DIY Rag Rug by Gemma Cooper: How to Make a Beautiful Handmade Rug from Old Fabric
There is something deeply satisfying about turning a pile of old clothes and fabric scraps into something genuinely beautiful for your home. A handmade rag rug sits somewhere between functional craft and folk art — it is sustainable, personal, and surprisingly simple once you understand the basic technique. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make your very own DIY rag rug, from choosing your materials to finishing your final row, with all the tips and tricks I have picked up along the way.
Whether you are a complete beginner who has never picked up a crochet hook or a seasoned maker looking for a new weekend project, this tutorial is written for you. By the end, you will have a stunning handmade rug that you can be proud of — and the best part is that it costs almost nothing if you work with fabric you already own.
What Is a Rag Rug and Why Should You Make One?
A rag rug is exactly what the name suggests: a rug made from strips of old fabric, often called “rags.” The tradition of making rag rugs goes back centuries, with roots in Scandinavia, North America, and across the British Isles, where nothing was wasted and even the most worn-out textiles were given a second life. Today, rag rug making has experienced a wonderful revival as more people look for ways to slow down, reduce waste, and add handmade charm to their homes.
Making your own rag rug is one of the most eco-friendly craft projects you can take on. Instead of buying a mass-produced rug made in a factory from synthetic materials, you are working with fabric that already exists. Old T-shirts, worn-out bed sheets, curtains that no longer fit your windows, denim from jeans that have seen better days — all of this can be transformed into something both beautiful and useful.
Beyond the environmental benefits, there is the sheer joy of the making itself. Rag rug making is rhythmic and meditative. Once you get into a flow, it is the kind of craft you can do while listening to a podcast or sitting by the fire on a quiet evening. And the moment you lay your finished rug on the floor for the first time, the pride you feel is completely worth every hour you put in.
Choosing Your Fabric: What Works Best for a Rag Rug
The fabric you choose will have a significant impact on both how easy your rug is to make and how it looks and feels when finished. Here is what you need to know before you start cutting.
Jersey and Knit Fabrics
Old T-shirts and jersey fabrics are absolutely ideal for rag rug making, and they are my personal favourite material to work with. Jersey is stretchy, which means it curls naturally when cut into strips, creating a thick, rope-like strand that is easy to work with and produces a beautifully chunky, plush rug. Because jersey does not fray, you do not need to worry about finishing your edges. If you cut through the body of an old T-shirt in horizontal strips, you will get long continuous loops that work perfectly for crocheted or braided rugs.
Cotton Sheeting and Pillowcases
Old cotton bed sheets and pillowcases are another fantastic choice. They tend to be softer underfoot than denim and come in a wide variety of colours and patterns, which means your rug can be as bold and graphic or as subtle and tonal as you like. Cotton sheeting does fray, so if you are weaving your rug rather than crocheting it, just bear that in mind and allow a little extra width in your strips.
Denim
Denim makes for an incredibly durable rag rug and gives a wonderful rustic, textural quality. Old jeans are the obvious source, and because denim is so hardwearing, a rug made with denim will last for years, even in high-traffic areas like hallways. Cutting denim does take a little more effort than cutting jersey, so make sure your scissors are sharp. Mixing denim with lighter jersey fabrics can give your rug a really lovely contrast in texture.
What to Avoid
Very slippery fabrics like satin or silk are tricky to work with and tend not to hold their shape well in a finished rug. Anything with a lot of elastic woven through it can also be difficult to cut and work with consistently. Very thick materials like upholstery fabric or heavy wool can work, but they are harder to manoeuvre, especially for beginners.
Colour Planning
Before you start cutting, lay your fabrics out and think about your colour story. Do you want a rug that uses a single colour family in varying shades? A bold geometric pattern? A scrappy, anything-goes look that celebrates every colour you have? There is no wrong answer, but having a loose plan before you start will help you feel more confident as you go.
Tools and Equipment You Will Need
One of the things I love most about rag rug making is how little equipment it requires. You almost certainly have most of what you need already.
For a crocheted rag rug, which is the method I will walk you through in this tutorial, you will need a large crochet hook. I recommend a size 12mm or 15mm hook for working with fabric strips — anything smaller will make the work finer and slower. You can find chunky crochet hooks at most craft shops or online for just a few pounds.
You will also need a good pair of fabric scissors. Sharp scissors make all the difference when cutting your strips, so if yours are a bit blunt, now is a good time to sharpen or replace them. A rotary cutter and cutting mat can speed up the process significantly if you have access to them, but they are absolutely not essential.
A tape measure or ruler is helpful for cutting consistent strip widths, though after a while you will get an eye for it. And finally, a large darning needle or tapestry needle is useful for weaving in ends when you finish.
Preparing Your Fabric Strips
This is the step that takes the most time, but it is also strangely satisfying. Put on your favourite playlist, pour yourself a cup of tea, and settle in for a good cutting session.
How Wide Should Your Strips Be?
For a chunky, textured rug worked with a 15mm hook, I recommend cutting your strips approximately 2 to 3 centimetres wide. If you are using very lightweight fabric like thin cotton sheeting, you might want to go slightly wider — around 3 to 4 centimetres — to give your strips a bit more body. For denim or thicker fabrics, 2 centimetres is usually sufficient.
How to Cut T-Shirt Strips
Lay your T-shirt flat on a table and cut off the hem at the bottom. Then cut horizontally across the body of the shirt in strips of your chosen width, stopping about 2 centimetres before the side seam each time so that you end up with a series of loops rather than separate rings. Once you have cut all your strips, you can link them together by cutting a small slit in one end of each loop, threading the next loop through, and then pulling the rest of the second loop through its own slit to create a knot-free join. This is sometimes called the “T-shirt yarn” method, and it creates a long, continuous strand that is perfect for crocheting.
Joining Strips of Flat Fabric
For flat fabrics like sheeting or denim, cut your strips in long lengths, then join them end to end using a simple diagonal seam. To do this, overlap the ends of two strips at right angles, stitch a diagonal line across the overlap (by hand or machine), and then trim the excess. This creates a join that lies flat within your work and is much less bulky than a straight seam.
How Much Fabric Do You Need?
This is one of the most common questions, and the honest answer is that it varies depending on your rug size, your hook size, and how tightly you work. As a rough guide, a small circular rug of about 50 centimetres in diameter will use approximately 500 grams to 1 kilogram of fabric strips. A larger rug measuring around 90 centimetres by 60 centimetres will likely need 2 to 3 kilograms. It is always better to have more than you need, so gather as much fabric as you can before you start and sort it into colour groups.
How to Crochet a Round Rag Rug: Step-by-Step
The circular crocheted rag rug is one of the most popular styles for good reason. It works up quickly, looks beautiful, and the round format means you never have to worry about keeping your rows perfectly straight. This method uses only two basic stitches: a chain and a double crochet (UK terminology), which is known as a single crochet in American terminology. I will be using UK terms throughout.
Starting Your Magic Ring
Make a loop with your fabric strip, leaving about a 15-centimetre tail. Insert your hook through the loop, hook your working strip, and pull it through to create a slip knot. This is your first loop on the hook.
Now make 6 chain stitches. Join these chains into a ring by working a slip stitch into the very first chain you made. You now have a small circle of chains — this is your starting ring.
Round One
Work 12 double crochet stitches into the centre of your ring, placing your hook through the hole in the middle each time rather than into individual chain stitches. When you have worked all 12 stitches, join the round with a slip stitch into the top of the first double crochet. You should have a small, flat rosette shape.
Round Two
In every round from here, you will be increasing stitches to keep your work flat and prevent it from curling up into a bowl shape. The rule is simple: work 2 double crochet stitches into every single stitch in this round. This doubles your stitch count to 24. Join with a slip stitch at the end.
Round Three
Alternate between 1 double crochet in the first stitch and 2 double crochet in the next stitch, all the way around. This brings your total to 36 stitches.
Continuing Your Rug
The pattern continues in this way, with each round adding 12 more stitches than the one before. By round four you will have 48 stitches, by round five you will have 60, and so on. As long as you add 12 stitches every round by spacing your increases evenly, your rug will lie flat. If you find your rug starting to ruffle or wave at the edges, you are increasing too quickly. If it starts to cup upward in the centre, you are not increasing enough.
Changing Colours
One of the joys of a rag rug is building up colour as you go. To change colours or join a new strip of fabric, simply stop when you have about 10 centimetres of your current strip remaining, tie the new strip to the old one with a secure knot (a simple square knot works well), and continue crocheting. The knot will be worked into the body of your rug and will become almost invisible once the rug is finished. Trim any ends close to the knot when you are done.
Finishing Off
When your rug has reached the size you want, cut your fabric strip leaving about a 20-centimetre tail. Pull this tail through the last loop on your hook to fasten off. Thread the tail onto your darning needle and weave it through several stitches on the wrong side of the rug to secure it, then trim any excess.
Oval Rag Rugs: A Simple Variation
If you prefer a more traditional runner-style rug for a hallway or kitchen, an oval shape is a wonderful option. To make an oval rag rug using the same crocheted method, you simply start with a foundation chain rather than a ring.
Make a chain of as many stitches as you would like your rug’s length minus its width. For example, for a rug that will eventually be about 30 centimetres longer than it is wide, chain 15 stitches. Work double crochet stitches down one side of the chain, work 3 double crochet into the end stitch to turn the corner, continue down the other side, and work 3 double crochet into the final stitch to create the other curved end. You now have your first oval round. From here, continue working outward in rounds, increasing at both curved ends of the oval in each round to keep your work flat, and you will see your oval rug growing beautifully with every pass.
Braided Rag Rugs: A No-Crochet Alternative
If you do not know how to crochet and do not want to learn, a braided rag rug is a brilliant alternative that requires no specialist skills whatsoever. You simply braid three long strands of fabric together — exactly as you would braid hair — and then coil the braid into a flat spiral, stitching the coils together as you go with a strong thread or thin strip of fabric.
The key to a beautiful braided rug is consistency in your braid tension. Try to keep your braid firm and even throughout so that the finished coils lie smoothly against each other. Use a curved needle if you have one to stitch the coils together, as it makes it much easier to pass the needle through the tight braids.
Caring for Your Finished Rag Rug
One of the practical advantages of a fabric rag rug over a traditional pile rug is that it is generally very easy to clean. Most cotton and jersey rag rugs can be machine washed on a gentle cycle in cold water, though I recommend placing the rug in a large mesh laundry bag first to protect it during the wash. Always check for colourfastness before washing, especially if you have used brightly coloured fabrics that you have not pre-washed.
For day-to-day maintenance, give your rug a good shake outdoors every week or so to remove dust and debris. If you notice any loose ends working their way free over time, simply thread them onto your darning needle and weave them back in. A well-made rag rug that is cared for properly can last for many years.
If you are placing your rug on a hard floor, I strongly recommend using a non-slip rug pad underneath. These are inexpensive and make a huge difference both in keeping the rug safely in place and in helping it keep its shape over time.
Final Thoughts: The Joy of Making Something From Nothing
There is a quiet kind of magic in the rag rug making process. You start with what is essentially rubbish — fabric that would otherwise be heading for a landfill — and through nothing more than your own hands, a hook, and a little time, you transform it into something genuinely lovely. Every rug tells a story through its colours and fabrics: the stripey T-shirt your partner wore to every festival for a decade, the curtains from your first flat, the children’s clothes that no longer fit anyone.
I hope this tutorial gives you the confidence and inspiration to start your own rag rug project. Do not be too precious about perfection — the slight irregularities and imperfections in a handmade rug are not flaws, they are proof that a real person made it with real hands. That is the whole point, and it is what makes it priceless.
If you make a rag rug using this guide, I would absolutely love to see it. Share your finished rugs and work-in-progress photographs, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments below. Happy making!
