Learn how to make a beautiful rag rug from old bedsheets – video tutorial included below!
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This DIY Rag Rug tutorial is a reader project, submitted by Gemma Cooper from Simply Beautiful Painted Furniture. Please leave any questions for Gemma in the comments below.
MATERIAL USED TO MAKE A RAG RUG:
- Old bedding sheets/linen – colour and design of your choice
- Anti rug slip mat , or a latch rug canvas with a 1cm grid width.
- Fabric scissors
HOW TO MAKE A RAG RUG:
This rag rug is very simple to make, but can be very time consuming.
I basically cut up 3 single (twin) bed sheets I had which I no longer used in to strips of approximately 15cm x 3cm. I then knotted each strip to the anti rug slip.
Check out my video tutorial below to find out exactly how I did this.
And thats how the rug is made. The good thing about using bedding is that you can wash it on a 30•c wash (which I have done with no problems).
Here is a picture of the underside of the rag rug.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. To see more of my work please visit my Facebook page Beautiful Painted Furniture.
Thanks, Gemma x
This rag rug tutorial has become quite popular. If you’re a gal or guy who loves fabric and/or easy craft ideas, then you might like some of these other posts on the blog!
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Whoa! This is seriously cool. Not only will I love this as a way to use up old sheets, but my dog will love snuggling on something like this.
Could you use jute or hemp cord and have an outdoor type rug?
I dont see why not!
I love this! Is it machine washable?
Yes!
love the idea, but my concern is fraying. do you use anything or is there a way to cut like on bias or something to keep from fraying.
HI
I love rag rugs. Have you ever tried using a rug hook? you could save yourself a heap of time, it may not work on thicker material but with the sheeting I’m sure it would work fine.
Already made 4 of these rugs. 2 1/2 x 4. they turned out beautiful.
used cotton material on 2 and fleece on two.
The fleece rugs wash up beautifully and dry extremely fast.
Thanks for sharing these tips on how to make my own rug, nice article.
I found it hard to get the strip through the rubbery non slip mesh so I am using a small safety pin to guide it down and back up.
How did you keep your rug from getting misshapen? Mine is only 10 inches by 24 so far and is looking like a parallegram well in it’s way to a rhombus!!
I recently found this on Pinterest, and I absolutely love this idea! It’s so cute. I’m a big fan of DIY crafts, and I’ll definitely be trying this one. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Enjoy!
did you go in ever square or skip one in between each strip.
Every square!
Ragging seems to be huge now- I’ve seen quite a few kits etc in the craft fairs I’ve been to this year 😉 Actually have my own ragging tutorial planned for next week- fingers crossed! 🙂 (Not a rug 🙂 )
Your rug is very pretty. I have questions. I could not tell from the video how many times you knotted each piece of fabric–is 2 knots enough?
Second, I am wondering if it has frayed much? Did you cut your strips with a rotary cutter to seal the edges or regular scissors? Would cutting them with pinking shears help with fraying? If using pinking shears, I wonder if that would change the look of the rug.
Thanks so much.
Hi Laura, Gemma knotted each fabric piece one time 🙂
Can you give me the size or order number of the anti slip rug that you found? There are so many that I don’t know which one would have the biggest holes.
Hi Lisa – it all really depends on what size you want your rug to be. You can find some great anti slip rugs though on amazon
Did you go thru everyone or every other?
Oh my gosh! What a clever DIY project! We are going to share this on our Facebook page soon 🙂
Thank you 🙂
How you made it. I dint get your point. There is no tutorial. Kindly tell in detail how to make rug.
Here is the video of how gemma made the rugh ttps://www.facebook.com/Beautifulpaintedfurniture/videos?ref=page_internal
Doesn’t the anti-slip rug grip deteriorate over time? And you mentioned you wash the rug, hopefully it air dries?
Yes, as Gemma mentioned it can be washed. And yes it would need air drying..Im not sure how long it would last. I think it would depend on the quality of the material used, how often you wash it and maybe where its placed in your home 🙂
You can use clear caulking for anti slipping as well.
I love this idea! One question: are you able to wash it?
Hi Stacie. Yes Gemma said she washed this rug in a 30c wash in the washing machine 🙂
Beautiful
Hi Gemma, approx how long did it take you to complete the size rug you made? I absolutely LOVE it and am interested in making a few for my nieces rooms for Xmas and have a few nieces so really hoping I’ll have the time before the holidays. Thanks in advance!
Erika
Hi jade the holes are roughly 1cm x1cm on the anti rug slip x
Thankyou so much for sharing this picture. What a great project i can start for my girls. What size are the squares on the anti slip underlay?
Thanks heaps Jade 🙂
Absolutely fabulous. Love this x
WOW this is beautiful, thank you for sharing xxxx
Hi, I got the anti rug slip underlay off eBay you need to get the one with the larger square holes if you look at the photos you will be able to see which one it is. If you have any problems message me on my page and I’ll get you the item number xx
Hi Gemma,
I looked on ebay for the anti rug slip, but there are so many to choose from, can you tell me which one (and size) you chose. I don’t want to get one too small or one with the holes so small that I can’t do anything with it.
Thanks so much and by the way, your rug is beautiful – I can’t way to try my hand at it!
Thanks again for sharing it with us,
Michele
I would love to make this rug, but can’t seem to find the anti-rug-slip with the hold big enough. Where did you find it – Ebay, craft store, etc?
I found my rug slips at walmart for $10. I will be able to make 2 5×7 rugs from what came in one pack. Some people say to use a crochet needle to feed through, i feel its faster to just use your nails. I have been working on mine here or there for 2 weeks now and I can tell the 5×7 is going to take me quite some time. I decided to make it cute and whimsical and used leftover material scraps and fat quarter packs also from walmart or amazon. Just to have a bunch of different patterns. So far I adore it, but it is taking quite a long time for a larger rug. Would also be cute in smaller strips for placemats
That sounds lovely jen. Good luck!
Where did you get the anti slip matt from hunnie ……would love to give this a go for my daughters room x
Lovetherugs, fab idea. Where do you buy the base from? And how long would intake to make a rug? Thank you.
What an awesome idea. I might need to dig out and see if I have any spare bed sheets. x
This looks absolutley brilliant, what a good idea and you make it look so easy on your video!
Hi vicki it was around 80cm x55cm 🙂
What was the finished rug size? That is so pretty!
Hi shelly, I used 3single bedcovers to make the rug the sizes of the strips are roughly 15cm x3cm x
Tag rug What are the measurements on material? Approx how much material did you use for your daughters rug?