Making a Rag Rug: Clips, Proddies, and Hessian — Everything You Need to Know
There is something deeply satisfying about making something beautiful from something that would otherwise be thrown away. Rag rugs are one of the oldest forms of textile craft, and they have been keeping floors warm and homes cosy for centuries. In this guide, we are going to walk through one of the most traditional and rewarding methods: using clips and proddies on a hessian backing. Whether you are a complete beginner picking up your first proddy tool or someone who has dabbled in crafts and wants to try something new, this post covers everything from choosing your fabric strips to finishing off your rug so it lasts for years.
What Is a Rag Rug?
A rag rug is exactly what it sounds like — a rug made from scraps of fabric, old clothing, worn-out blankets, or any textile that might otherwise find its way to the bin or a charity bag. The tradition stretches back hundreds of years, particularly in northern England and in North America, where resourcefulness was a way of life. Families would cut up old clothes and work them into functional floor coverings, creating something warm underfoot from nothing more than leftover materials.
Today, rag rug making is enjoying a wonderful revival. People are drawn to it for all sorts of reasons: the sustainability angle, the meditative quality of the work, the way it connects them to traditional crafts, and — let us be honest — the sheer joy of ending up with a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind rug that cost almost nothing to make.
Understanding the Different Techniques
When people talk about rag rugs, they sometimes use terms interchangeably, but there are actually a few distinct techniques. The two most associated with hessian backing are clipping (also called hooking) and prodding. It is worth understanding the difference before you get started, because they produce quite different results.
Clipping involves using a latch hook or rag rug hook to pull loops of fabric up through the hessian from beneath, creating a looped pile on the surface. This is the technique that gives you that classic, slightly shaggy, looped texture. The loops can be left as they are for a smooth pile, or they can be cut to create a fluffy, cut pile finish.
Prodding is sometimes called “proggy” in the north of England, and the tools used are called proddies or proggers. With this method, short strips of fabric are pushed through the hessian from the front using a pointed tool, so that both ends of the strip poke up through the surface. You work from the top, and the result is a shaggier, more textured finish — almost like a shaggy pile rug, but with a lovely handmade quality. Many people find prodding even more satisfying than clipping because you can see your design building up from the front as you go.
You can also combine both techniques in a single rug, which gives you wonderful textural contrast and opens up even more creative possibilities.
What You Need to Get Started
One of the greatest things about rag rug making is that the materials list is genuinely minimal. You do not need an expensive loom or specialist equipment. Here is what you will need:
Hessian is the foundation of your rug. It is a loosely woven fabric made from jute, with an open weave that allows you to push fabric strips through it easily. You can buy hessian fabric by the metre from craft shops or online. For rug making, you want a good quality, tightly woven hessian — sometimes called rug canvas or burlap — that is sturdy enough to hold your strips without fraying. Cheaper, very loosely woven hessian can be too flimsy and may not give you a good result. Aim for something with a reasonably tight weave that still has visible holes you can work through.
Fabric strips are your raw material. Old wool jumpers, denim jeans, cotton shirts, fleece blankets, corduroy — almost any woven or knitted fabric can be used. For prodding, strips are typically cut to around 7–10 cm long and about 1–2 cm wide, though you can experiment depending on the weight of your fabric. Wool is the traditional choice and works beautifully because it is durable, does not fray as badly as cotton, and has a lovely natural texture. Fleece is another excellent beginner choice because it does not fray at all and is easy to cut and push through hessian.
A proddy tool (also called a progger) is a pointed implement used to push the fabric strips through the hessian. Traditional proddies were made from carved wood, a sharpened clothes peg, or even a piece of bone. Today you can buy beautifully made wooden or metal proddy tools, or you can use a chunky skewer, a blunt pencil, or even a lolly stick with one end shaved to a blunt point. The tool needs to be sturdy enough to push through the weave without bending, but not so sharp that it tears the fabric or the hessian.
A frame or hoop helps keep your hessian taut while you work. You can buy dedicated rug-making frames, or you can stretch your hessian over a large embroidery hoop, a picture frame, or even a wooden canvas stretcher. Working on a taut surface makes the process much easier and produces more consistent results. Some people work with the hessian laid flat on a table, but a frame gives you much more control.
Scissors are essential for cutting your fabric into strips. Good, sharp fabric scissors make the job much easier. Some people swear by a rotary cutter and cutting mat for preparing large quantities of strips quickly and evenly.
A pencil or fabric marker for drawing your design onto the hessian before you begin.
Choosing and Preparing Your Fabric
This is where the sustainability magic really happens. Go through your wardrobe, your linen cupboard, and your fabric stash. Look for items that are worn out or stained but still have good areas of usable fabric. Charity shops are also a brilliant source of cheap fabric in bulk — old woollen blankets and jumpers are particularly prized.
For a beginner rug, it helps to choose fabrics that are all roughly the same weight. Mixing very heavy fabrics like denim with very lightweight fabrics like cotton voile in the same rug can make it difficult to get an even pile height. As you become more experienced, you will learn how to adapt your strip widths and lengths to compensate for fabric weight differences.
Wash your fabric before cutting it. This removes any sizing from the fabric and also means that your finished rug can be washed later without the fabric shrinking or bleeding colour unexpectedly.
Cut your strips along the grain of the fabric where possible — this reduces fraying and makes the strips easier to work with. For prodding, you want strips that are roughly 7–8 cm long. You can cut a lot of strips quite quickly by folding the fabric over several times before cutting, so you are cutting multiple strips at once.
Sort your strips by colour before you begin. Having them organised makes it much easier to follow your design as you work.
Designing Your Rug
You do not have to be an artist to design a beautiful rag rug. Some of the most striking traditional rugs were made by people who simply worked freehand, placing colours intuitively as they went. But if you prefer a more structured approach, drawing out your design on the hessian first is a great idea.
Use a pencil or a permanent marker to sketch your design directly onto the hessian. Popular traditional motifs include flowers, leaves, geometric patterns, simple animals, or borders and frames. You can also work from graph paper or trace an image from a book. If you want to scale up a design, use the grid method — draw a grid over your original design, then copy each square onto a larger grid drawn on your hessian.
When you are planning your colour layout, remember that rag rugs tend to have a folk art quality that is part of their charm. Slight imperfections and colour variations are beautiful, not something to worry about. Stripes, chevrons, and simple concentric shapes are wonderfully effective designs for beginners and look stunning in finished rugs.
The Prodding Process, Step by Step
Now the fun really begins. Stretch your hessian onto your frame and secure it well so it is taut.
Take a fabric strip and fold it in half. Using your proddy tool, push the folded end of the strip down through a hole in the hessian, from the front. Pull the tool back out, and you will have created a small loop on the underside. The two loose ends of the strip will be sticking up through the hessian on the front, side by side.
Move to an adjacent hole — usually one or two holes away depending on the thickness of your fabric — and repeat the process, working systematically across your design. Each strip should be pushed through firmly so that the two ends stand upright and are roughly the same height.
As you work, the strips will pack together to create a dense, shaggy pile on the surface of the rug. This is exactly what you want. Try to keep your strip ends at a consistent height — typically around 2–3 cm above the hessian, though you can make a deeper pile by leaving longer ends if you prefer.
Work from the edges of your design inward, or from the centre outward, depending on your preference. Many experienced rug makers prefer to outline their design areas first in one colour, then fill in, which makes it easier to keep clean lines between colours.
If a strip comes loose or seems too short, simply push it out with your proddy tool and replace it with a longer one. Nothing is fixed permanently until the rug is backed, so you can always adjust as you go.
Clipping on Hessian
If you decide to try clipping rather than, or in addition to, prodding, the process is slightly different. With a latch hook or a rag rug hook, you work from the back of the hessian. Feed your hook down through a hole from the underside, catch the folded centre of your fabric strip, and pull a loop up through to the front. The latch on a latch hook helps to lock the strip in place as you pull it through. Adjust the loop height so it is consistent across your work.
Clipping tends to produce a smoother, more velvety pile when the loops are left intact, or a softer, fluffier pile if you cut the loops after hooking them. It is a wonderful complement to prodding if you want to introduce textural variety into a single piece.
Tips for Getting Great Results
Consistency is key. Try to keep your strip lengths and spacing as even as possible for a tidy, professional-looking result. This becomes more natural with practice, so do not be disheartened if your early work looks a little uneven.
Do not pack your strips too tightly together — the hessian needs to be able to support all the strips without puckering or pulling out of shape. If you find your hessian is buckling, you may be working the strips too close together. Equally, if you space them too far apart, the backing hessian will be visible between strips, which you want to avoid.
Work in good light. Choosing colours is much easier when you can see them accurately.
Keep a small box or bowl beside you for your sorted strips. Dipping into a pile of well-organised colours makes the whole process more fluid and enjoyable.
Take breaks. Rag rug making is wonderfully meditative, but it does involve repetitive hand movements. Stretching your hands and wrists every so often keeps things comfortable.
Finishing and Backing Your Rug
Once you have filled your entire design with strips, it is time to finish the rug. Remove it from the frame and trim the edges of the hessian to leave a border of about 5 cm around the prodded or clipped area.
Fold this hessian border over to the back of the rug and either glue it down with strong fabric glue or stitch it in place with a large needle and jute twine. Mitre the corners neatly to keep things tidy.
For a really durable finish, back the entire rug with a piece of hessian, canvas, or felt cut to size. Stitch or glue this backing fabric over the folded hessian border to cover all the raw edges. This backing protects the strips from the underside, keeps them securely in place, and gives the rug a clean, neat reverse.
Adding a non-slip backing — either a piece of non-slip mat cut to size, or a coating of puff paint or latex rug backing applied to the underside — is a practical finishing touch that prevents the rug from sliding on hard floors.
Caring for Your Rag Rug
Rag rugs are surprisingly hardwearing when made well, but they do benefit from a little care. Shake them out regularly to remove dust and debris. If your rug is small enough, it can often be machine washed on a gentle cycle, though hand washing or spot cleaning is gentler. Dry flat to prevent stretching, and avoid tumble drying, which can cause the hessian to shrink or distort.
If any strips work loose over time, simply push a replacement strip into the same hole using your proddy tool — repairs are quick and easy.
The Joy of Making Something from Nothing
There is a particular kind of pride that comes with finishing a rag rug. You put it on the floor, stand back, and realise that what you are looking at was, not very long ago, a pile of worn-out clothes and a square of rough fabric. The transformation is remarkable.
Rag rug making is also a genuinely sustainable craft. Every strip of fabric that goes into your rug is a strip that has been saved from landfill. In a world where fast fashion and textile waste are serious environmental problems, this feels meaningful as well as creative.
Beyond sustainability, there is the community aspect. Rag rug making has a long history as a communal craft — groups of women and men sitting together, working on their rugs, sharing patterns and techniques. Today, rug-making workshops and groups are thriving in many places, and there is a warm, generous online community as well, sharing patterns, tips, and finished pieces.
Whether you make one small mat or go on to fill your home with handmade rugs in every room, the skills you pick up from clipping and prodding on hessian will serve you beautifully. Start with a simple design, embrace the process, enjoy the rhythm of it, and see where your creativity takes you. Your floors — and your fabric pile — will thank you for it.
