How to Make a Denim Rag Rug from Old Jeans
There is something deeply satisfying about turning a pile of worn-out jeans into something beautiful and useful. A denim rag rug is one of those projects that sits at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and practicality. It uses materials you already have, requires very few tools, produces zero waste, and results in a rug that is genuinely tough enough to last for years. If your closet is overflowing with jeans that are too worn to donate, too sentimental to throw away, or simply too far gone to repair, this project was made for you.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make a denim rag rug from old jeans, from gathering your materials and cutting your strips all the way through to finishing the edges and caring for your finished piece. Whether you choose to braid, weave, or crochet your rug, you will find detailed instructions for each method below.
Why Denim Makes Such a Great Rag Rug
Before you start cutting, it helps to understand why denim is one of the best fabrics you can use for a handmade rug. Denim is woven tightly, which means it holds its shape under foot traffic far better than lighter fabrics like cotton jersey or muslin. It does not fray in an unruly way — the edges soften with washing and use, giving the rug a pleasingly worn look over time rather than falling apart. Denim also comes in a natural range of blues, from nearly white to almost black, which means you can create a beautifully tonal rug without needing to dye anything. Add in a few pairs of colored or patterned jeans and you have real design potential.
From an environmental standpoint, making a denim rug is one of the most effective ways to extend the life of clothing that would otherwise end up in a landfill. The denim industry is notoriously resource-intensive — a single pair of jeans requires roughly 1,800 gallons of water to produce from crop to finished product. Reusing that fabric is a small but genuinely meaningful act.
What You Will Need
The exact list of tools depends on which method you choose, but here is a general overview of what to gather before you begin.
Fabric: You will need quite a few pairs of old jeans. A standard braided rug measuring about 24 by 36 inches requires somewhere between 4 and 8 pairs, depending on the weight of the denim and how tightly you work. Larger rugs obviously need more. Do not limit yourself to jeans — denim jackets, skirts, and shirts all work beautifully and add texture variety.
Scissors: A good sharp pair of fabric scissors will save your hands. Denim is thick and cutting dozens of strips with dull scissors is genuinely exhausting. If you have a rotary cutter and a self-healing cutting mat, use them — the process will be faster and your strips more even.
Ruler or measuring tape: Consistency in strip width makes a noticeable difference in the finished product. For braided rugs, strips between 1 and 1.5 inches wide work well. For woven or crocheted rugs, slightly narrower strips around three-quarters of an inch are easier to work with.
Thread and a large needle or safety pins: Depending on your method, you will need these for joining strips together and finishing the rug.
A non-slip rug pad (optional): Worth having on hand for when the rug is finished, especially on hardwood or tile floors.
For crocheting: a large crochet hook, typically size N or P (around 9 to 10 mm), works well with denim strips.
For weaving: a frame loom, which you can make yourself from four pieces of wood and some nails, or purchase inexpensively.
Preparing Your Jeans
This is the step most tutorials rush past, and it matters more than you might expect. How you cut your fabric will affect how the finished rug looks and how long it takes to make.
Start by washing all your jeans. Even if they seem clean, washing will preshrink the fabric and remove any lingering odors. Let them dry fully before you start cutting.
Next, lay each pair of jeans flat on a large cutting surface. Cut off the waistband — it is too stiff and bulky to work with easily. Cut off the hems at the ankle for the same reason. Set these aside; they can be used for garden ties or cut into small pieces for stuffing.
Now cut along the inseam on both legs to open them up into flat panels. You will also want to cut along one side seam to fully open the leg. Spread these panels flat. You now have large pieces of denim ready to cut into strips.
Cut your strips across the width of the panel rather than along its length. Crosswise cuts follow the grain of the fabric in a way that makes the strips slightly more flexible and easier to work with. Cut as consistently as possible — strips that vary wildly in width will create an uneven surface in the finished rug.
To join strips into one continuous length, you have a couple of options. The simplest is to cut a small diagonal slit near the end of each strip and loop the next strip through it, then pull the second strip’s end through its own slit to create a secure join with almost no bulk. This technique, sometimes called a “lark’s head” or “loop join,” keeps your work neat and avoids lumpy knots. Alternatively, you can sew the ends together at a diagonal seam, which is even more invisible but requires a sewing machine. Wind your joined strips into balls as you go so they do not tangle.
Method One: The Braided Rag Rug
Braiding is the most traditional method for making a rag rug, and it is ideal for beginners because it requires no special equipment. The basic technique is the same as braiding hair — you just need three lengths of fabric and a bit of patience.
Getting started: Cut a notch in three strips near one end and link them together through the notch, or simply knot them at the top and pin the knot to a fixed surface, like the back of a chair or a hook on the wall. This keeps tension in your braid as you work.
Braiding: Cross the left strip over the center strip, then the right strip over the new center strip. Keep going, maintaining firm, consistent tension throughout. The tighter and more even your braid, the flatter and more durable your rug will be. When one strip runs out, join a new one using the loop join method described above. Keep your joins staggered so they do not all land in the same area of the braid.
Shaping the rug: Once you have a braid that is long enough to start shaping, you can coil it into an oval, a round, or a rectangle. For an oval, fold your braid in half to create a center core and begin coiling outward from there, sewing the coils together with a blunt needle and strong thread, or with a lacing stitch using a strip of denim. For a round rug, start with a tight coil from the very beginning. For a rectangle, fold the braid back on itself at each corner.
Sewing the coils together: Thread a blunt tapestry needle or yarn needle with a length of sturdy thread or thin denim strip. From the back of the rug, stitch between the loops of adjacent braided coils, catching both at once. This is called lacing and it should be invisible from the front. Work on a flat surface so the rug stays flat rather than curling.
Finishing: When your rug has reached the desired size, taper the ends of your three strips gradually by cutting them to get progressively narrower. Braid these tapered ends and tuck them under the rug, stitching them down securely so there are no loose ends.
Method Two: The Woven Rag Rug
Weaving produces a flatter, more structured rug than braiding. It takes a little more setup but is wonderfully rhythmic once you get going.
Building or setting up your loom: A simple frame loom can be made from four pieces of 2×2 lumber screwed into a rectangle. Hammer nails or screws every half inch along the top and bottom edges. These nails hold your warp threads — the vertical threads that form the skeleton of the rug. Wind a strong cotton string, jute twine, or thin cord back and forth between the nails at top and bottom to create your warp. This becomes invisible in the finished rug but is essential for structure.
Weaving the weft: Your denim strips are the weft — they go horizontally, woven over and under the warp threads in alternating rows. Thread a strip onto a large blunt needle or simply weave it by hand, going over the first warp thread, under the second, over the third, and so on. On the next row, go under the threads you went over and over the threads you went under. This creates the interlocked weave that holds everything together.
Push each row of weaving down firmly against the previous one using a fork, a comb, or your fingers. The more tightly packed the rows, the denser and more durable the rug. Leave a small loop of denim at each selvage edge — if you pull too tightly, the rug will pucker and draw in.
Removing from the loom: When your rug is finished, carefully remove the warp threads from the nails. Tie each pair of adjacent warp threads together in a square knot to secure the weaving. Trim these knots close to the edge, or tuck them into the back of the rug.
Woven rugs have a wonderful flat, grid-like texture that is especially beautiful when you alternate light and dark denim strips for a stripe effect.
Method Three: The Crocheted Rag Rug
Crocheting a rag rug takes longer than braiding or weaving, but the result is often the most refined-looking of the three. The texture is chunky and tactile, and you have enormous control over the shape.
Joining your strips: For crocheted rugs, slightly narrower strips work better — aim for half an inch to three-quarters of an inch. Join them as described earlier and wind them into balls. The strips will naturally curl as you work, which is normal and desirable.
Starting the rug: Use a size N or P crochet hook. To make a round rug, begin with a magic ring or a chain of four stitches joined into a loop. Work single crochet stitches into the ring, increasing every other stitch to keep the work flat. The fundamental rule of flat crochet circles is that you need to add approximately six stitches per round to keep the work lying flat. If your rug starts to cup, you are not increasing enough. If it ruffles, you are increasing too much.
For an oval rug, begin with a foundation chain. Crochet down one side of the chain, work multiple stitches into the last chain for the curve, and crochet back up the other side. Continue in this way, adding increases at each short end to maintain the oval shape.
Finishing the edge: On the final round, you can work a simple slip stitch border for a clean edge, or add a single crochet border in a contrasting color denim for definition. Fasten off and weave the end securely into the back.
Design Ideas and Color Combinations
One of the great pleasures of this project is that you have real creative control over the finished look. Here are a few ideas to consider.
A purely tonal denim rug, made entirely from different shades of blue, has a calm and sophisticated look that works in almost any room. Arrange your strips from darkest to lightest as you move from the center outward for a gradient effect.
Mixing denim with other sturdy fabrics — canvas, chambray, heavy cotton twill — adds interesting texture variation. Old work shirts, cotton curtains, and sturdy tote bags are all good candidates.
For a more graphic look, cut strips from the lightest-weight jeans you have and mix them with fabric from an indigo-dyed denim jacket. The contrast can be striking.
If your jeans have interesting details — red stitching along the seams, embroidered panels, patches, or printed pockets — consider incorporating these elements intentionally into the design so they appear on the surface of the finished rug.
Caring for Your Denim Rag Rug
A well-made denim rag rug can last for decades with proper care. Spot-clean small stains as they happen using cold water and a mild soap. For full washing, machine wash on a gentle cycle in cold water. Avoid hot water, which can cause the rug to shrink unevenly and weaken any thread joins.
Lay the rug flat to dry — tumble drying can distort the shape of braided and crocheted rugs, and the heat is hard on the thread joins over time. Direct sunlight will gradually fade the denim, which some people love; if you want to preserve the original color contrast, dry in a shaded spot.
Shake the rug outdoors periodically to remove grit, which can grind into the fibers over time and cause premature wear. A non-slip pad underneath not only prevents slipping but also lifts the rug slightly off hard floors, reducing abrasion on the back.
A Few Final Thoughts
Making a denim rag rug is not a quick weekend project — a full-sized rug takes time, and that is part of its value. There is a meditative quality to the repetitive work of braiding, weaving, or crocheting that many people find genuinely calming. It is the kind of project you can pick up and put down over weeks or months, working through your pile of old jeans gradually, and end up with something that is both beautiful and entirely yours.
There is also something worth noting about the objects that result from this kind of making. A handmade rug carries the history of its materials in a way that a manufactured object never can. The jeans you wore through college, the pair that got paint on them during a house renovation, the ones that finally wore through at the knee — these all become part of something new, something that will last long after the original garment would have ended up in a landfill.
That combination of durability, sustainability, and personal meaning is hard to find anywhere else. So gather up those old jeans, sharpen your scissors, and start cutting.
