Round Amish Knot Rug Tutorial: How to Make a Beautiful Handmade Rug from Fabric Strips
There is something deeply satisfying about making something useful and beautiful with your own hands, especially when that something comes from materials you already have at home. The Amish knot rug — also known as a toothbrush rug or knotted rug — is one of the most rewarding textile crafts you can take on. It requires no special machinery, no complicated looms, and no expensive yarn. What it does require is a little patience, a good supply of fabric strips, and a simple needle that you can make yourself or purchase for just a few dollars. The result is a thick, durable, gorgeous round rug that can last for decades.
In this tutorial, you will learn everything you need to know to make your own round Amish knot rug from start to finish. Whether you are a complete beginner or someone who has been crafting for years, this guide will walk you through choosing fabric, preparing your strips, making or finding the right needle, and working the knots all the way to a finished rug you will be proud to display in your home.
What Is an Amish Knot Rug?
Before diving into the how-to, it helps to understand what makes this style of rug unique. Amish knot rugs have their roots in practical homemaking traditions, where nothing was wasted. Old clothing, worn linens, and scrap fabric were cut into strips and transformed into floor coverings that were both functional and handsome. The technique involves linking fabric loops through one another in a continuous chain, building outward from the center to create a flat, oval or round rug.
The term “toothbrush rug” comes from the large, blunt, eye-shaped needle used in the process, which resembles an old-fashioned toothbrush handle. The rug is made without any knitting, crocheting, or weaving in the traditional sense — just a simple interlocking motion repeated over and over. This makes it accessible to people of all skill levels, including children with adult supervision.
What You Will Need
Getting your materials together before you start is key to a smooth and enjoyable experience. Here is what you will need to gather.
Fabric strips: This is the heart of your rug. Cotton, denim, jersey knit, flannel, fleece, and wool all work beautifully. Many crafters use old t-shirts, worn jeans, bed sheets, and clothing that is no longer wearable. Avoid fabrics that fray excessively, such as loosely woven linen or delicate silks, as these tend to fall apart as you work and will not hold up on the floor.
Fabric scissors: Sharp scissors are important. Cutting fabric strips is labor-intensive enough without fighting dull blades. A rotary cutter and self-healing mat can speed up the process significantly if you have them on hand.
An Amish knot rug needle (toothbrush needle): These can be purchased online or at craft stores for just a few dollars, and they are completely worth it. If you want to make your own, you can carve one from a wooden craft stick, a piece of thick plastic, or even a strip of dense cardboard. The needle should be about five to six inches long, blunt at both ends, and have a large elongated eye or hole at one end wide enough to thread a folded fabric strip through. You will typically need two needles for this project.
A large tapestry needle or yarn needle: Useful for weaving in ends as you finish up.
Scissors and a ruler or cutting mat: For measuring and cutting consistent strip widths.
Optional — fabric glue or a sewing machine: For joining strips together if you prefer not to tie knots in your fabric joins.
Preparing Your Fabric Strips
The preparation stage takes the most time, but it is deeply satisfying once you see your pile of strips growing. Here is how to approach it.
Start by washing and drying all of your fabric before you cut it. This preshrinks everything and removes any finishes or residue that might make the strips stiff or uncomfortable underfoot. Once your fabric is clean and dry, begin cutting.
For most Amish knot rugs, strips between one inch and one and a half inches wide work well. A standard one-inch strip produces a firm, dense rug. A one-and-a-half-inch strip creates something fluffier and softer underfoot. Choose based on the look and feel you want.
The length of your strips does not need to be consistent. You will be joining them as you go, so strips can be as short as twelve inches or as long as several feet. Longer strips mean fewer joins and faster working, so if your fabric allows it, cut your strips in continuous spirals from large pieces to maximize length.
To cut fabric in a continuous spiral from a large piece of fabric like a bed sheet or t-shirt: fold the fabric, make parallel cuts across it stopping about an inch from the edge each time, then unfold and cut diagonally between the cuts to create one continuous long strip. This technique takes a moment to learn but saves a tremendous amount of time.
Once your strips are cut, wind them into balls — one ball per color or fabric type if you are planning a specific pattern, or mixed together if you prefer a scrappy, eclectic look. Store your balls in a bag or basket where they can unwind freely as you work.
How Much Fabric Do You Need?
This is one of the most common questions from people making their first Amish knot rug, and the answer depends on the finished size you want. As a rough guide, a small accent rug about twelve to fourteen inches in diameter will use approximately half a pound of fabric strips. A medium rug around twenty-four inches in diameter typically uses one to one and a half pounds. A large rug thirty-six inches or more across can easily use three to five pounds or more of fabric.
If you are working with mixed fabrics of varying weights, it is hard to be exact. The best approach is to gather more fabric than you think you will need. You can always stop sooner for a smaller rug, and you will never regret having extra on hand.
Setting Up Your Two Working Strips
The Amish knot method works with two fabric strips at a time, each threaded through its own needle. The strips interlock through each other in a way that creates a flat, stable surface without any sewing.
To begin, take two strips of fabric — they can be the same color or different colors depending on your design plan. Tie them together at one end with a simple overhand knot, leaving a tail of about three to four inches.
Thread one strip through the eye of the first needle. Thread the second strip through the second needle.
Hold the knotted join between your fingers. You are now ready to start the center of your rug.
Making the Center of Your Round Rug
The center is the trickiest part of the round Amish knot rug because you are working in a very tight space before the rug opens up. Take it slowly and do not worry if your first few loops feel awkward — they always do.
With your two loaded needles in hand, take the strip on needle one and form a small loop. Pass needle two through that loop from back to front, pull needle two’s strip all the way through, and gently tighten. Now take the strip on needle two, form a loop, pass needle one through from back to front, pull through, and tighten. Repeat this back-and-forth motion several times.
After six to eight of these interlocking chain stitches, you will have a short length of linked fabric chain. This is the foundation of your rug’s center. Coil this chain into a tight circle or oval (for an oval rug) and begin connecting the working edge back to the starting edge to close the center.
To close the center circle, instead of just chaining one loop through the strip in your hand, you will pass your needle through a loop in the initial chain you laid down. This anchors the growing rug to itself and begins building the circular shape.
Building Outward: The Round Rug Technique
Once your center is established, the process becomes a satisfying rhythm. You continue making the same interlocking stitch, but now instead of connecting into thin air, you are attaching each new stitch into the edge of the previous round.
The key to keeping a round rug flat — rather than having it cup upward like a bowl — is increasing regularly. Just like in crochet, a round rug needs extra stitches added as it grows outward so the fabric has room to lie flat.
A general rule for increasing: for every three to four stitches you make along the outer edge, add an extra stitch into the same loop of the previous round. This is called an increase. Increases become less frequent as the rug gets larger, because each round is longer than the last and the fabric naturally has more room. You will develop a feel for this as you go — if the rug begins to ruffle or ripple at the edges, you are increasing too often. If it starts to pull up into a bowl shape, you need more increases.
Work each stitch by passing your needle through the corresponding loop on the outer edge of the previous round, pulling through firmly but not so tightly that you distort the fabric below. Consistency in tension is more important than perfection — small variations in tension even out naturally as the rug grows.
Adding New Strips
At some point, your strips will run out and you will need to join new ones. This happens often, and with practice it becomes second nature.
The simplest method is to tie a new strip to the end of the old one with a square knot. Pull the knot snug, trim the tails to about half an inch, and continue working. The knot will be buried inside the rug structure and will not show on the surface.
If you prefer an invisible join, you can use a technique where you overlap the old strip and the new strip by about two inches, fold them together, and treat them as one for the next two stitches. This creates a smooth transition without any visible bump or knot.
If you are planning stripes or color blocks in your rug, this is the moment to make intentional color changes. Simply start a new color strip when the old one runs out, and your rug will develop bands of color as it grows.
Finishing Your Round Amish Knot Rug
When your rug has reached the size you want, you need to end it cleanly so it does not unravel.
To finish, cut your working strips leaving about six to eight inches of tail on each. Thread each tail through a tapestry needle and weave it back through several loops in the rug body, going under and over alternating loops to secure it. Do this for about three to four inches of weaving, then trim any excess close to the surface.
If you are concerned about the ends working loose over time, a small dab of fabric glue on the woven-in tails will hold everything permanently in place.
Give your finished rug a firm press with a steam iron or a wet cloth and iron to even out the surface and help it lie flat. If the rug still wants to curl slightly at the edges, mist it with water, lay it flat on a towel, and let it dry completely.
Tips for a Beautiful Finished Rug
A few extra thoughts that will take your rug from good to genuinely gorgeous.
Think about your color story before you begin. A scrappy rug made from all sorts of leftover fabrics has tremendous charm, but if you want something more intentional, gather fabrics in a limited palette — say, three or four colors that work well together — and plan roughly how much of each you will use. A rug that moves from a dark center outward to lighter shades, or that alternates two strong colors in each round, can be striking.
Mixing fabric types adds texture. A rug made entirely from denim is dense and durable. A rug that mixes denim with jersey knit has a more varied surface that looks rich and complex. Flannel and fleece together create something wonderfully soft.
Keep your strip width consistent throughout a single rug. If you start with one-inch strips, stay with one-inch strips. Mixing widths within the same rug can create uneven texture and make it harder to keep the rug flat.
Work in good light. The loops of the Amish knot can look similar to one another, and in dim light it is easy to accidentally pass your needle through the wrong loop, which can twist the rug or create an unintended bump.
Take breaks. This is a project that rewards patience. Spreading it out over several evenings rather than rushing to finish in one sitting means you will enjoy the process more and make fewer mistakes.
Caring for Your Amish Knot Rug
One of the great advantages of an Amish knot rug is how easy it is to care for. Because it is made entirely of fabric, it can generally be machine washed on a gentle cycle in cold water and laid flat to dry. Avoid putting it in a hot dryer, as heat can cause the fabric strips to shrink unevenly and distort the rug’s shape.
For rugs made with delicate or mixed fabrics, hand washing in cool water with a mild detergent is the safest approach. Squeeze gently, do not wring, and lay flat to dry on a clean towel or drying rack.
If your rug is very large and difficult to wash by hand or machine, spot clean it as needed and take it outside to beat and air out periodically, the way traditional rug cleaning has been done for generations.
A non-slip rug pad underneath is strongly recommended, both to prevent the rug from sliding and to protect your floor from any dye transfer, particularly if your rug includes darker fabrics that were not pre-washed.
Why Make an Amish Knot Rug?
In a world full of mass-produced goods, there is real meaning in making something by hand. An Amish knot rug is an act of creativity, resourcefulness, and patience. It turns something that would otherwise be discarded — old clothing, worn fabric, scraps and remnants — into something useful and beautiful that can last a lifetime.
The process itself is meditative. Once you learn the rhythm of the stitch, you can work on it while listening to music, watching television, or sitting with friends. It is the kind of craft that fills an evening pleasantly and gives you something tangible to show for your time.
And when you walk across that rug in bare feet in the morning, feeling the softness and density of all those interlocked strips beneath you, knowing that you made it with your own hands from things that might otherwise have been thrown away — that is a feeling no store-bought rug can replicate.
Start small if you are nervous. A twelve-inch accent rug for a bathroom or beside a bed is a perfect first project. Once you have finished it and felt that satisfaction, you will almost certainly want to make another one, and another after that. Many crafters find that Amish knot rugs become something of a joyful obsession, a way to use up every last scrap of fabric while filling their homes with handmade warmth.
So gather your fabric, thread your needles, and begin. Your hands already know how to do this — they just need a little practice to remember.
