How to Crochet a Rug: DIY Tutorial for an Oval Rag Rug from Fabric
If you’ve ever wanted to create something beautiful for your home using nothing more than old fabric, a large crochet hook, and a few hours of your time, you’re in the right place. This DIY tutorial walks you through exactly how to crochet an oval rag rug from fabric strips — a satisfying, budget-friendly project that gives new life to old clothes, bed sheets, and curtains you might otherwise throw away.
Whether you’re a beginner who has just learned the basics of crochet or an experienced maker looking for a meaningful project, this tutorial is designed to guide you step by step. By the end, you’ll have a stunning, durable, one-of-a-kind oval rug that works beautifully in a kitchen, hallway, bathroom, or living room.
Let’s get started.
What Is a Rag Rug?
A rag rug is exactly what it sounds like — a rug made from rags. Historically, rag rugs were made by thrifty homemakers who repurposed worn-out clothing, feed sacks, and household linens into practical floor coverings. The tradition dates back centuries and spans many cultures, from Scandinavian rya rugs to American braided mats.
Today, the rag rug has enjoyed a major revival as part of the slow living and zero-waste movements. Crocheting a rag rug from fabric strips is one of the most accessible versions of this craft. You don’t need a loom, special equipment, or expensive materials. You need fabric, a hook, and your hands.
Why Make an Oval Rag Rug?
Oval rugs are incredibly versatile. Unlike rectangular rugs, which can make a small room feel boxy, an oval rug softens a space visually. It works well in front of a kitchen sink, at the foot of a bed, in an entryway, or beneath a round dining table. The oval shape also happens to be one of the most enjoyable shapes to crochet because you can clearly see it growing outward with every round — which is very motivating when you’re working with thick fabric strips and a large hook.
Materials You Will Need
Before you begin, gather everything you’ll need so you can work through the project without interruption.
Fabric: You’ll need approximately 1 to 2 pounds of fabric for a small to medium rug, depending on how densely you crochet. Old cotton T-shirts, flannel shirts, bed sheets, denim, curtains, and jersey knit are all excellent choices. Avoid fabrics that fray excessively (like loosely woven burlap) unless you enjoy a shaggier look. Mixing textures and colors creates a beautiful, eclectic finished product.
Crochet hook: For fabric strip rugs, you’ll want a large hook — typically between 15mm and 20mm. A 15mm or 16mm hook is ideal for most fabric strips. If you’re working with very thick fabric (like denim or terry cloth), go up to a 20mm hook.
Scissors: Sharp fabric scissors make cutting strips much easier and less fatiguing on your hands. If you plan to make multiple rugs, a rotary cutter and self-healing cutting mat are well worth the investment.
Safety pins or stitch markers: These help you mark the beginning of each round so you don’t lose your place.
A flat surface for blocking (optional): When your rug is complete, a firm flat surface for laying it out and adjusting the shape is helpful, though not strictly necessary.
How to Cut Your Fabric Into Strips
This step is where the preparation happens, and it makes a real difference in how smoothly your crocheting goes.
Start by washing and drying your fabric. This pre-shrinks everything and removes any residue that might irritate your hands during long crocheting sessions.
Next, cut your fabric into strips. A good width is between 1 inch and 1.5 inches. Narrower strips (around 1 inch) give you a thinner, lighter rug. Wider strips (up to 2 inches) produce something thicker and plusher. For a beginner, 1.25 inches is a comfortable middle ground.
Cutting technique for T-shirts and jersey fabric: Lay the shirt flat and cut across the body of the shirt (not through the seams) in parallel horizontal strips. Jersey fabric naturally curls inward when cut, creating a rounded cord-like strip that is lovely to work with and hides raw edges naturally.
Cutting technique for woven fabric: Lay the fabric flat and cut long straight strips along the grain. You can cut these strips in a continuous spiral from a rectangular piece of fabric to minimize the number of joins. To do this, fold your fabric so the top edge is offset from the bottom edge by the width of one strip, then cut in one continuous line back and forth, leaving the last half inch uncut at each turn. When you unfold it, you’ll have one very long strip.
Joining strips: When you run out of one strip, you need to join the next. The neatest method is a fabric join. Lay the end of one strip perpendicular to the beginning of the next, right sides together, forming a small square where they overlap. Cut a small diagonal slit through both layers from one corner to the other. Open the flap, and you’ll see a diagonal seam. Trim the excess. This creates a flat, nearly invisible join that doesn’t create a bump in your work.
Wind your joined strips into a ball as you go, just like yarn. This keeps everything organized and tangle-free.
Understanding the Oval Crochet Foundation
The secret to crocheting an oval shape — rather than a circle — lies in the foundation chain. When you start with a chain and then work stitches down both sides of that chain, you create an oval that grows outward from its center like an ellipse. The length of your starting chain determines how elongated or round your oval will be.
For a rug that is roughly twice as long as it is wide, start with a longer chain. For something closer to circular, use a shorter chain of just 3 to 5 stitches.
A good starting point for a medium oval rug is a foundation chain of 10 to 15 stitches.
Step-by-Step Tutorial: How to Crochet the Oval Rag Rug
Step 1: Make Your Foundation Chain
With your fabric strip and large hook, make a slip knot and chain 10 (or however many stitches you’ve chosen for your desired proportions). Keep your tension relaxed — fabric strips are less forgiving than yarn if you chain too tightly.
Step 2: Work Down the First Side of the Chain
Starting in the second chain from the hook, work a single crochet in each chain stitch across. You should have 9 single crochets when you reach the end of the chain.
Step 3: Work Around the End
In the very last chain (the one you just crocheted into), work 3 single crochets. This creates the curved end of the oval. These extra stitches give the fabric enough room to lie flat as it turns the corner.
Step 4: Work Back Down the Other Side
Now you’ll crochet along the opposite side of your foundation chain. Insert your hook into the unused loops along the bottom of the chain and work a single crochet into each one — 8 single crochets total (you already used the last chain for the three end stitches, so don’t count it again).
Step 5: Complete the First Round
Work 3 more single crochets into the very first chain — the one where you began. This is the other curved end of your oval. You should now have a small but recognizable oval shape. Place a stitch marker at the beginning of the next round so you can track your progress.
Step 6: Continue Crocheting in Rounds
Join your first round with a slip stitch or simply continue crocheting in a spiral. Working in a continuous spiral (without joining) is easier for most beginners and gives a cleaner look for rag rugs.
For every subsequent round, the key to keeping the rug flat is to add increases at the short ends of the oval. The number of stitches you increase at each end needs to match the curvature of the oval.
A general guideline: on the curved short ends of the oval, you should work approximately 2 stitches into every other stitch (an increase) to give the curve enough fabric to lie flat. On the long straight sides, work 1 single crochet into each stitch without increasing.
If your rug starts to curl upward at the edges, you need to add more increases. If it starts to ruffle and wave, you’ve added too many. The fabric will guide you — check your work flat on the floor every few rounds to see how it’s lying.
Step 7: Keep Going
This is the meditative part of the project. Round after round, the rug grows. Continue working around, adding increases at the ends and single crochets on the sides. Change fabric strips as needed using the flat join technique described earlier.
For a small accent rug (approximately 18 by 24 inches), you’ll work for around 6 to 8 rounds from your starting chain. For a larger kitchen rug (24 by 36 inches or more), plan for 10 to 15 rounds or more.
Step 8: Finishing
When your rug reaches the size you want, finish with a slip stitch into the next stitch to close the final round. Cut your fabric strip, leaving a tail of about 6 inches. Thread this tail onto a large blunt-tipped tapestry needle or simply use your fingers to weave it back through several stitches on the underside of the rug, securing it in place. Trim any excess.
If any other tails are visible from previous fabric joins, weave those in as well. Flip the rug over and make sure everything is tidy on the back.
Tips for a Beautiful Rag Rug
Be consistent with your tension. It’s easy to crochet tightly when you start and then loosen up as your hands warm up. Try to maintain even tension throughout. If the rug starts to warp, give it a firm press with your hands on a flat surface.
Embrace imperfection. Part of the beauty of a handmade rag rug is that it is not machine-perfect. Slight variations in strip width, small bumps at joins, and uneven color distribution all add to the charm and tell the story of the materials you used.
Plan your color placement. Before you start crocheting, sort your fabric strips by color. If you want a rainbow effect, arrange them in order. If you want a more random, scrappy look, mix them as you go. Either approach is beautiful, but having a plan prevents you from running out of a key color at an awkward moment.
Use a non-slip rug pad. Once your rug is finished, placing a non-slip rug pad underneath it is strongly recommended, especially on smooth floors like tile or hardwood. This keeps the rug in place and extends its life.
Wash with care. Most rag rugs made from cotton can be machine washed on a gentle cycle in cold water. Tumble dry on low or lay flat to dry. Avoid hot water or high heat, which can cause the fabric to shrink unevenly and distort the shape.
How to Customize Your Oval Rag Rug
One of the greatest joys of this project is how many ways you can make it your own.
Color themes: Choose a palette that matches your room — neutrals and whites for a Scandinavian-inspired kitchen, bright primary colors for a playful kids’ room, earthy tones for a boho living space.
Fabric themes: Make a memory rug from old baby clothes, favorite worn-out shirts, or fabric from a loved one’s wardrobe. This turns the project into something deeply personal and meaningful.
Texture play: Combine smooth cotton, fuzzy fleece, and stretchy jersey for a rug that is interesting to look at and to walk on barefoot.
Size variations: Use the same technique to make tiny trivets and pot holders (just 3 to 4 rounds), bathroom mats, large area rugs, or even outdoor patio rugs from synthetic fabric strips that can handle weather.
Fringe or edging: Add a final round of reverse single crochets (also called crab stitch) for a decorative, rope-like border, or cut and knot small strips of fabric through the edge stitches to create a fringe.
How Much Fabric Will You Need?
This is one of the most common questions for first-time rag rug makers. As a rough guide, a finished rug that measures about 20 by 30 inches typically requires around 1 to 1.5 pounds of fabric, which translates to roughly 3 to 5 adult T-shirts or one set of full-size bed sheets.
For a larger rug at 24 by 36 inches or more, plan on 2 to 3 pounds of fabric. It’s always better to have too much than too little — leftover strips can go toward your next rug, a coaster set, or a basket.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
The rug won’t lie flat: The most common cause is too few increases at the curved ends. Add an extra increase every few stitches on the ends and check again on the next round.
The rug is ruffling and wavy: You’ve added too many increases. On the next round, skip the increase at several points along the curve to even things out.
The rug is curling up at the edges and won’t straighten: Try crocheting more loosely, or wet the rug and block it flat by pressing it firmly and allowing it to dry in position.
My fabric strips keep breaking: This usually means the fabric is too thin or too fragile. Reinforce joins by overlapping them a little more, or switch to a sturdier fabric type.
The stitches are too tight to work with the hook: Loosen your tension, or go up a hook size. Fabric strips have no give compared to yarn, so a slightly larger hook is always better than a slightly smaller one.
Why This Project Is Worth Your Time
There is something genuinely rewarding about crocheting a rag rug that goes beyond the finished product. The process is meditative in the best way — the repetitive motion of single crochet, the feeling of thick fabric moving through your fingers, the visible growth of the rug with each passing round. It asks very little of your brain but gives a great deal back to your sense of accomplishment.
Beyond the personal satisfaction, this is a genuinely eco-friendly project. Every strip of fabric you crochet into a rug is one strip that doesn’t end up in a landfill. In a world where textile waste is one of the largest environmental problems, choosing to make rather than buy, and to repurpose rather than discard, is a meaningful choice.
And of course, there’s the finished rug itself — durable, washable, completely unique, made by your own hands. That is something no mass-produced rug can ever match.
Final Thoughts
Crocheting an oval rag rug from fabric strips is one of those projects that looks impressive but is surprisingly accessible once you understand the basic principle: chain, work down both sides, increase at the curves, repeat. The materials cost almost nothing if you’re working from what you already have, the tools are minimal, and the result is something you’ll use every day in your home.
Start small if you’re nervous — a coaster or a small bathroom mat is a perfect way to practice the technique before committing to a larger project. Once you feel the rhythm of working with fabric strips, you’ll likely find yourself eyeing every old T-shirt and worn-out sheet as raw material for your next rug.
Happy making.
