22 Mar 120

Recycle Tutorial: Woven Rag Rug

loomless woven rag rug

Material

1. Old bed sheets (3 king size flat sheets, more if you have fitted sheet)

2. Sturdy corrugated cardboard of your preference size (mine is 28 x 20″)

3. Tapestry needle or masking tape

5. Scissor

Finished dimension: approximately 25″ x 14″

You might want to refer to the braided rag rug for some basic preparations for stripping and how to join the strips.

Mark the short side of the cardboard 1/2″ apart and 2″ down. Leave the edge for 2″ wide so that the cardboard is not being weakened.
Cut it to create slots for gripping the fabric strips.

Cut or tear the old sheets into 1″ or 2″ wide strips. Arrange 12 or 6 strips into each slot, leaving 6″ extra for each end.
Alternate the colors between the slots to create some color patterns for the woven rag rug. You will be surprised how it turns out.
Reserve some strips for the weaving.

Take a strip and slot it into the eye of a tapestry needle and start weaving.
If you don’t have a tapestry needle, you can tape a masking tape the end of the weaving strip, this will make it easier to go through the warp strips.
Secure the tail end in the first slot.
Begin by passing through the weaving strip at the bottom of the first bunch, then on top for the second bunch, and bottom again for the 3rd bunch and so on….
Until you reach the last bunch, rotate the cardboard and continue weaving for the next row. If you ended the weaving strip at the bottom of the last bunch, then begin your second row at the top.

Since there are 12 strips in a slot, make sure you have all the strips weaved.
Pull the bunch vertically a little to straighten up the 12 strips as you go.
Repeat this until you complete the whole piece.

Weave the last row in close to the previous row, with needle up or down to make a crisscross to the previous strip, pull the weaving strip and tie the warp strips in place.
Do the same on the other end of the rag. Join a new strip to sew and tie.

Hide the weaving strip in the warp strips by passing through the strip within the weaves.

Take the woven rag rug out from the cardboard by lifting all the strips from the slots.

Trim the end to the length of bout 4″ or to your preference.
~COMPLETE~

woven rag rug

{More photos and story on Page 1.}

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120 comments... read them below or add one

  1. Jenny Briggs says:May 31, 2012 at 2:01 am

    I just wanted to say your rug looks amazing! I have been teaching my self to dc rag rugs, they are fun, however I happened to find your rug, now I want to learn that too! I am confused by a few things, 1) not sure about how to hide the weaving strip by going through the strips, and 2) about the last row being down diagnol! If you have time to discuss this I would appreciate it!

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  3. jackie says:July 2, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    just wanted to say what a great idea. i am gonna start collecting the things i need straight away.
    very clever x

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  4. Pingback:Reduce Reuse Recycle: Folded Paperbacks and a Rag Rug « kiwihome

  5. Lynn says:July 28, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Thanks for sharing a lovely & useful recycle project. Love that it’s no-sew too.

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    Reply

  6. Pingback:15 Ways to Reuse Old Sheets | Top TV Stuff

  7. Lara says:September 4, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    The most amazing ideas I’ve seen. Thanks for all the step by step instructions on useful projects!

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  8. Pingback:Rag Rug Tutorial «

  9. Pingback:Savvy Housekeeping » Making A Rag Rug

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  11. Monica says:October 11, 2012 at 8:24 pm

    Thanks so much for this tutorial! We are having our kitchen floor tiled and I want to make a couple of rugs to place in front of our stove and sink so I can minimize spills on the floor. This is a exactly what I was looking for.

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  12. PattyP says:October 18, 2012 at 8:38 am

    I LOVE the rug you made and want to try making my own. I’m an experienced crafter and seamstress, but have never made rugs. I’m sorry to say that I did not find the instructions clear in a few places, so it will be a case of trial and error I guess until I get it right.

    Here is the part I found most confusing: “Weave the last row in opposite direction by creating a crisscross, pull the weaving strip and tie the warp strips in place. Do the same on the other end of the rag. Join a new strip to sew and tie.”

    It seems without some stitching across the ends where the “fringe” is, the woven ends will fall off with use. I wish you could give a clearer explanation. I’ve looked ta the pictures, but they are too small to see much detail. I don’t want to complain. I’m grateful you shared your rug weaving method!

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    • Craft Passion says:October 18, 2012 at 9:53 am

      It won’t fall off if they are “tie” properly. In the instruction it says that you need to tie the warp strip to knot. You may do it a little different with some creativity, just to make sure the rug is steady :) Hope this helps.

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      Reply
  13. Jessica moss says:November 1, 2012 at 7:15 am

    Using this amount of fabric how large is the end result?

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  14. Brooke Trotter says:November 11, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    I still don’t understand how to “tie” the warp strips at the end. How does the weaving strip hold them in place or does it? Do I actually have to knot the warp strips at the end to keep it from unraveling? “pull the weaving strip and tie the warp strips in place” does not make any sense to me. Can u please explain this further?

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  17. P says:January 4, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    Hey there I love your woven rug! Is there any limit to the size? I would love to create one large enough to use under my medium sized Dining table! Do you think its doable?? ;) TIA!

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  19. kay says:January 15, 2013 at 8:45 am

    I know this question has been asked a bunch of times, but can’t really find the answer. The last step about weaving the last row in opposite direction – not quite sure what that means. Anyway you could reword for us?

    Thanks so much for sharing this great rug and thank you in advance for your help.

    60
    Reply

  20. Pingback:Weaving the Rag Rug « CraftSpark

  21. debbie says:February 20, 2013 at 3:42 am

    how large is your rug since you utilized 3 king size sheets? for a 3′ x 5′ rug, how many strips should i utilize? thanks!

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    • Craft Passion says:February 20, 2013 at 10:09 am

      My bed sheets are very torn and thin, the rag rug came out to be about 25″ x 14″.
      For your size, I would say double it up what called in the tutorial, but if your bed sheets are pretty new you won’t need that many.

      61.1
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  22. Nancy says:March 19, 2013 at 6:23 am

    I really like this rug. Can you do a video recording tutorial for those of us who are slow. lol

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  23. Nancy says:March 19, 2013 at 6:24 am

    thanks

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  24. Deborah Jennings says:April 1, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    I can’t wait to try this. I just hope I can do it. I do have a small weaving loom, but it is too small for a rug. I “might” could do a place mat on it. Thank you for sharing with us.

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    Reply
  25. Anna says:April 26, 2013 at 8:05 am

    Your rug is beautiful! I was wondering, what is size of the finished rug? Also, how well do they hold up? Are they machine washable? I’m worried it will be ruined the moment someone steps on it.

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    • Craft Passion says:April 26, 2013 at 10:09 am

      Hi Anna, the approximate size of the rug is 25″ x 14″.
      It is still hold up very well after 3 years of using it and with regular washing.
      I throw the rug into washing machine to wash with other rugs. Just like other rugs, it comes out clean and fluffily soft after the wash.

      65.1
      Reply
  26. Suzanne says:May 4, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Please, please, please, a video :) This rug looks so fabulous, but I just don’t get it from the pictures.

    66
    Reply

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