques means you can often work in new fabric strips to repair worn areas. A braided rug can have its outer braid replaced; a locker hooked rug can have individual sections redone.
Store extra fabric strips in a basket near your work so you can add to the rug over time. Many rug makers keep a project going for months, adding new sections as more fabric becomes available. There’s no rush, and there’s no such thing as too many strips.
The Beauty of Making Something from Nothing
At the heart of every rag rug is a simple, radical act: choosing not to throw something away. When you sit down with a pile of worn-out shirts and outgrown jeans and turn them into a beautiful, functional object, you’re participating in a tradition that stretches back through centuries of human ingenuity and resourcefulness.
Each of these nine methods offers its own rhythm, its own texture, and its own kind of satisfaction. Some are fast and tactile; others are slow and meditative. Some require tools; others need only your hands. But they all share the same magic — the transformation of the discarded into the treasured.
So pull out that bag of old clothes you’ve been meaning to deal with, pick a technique that speaks to you, and get started. Your floors — and your fabric stash — will thank you.
