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Media Press Recycle Tutorial: Braided Rag Rug
My mum threw me 2 bundles of old bed sheets she found during spring cleaning. She knows that I love to recycle and able to make something good out from them. In support of the Earth Hour campaign, I am going to spend the whole March making recycle handmade and will switch off my lights for 1 hour on March 27, 8:30pm. Hope you will do so too
The first idea that came across my mind was rag rug, yes, with all this rotten bed sheets I can make lots of rag rugs. I stumbled upon some rag rug tutorials before, and this one really caught my attention, Moda Bake Shop’s braided rag rug. I like their idea to braid the fabric strips and sew it into a rag rug. Since I did it a little different from them, here is my version, a versatile and strong rag rug that can be used for many years, just like my granny’s rag rug.
I love the touch of this braided rag rug….. it is rough!!! My mum loves to rub her feet against floor mat, so this should fits her right. I will send this back to my mum, she is going to love it!!!! I will make one for myself, I need one to comfort my feet too…. I inherited this habit from her…
Let’s go and see how I make this 22″ x 16″ oval shape braided rag rug
Materials:
1.Old bed sheets (3 king size should be enough to make 3 rag rugs)
2. Scissors
3. Pencil and ruler
4. Safety pin and pin
5. Sewing machine and threads
Mark the edge of the old bed sheet, 1″ apart. Snip and tear to the end. Do it on warp or weft direction of the bed sheet not the bias.
My mum’s old bed sheets are quite tattered at the center part, so, I just utilized the area 1 to 1.5 feet from the edge. I saved up the center part to make the base for the rag rug.
A bunch of it waiting for tidying up. Don’t worry about the frays, they will be gone in the next step.
Remove all the loose threads along the strips, they normally are those vertical threads that came off when you tear the fabric.
Roll up the strips into ball, don’t join the ends, just roll it up and get ready for the next step. I made 3 from different bed sheets, so that I will get some pattern when I braid the strips.
Stack 3 strips and make a few stitches at the end.
Secure the end by pinning it down with safety pin to somewhere you feel comfortable to work at. I pinned it on my ironing board. Curtain should do well too.
Start braiding till you come to an end of the strip.
Arrange the strips to end at different length so they don’t join at the same point and make the braid bulky. Cut the length if necessary.
Loosen up the other ends when they get tangled up. This is the reason why I advise not to join the strips before braiding. Short length is easier to loosen up.
When come to the end of a strip and need an extension extension, fold the end of the strip at about 1 -1.5″ from the edge, make a small slit vertically. Do the same to the new strip.
Put the new strip on top of the existing and pass the tail end through the slit holes.
Gently pull the strip until is goes all the way to the other side. The end of the existing strip goes through it as well.
Tug it a little to tighten up the joint. Continue to braid.
Braid the strips till you have a substantial length for the rag rug, 10 yard or so. Just an estimation will do, if you don’t have enough, you can always braid again later.
Set aside.
Prepare the base.
Fold the center piece of the left over bed sheet after all the stripping, to a size of about 23″ x 17″. I place an old curtain at the bottom to further reinforce the rag rug, you can do without it if your bed sheet is not as tattered as mine.
Tack stitch to secure all layers.
Mark 1″ square on the base, to have 22 squares x 16 squares (with 1/2″ seam allowance for the sides). This is useful during sewing the braid strip to the base, so that you will know if your rag is going out of the shape.
Place the braid at the center 6 squares width wide, coil and go around the first strip. Hide the head end of the braid when your rounding strip reach there. Pin to secure.
Sew the side of the braid with zigzag stitch so that the braid join up side by side.
Continue to sew until you reach the last square.
Cut away the extra base.
Sew the braid under the base. Hide the end. Complete!
Besides the exquisite top, you will have a scenic base with all the zigzags go around in oval…. This make the rag rug reversible, one stone two brids!!!!
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Great tutorial!
great idea!! And I am always needing a little throw rug here and there !! Having boys, I always have to wash them and these would be washable!! Thanks!! :O)
yes, it is washable and the build is rugged, should be able to last for many years
that’s great!! pretty colors on the pic!! :O)
Thanks for sharing this tutorial. I love these braided rugs.
Hope you will try it out. It is really pretty easy
This is wonderful! I can’t wait to make some!!
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HOLA !!!!!! GENIAL ESTE TUTORIAL !!!!!!!!
)
Gracias por compartirlo! ME ENCANTO, YA ME PONGO A RECICLAR …
DESDE ARGENTINA TE MANDO UN BESO !!!!! Y QUE BUENO COMOCERTE!
JOR…
Translation (By Google)
HELLO !!!!!! GENIAL !!!!!!!! THIS TUTORIAL
Thanks for sharing! I love it, and I start to recycle …
FROM ARGENTINA !!!!! TE MANDO UN BESO And how good COMOCERTE!
JOR …
Great to hear!!! Let’s heal the Earth
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What a great tutorial!!
I am a first time visitor and now a perment stalker lol I love this!
Welcome to Craft Passion, Lacie
You have so many really good ideas for reusing things, and not wasting them. One of your projects that I really like is the sturdy tube box. I have made lots of things with pvc pipe, but never thought of using it that way. Thank you for sharing your crafts.
hope you come back every now and then and check out my latest handmade and tutorial
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I love this!! It reminds me of the rag rugs we had in my house when I was a kid. My great-great-aunt made them.
I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-braided-rag-rug/2010/03/12/
–Anne
Thanks for the link.
I hope this will bring good memory to my kids too, and they will say” this reminds me of my mum who love to made recycle rag rugs”, lol
I’ll have to try this rug, loved the tutorial makes it look so easy to make.
it is very easy to make. Just go and dig out your old bed sheets
I love this tutorial so much, it’s easy!! and I love rag rugs, my great grandma used to have them… they are so long lasting and just a memory for me… ty, i am going to make some!!
and you have a new fan in me !!
Thanks for joining Craft Passion
I love this tutorial, and I have wanted to make a rag rug for years! My great grandma had them in her home… i just love the look and feel of them.. ty for making this easy to do!
Hope you will sew up some for great memories
love it – looks fab well done
Thanks, Fay. I love yours recycle projects too
It’s lovely! I have such a soft spot for rag rugs. I’ll be linking.
Thanks for sharing it with your readers
This is next on my list to do….I have always wondered how these are made…plus I alreay have a long strip of braided fabric just gathering dust….super excited…I’ll post a pic when I’m finished.
Hope that you will share with us your version of braided rag rug
I have a rather old sewing machine, do you think it would get through the thickness of fabric ? I have my doubts
If your machine can sew denim jeans, it should be fine for this
Great tute for making a braided rag rug. The pictures are fantastic too as they really show how to d-i-y!
I was thinking if we can do this with plastic strips… may be you will help us to figure it out.
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Hey I’m getting confused with the cutting of it and how it will be just one long strip, I read the step but I’m getting confused.
After cutting or tearing the bed sheet into long strips, you need to braid the 3 strips to form the braided strip.
Hope I answered your question.
Great idea!
So, I’ve started it a while back but it is coming along. I’m green on my new sewing machine and didn’t know to make sure that the braid is coiled clockwise so that it doesn’t get bunched up as the rug gets bigger. Now that is fixed! (don’t know why I was doing a counter clockwise coil anyway!)
I have about 3 or 4 feet so far but am noticing that when I lie it down it doesn’t sit very flat. I didn’t think I braided it too tight. Any advise? I’m just going to keep on going and hopefully when I finish it will lie properly. I can’t wait until it’s done!
I only realize that going clockwise is going to have a problem when the rug gets bigger… thanks for sharing!!! I just did it anti-clockwise by nature, didn’t even think of the other way round.
When you braid, hold the strips as horizontal as possible so the braid can come out flat. And, avoid any twist in the braid, it should be flat, just like when we braid the hair.
Hope this help
OK, so the turning up of the edges is getting worse even though I’ve done what you mentioned…sewing it flat…making sure it isn’t tight…so I’ve given up and cut the back sheet off and am uncoiling until I have about 2ft by 2ft circled rug left to which I will start handsewing and continuing to add my braid. I’ll send a pick when I’m done in a couple of months!!
Love this project, just reposted it on my website of great projects: http://maketwincities.blogspot.com/
Thanks for sharing in your blog
I love this mat! I bet I have enough scrap material to make one these…and one of these days I just might get to it…Thanks for sharing!
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Great idea I love creating new projects!
omg! youre going to turn off your lights for 1 hour?? thats AMAZING
not
What a great looking rug! Terrific directions & lovely pictures. Might have to try this……wondering if there are some old sheets in the linen closet????
Love your instructions. Have some flannel that had been lying around forever. Purchased for another project, but changed my mind. I am going to use it for a rag rug. Thanks.
Glad to know this
Happy making ! I am sure you are going to enjoy braiding the strips, just have to make sure you de-tangle as you braid to prevent messy work 
Great idea. I’m going to try it with some of my husband’s old uniforms.
http://www.sothisisarmylife.blogspot.com
Thank-you so much for the wonderful tutorial! This is the best & nicest one I have seen. I picked up some sheets today and will be starting this weekend….can’t wait to see how it turns out. :~)
This is great, I have just reupholstered some beat up furniture and I ended up with a lot of extra fabric. I had thought of making a rug to match but all of the tutorials for braided rag rugs are pretty much hand sewn and I do not have the time nor patience to sit and hand sew a 5′x7′ braided rug together. It would be a piece of cake on the sewing machine though! Thank you!
I picture that this would be very slippery on the bottom. Is it?
It is like the normal rag rug, could be slippery on certain floor surface. You may add a non-slip mat in between the floor and the rug for better safety.
Too Good and super practical…
The tutorial is really very easy to follow and the best thing is .. it is practical enough to do…
Fun sight! Excited to find a rag rug with machine sewing! Ready to sew mine onto base. You mention a seam allowance-
Do you turn the edges under the braid when you reach the edge?