DIY Upcycled Crochet Rag Rug from Old T-Shirts

There is something deeply satisfying about taking a pile of worn-out, stained, or outgrown t-shirts and transforming them into something genuinely beautiful. A crochet rag rug made from old t-shirts is one of those projects that checks every box: it’s budget-friendly, sustainable, beginner-accessible, and the finished product is something you’ll actually want to display in your home. Whether you drape it in front of your kitchen sink, lay it beside your bed, or use it as a cozy bathroom mat, a t-shirt rag rug adds texture, color, and personality to any room.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from gathering your materials and cutting your yarn to crocheting your first round and finishing the edges. No fancy supplies required — just old t-shirts, a large crochet hook, and a little patience.

Why T-Shirt Yarn Is the Perfect Material for a Rag Rug

Before you reach for your hook, it helps to understand why t-shirt fabric works so well for this kind of project. Cotton jersey knit, which is the material used in most t-shirts, has a natural stretch and a soft hand feel. When you cut it into strips, it rolls in on itself to form a rounded, cord-like yarn — often called “tarn” (t-shirt yarn) in the crafting community. This self-rolling quality means you don’t need to sew or braid anything. The strips do the work themselves.

Compared to traditional rug materials like jute or wool, t-shirt yarn is remarkably durable under foot traffic. It’s machine washable, which makes it practical for kitchens and bathrooms, and it stays soft even after repeated washing. The fabric also has enough body to hold its shape once crocheted, so your finished rug won’t curl or buckle at the edges the way some lighter-weight projects tend to.

From a sustainability standpoint, the appeal is obvious. The average American throws away around 70 pounds of clothing and textiles every year. Diverting even a small fraction of that into a handmade rug is a meaningful act of zero-waste living. You can use t-shirts that are too stained to donate, too worn to wear, and too sentimental to simply throw away.

What You’ll Need

One of the best things about this project is how little you need to buy. Most of the materials are either things you already own or can source for free.

T-shirts: Plan on using between 10 and 20 adult-sized t-shirts for a small accent rug (roughly 18 by 24 inches). For a larger bathroom or kitchen rug (around 24 by 36 inches), you’ll want closer to 25 to 35 shirts. Thicker, heavier-weight shirts yield more fabric per garment. Children’s shirts are much smaller and produce less yarn, so you’ll need significantly more of them to reach the same yardage. Avoid shirts with a high polyester content if possible; they tend to be slippery and don’t roll into a cord as naturally.

Scissors: A sharp pair of fabric scissors makes a noticeable difference. Dull scissors will fray the edges of your strips and make the cutting process tedious. A rotary cutter and self-healing cutting mat are even faster if you have them.

Crochet hook: A size P (11.5mm) or Q (16mm) hook is standard for t-shirt yarn. The larger your hook, the more open and flexible the fabric of your rug will be. A size N (9mm) hook will produce a tighter, denser result. For beginners, starting with a P or Q hook is recommended because the larger size makes it easier to see your stitches.

Measuring tape or ruler: Useful for ensuring consistent strip widths.

Optional extras: A large darning needle or blunt tapestry needle for weaving in ends, and a cutting template (a piece of cardboard cut to your desired strip width works perfectly).

How to Prepare Your T-Shirt Yarn

Cutting your own yarn is arguably the most time-consuming part of this project, but it’s also meditative once you get into a rhythm. Put on a podcast, a playlist, or your favorite show, and work through your pile one shirt at a time.

Step 1: Prepare the shirt. Lay the t-shirt flat on a table or cutting mat. Cut straight across the shirt just below the armpits, removing the entire upper portion including the sleeves, neckline, and seams. You’re left with a tube of fabric — the body of the shirt — which is the most efficient section to cut from.

Step 2: Cut into loops. Without unfolding the tube, cut across it at even intervals to create loops of fabric. Aim for strips that are about 1 to 1.5 inches wide. Narrower strips create finer yarn that produces a flatter, lighter rug. Wider strips create chunkier yarn for a thick, textured rug. For a classic bathroom or kitchen rug, 1 to 1.25 inches is a good middle ground. Stop cutting about an inch before you reach the folded edge on one side — you’re creating a series of loops, not individual rings.

Step 3: Connect the strips into one long strand. Unfold the tube and you’ll see that your cuts have created a sort of ladder or accordion shape. Hold the section you didn’t cut — that inch of uncut fabric along one side. Now cut diagonally from one notch to the next across this uncut section, connecting each loop into a single continuous spiral of fabric. This technique is often called the “continuous loop” method, and it means you never have to tie strips together.

Step 4: Stretch the yarn. Hold each strip and give it a gentle tug lengthwise. This stretching encourages the fabric to curl in on itself, forming that rounded cord shape. You don’t need to stretch aggressively — a light pull is enough.

Step 5: Wind into a ball. As you cut and stretch each shirt, wind the yarn into a loose ball. Label or group your balls by color if you’re planning a patterned rug.

Depending on the size of the shirts and how quickly you work, you’ll spend anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour on this step. It’s worth doing all your cutting before you begin crocheting so you have a clear picture of what colors you have to work with.

Choosing Your Color Scheme

This is where the project gets fun. A rag rug made entirely from mismatched shirts has its own boho, eclectic charm. But if you want something more intentional, a few easy approaches work beautifully.

A neutral palette — white, gray, cream, and tan — gives you a clean, modern look that pairs well with nearly any interior. If you have a lot of graphic tees, the images on the fabric will blur into abstract patches of color as you crochet, which can be surprisingly attractive.

A gradient or ombre effect is achieved by arranging your shirt colors from light to dark (or one hue to another) and crocheting each color in two to three rounds before switching. This is a lovely approach if you have a good range of a single color family — perhaps various shades of blue, or a warm spectrum from yellow through orange to red.

A striped rug alternates between two or three colors in a consistent, repeating pattern. It’s graphically bold and very easy to execute — simply switch your yarn each time you want a new stripe.

The only rule is to consider how the colors will look next to each other in your space. Lay the yarn balls out on the floor where the rug will live and stand back. What you see there is roughly what you’ll get in the finished rug.

Basic Crochet Stitches You’ll Use

If you’re new to crochet, don’t be intimidated. The single crochet stitch is all you truly need for this project. It’s the most fundamental stitch in crochet, and it produces a firm, tight fabric that holds up beautifully underfoot.

Here is a quick refresher. To single crochet, insert your hook into a stitch, pull up a loop of yarn through the stitch (you now have two loops on your hook), then pull a new loop through both of those loops. That’s it — one single crochet stitch. Once you can do that comfortably, you have everything you need to make this rug.

You’ll also want to know how to make a slip knot to start your yarn on the hook, how to chain (the foundation for most crochet projects), and how to slip stitch to join rounds. All three are simple and covered in any basic crochet tutorial online.

How to Crochet an Oval Rag Rug: Step-by-Step Instructions

An oval rug is the classic shape for this type of project. It’s more versatile than a round rug for most rooms, and the technique is easier than it looks.

Foundation chain: Make a foundation chain of 15 stitches. This chain determines the length of the rug — 15 stitches with bulky t-shirt yarn on a P or Q hook will give you a finished rug that’s approximately 24 to 36 inches long depending on your tension. Longer chain equals longer rug.

Round 1: Work 3 single crochets into the second chain from the hook (this creates the curved end). Single crochet across the remaining 13 stitches of the chain. When you reach the last stitch, work 3 single crochets into it (this creates the other curved end). Now rotate your work and single crochet back down the other side of the foundation chain. Slip stitch to join the round.

Round 2 onward: Continue working in rounds, single crocheting around the entire oval. At each of the two curved ends, you’ll need to increase (add extra stitches) to keep the rug lying flat. A general rule is to add 2 increases evenly spaced at each end per round — so 4 increases per round total. If your rug starts to ruffle, you’re increasing too much. If it starts to cup upward at the edges like a bowl, you’re not increasing enough. Adjust as you go.

Changing colors: To switch to a new color, complete the last stitch of your current color until you have two loops on your hook, then pull the new color through those two loops to finish the stitch. Leave a 4-inch tail on the old color and continue with the new. You’ll weave these ends in when the rug is finished.

Finishing: When your rug has reached your desired size, cut your yarn leaving a 6-inch tail, pull the tail through the last loop, and tighten to secure. Use a darning needle to weave all loose ends into the back of the rug.

Tips for Keeping Your Rug Flat

One of the most common frustrations with crocheted rag rugs is curling — either the rug bowls upward in the center or the edges ruffle outward like a lettuce leaf. Both problems are caused by an imbalance between the number of increases and the tension of your stitches.

If the rug is cupping, add one extra increase at each curved end in the next round and see if that corrects the problem. If the edges are ruffling excessively, skip one of your increases in the next round or tighten your tension slightly. The beauty of this type of project is that small imperfections block out easily.

Blocking — laying the finished rug flat, wetting it thoroughly, and pinning it to shape while it dries — will correct most minor warping. A cotton jersey rug will respond well to a light steam iron on a low heat setting as well.

Caring for Your Finished Rug

One of the great practical advantages of a t-shirt yarn rug is that it’s machine washable. Wash in cold water on a gentle cycle and lay flat or tumble dry on low. Avoid hot water and high dryer heat, which can cause the fabric to shrink unevenly and distort the shape of the rug.

If your rug slides on hard floors, a few applications of rubbing latex furniture grip spray to the underside will fix this. Alternatively, a thin non-slip rug pad cut to size works perfectly and extends the life of the rug by reducing friction against the floor.

Variations and Creative Ideas

Once you’ve completed your first oval rug and feel comfortable with the technique, there are several directions you can take the project. A circular rug begins with a magic ring rather than a foundation chain and grows outward in the same way, making it ideal for under a round dining table or in a reading nook.

You can incorporate texture by alternating rounds of single crochet with rounds of half-double crochet, which is a slightly taller stitch that adds a subtle ridge to the surface. You can also experiment with braiding three strips of t-shirt yarn together before crocheting to create an even chunkier, more rustic texture.

If you have very thin or lightweight shirts, cutting your strips slightly wider and working with two strands held together as one will give you the same bulky result as working with a single thick strand.

For a layered, shaggy rug, try leaving loop stitches uncut on every other round. These loops pile up on the surface and create a plush, almost felted appearance once the rug is used and washed a few times.

The Bigger Picture: Slow Crafting and Intentional Living

There’s a reason projects like this one are having such a sustained cultural moment. In a world dominated by fast fashion and disposable goods, making something by hand from materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill feels genuinely radical. A crochet rag rug is not just a floor covering — it’s a small, tactile argument for a different way of relating to the things we own.

Every worn-out shirt in a finished rug has a story. The faded race t-shirt from a 5K you ran three years ago. The concert tee that shrank in the wash. The jersey in a color you no longer love. Crocheted together, they become something new and entirely useful. And every time you step onto that rug in the morning, you carry a little of that history with you.

That might sound like a lot to ask of a bathroom mat — but that’s exactly what good handmade objects do. They accumulate meaning in a way that mass-produced goods simply can’t.

Final Thoughts

Making a DIY upcycled crochet rag rug from old t-shirts is a project that rewards every level of crafter, from someone picking up a crochet hook for the first time to an experienced maker looking for a satisfying weekend project. The materials are free (or nearly so), the technique is approachable, and the result is something genuinely useful and beautiful.

Start with whatever shirts you have on hand. Don’t overthink the color palette. Let the fabric do what it does naturally. And if your first rug isn’t perfectly flat or your color changes are a little rough, keep it anyway — lay it on the floor, put a little wear into it, and watch it become exactly what it was always meant to be.