How to Make a Denim Carpet

Cut off the top of a pair of jeans just below the front and back pockets. Remove the hems and seams of the legs. Spread the denim to make flat pieces of material.

Use the marker and ruler to mark four 7-inch-wide strips of denim that run the full length of a jean leg. These four long pieces will provide the backing for your rug. Cut the pieces out of the fabric.

Mark and cut 36 7-inch squares of denim. Turn the squares right side up. Make sure their edges are even. Stack them in sets of three. Pin each stack together. You should have a dozen stacks in total.

Cut nine 7-inch-long by 3/4-inch-wide bias strips that will serve as dividers between the denim squares and the border. Bias strips connect the top and bottom parts of a rug and provide a quilted and finished appearance. To ensure that the length of each strip reaches 7 inches, you may have to cut the bias strips diagonally across a jean leg.

Overlap the long edges of two 7-inch-wide denim strips by 1/2 inch. Make sure the fabric is turned right side up. Pin to secure. Use a straight stitch to sew along the center of the overlapped strips. Use a zigzag stitch that goes on and off the raw edges of the seam to hold it down. Make to stitch through both layers of the overlap.

Stitch together additional 7-inch strips of denim until you have made a 25-inch-wide by 32 1/2-inch rectangle.

Fold 3/4 inch of each long side of the denim rectangle over the backing. The folds should face right side up. Overcast over the raw edges of the folds with a zigzag stitch. Repeat this procedure on both narrow sides.

Place the dozen stacked sets of squares on the backing in four rows of three squares each. There should be a 1/2-inch gap between all of the squares. Leave a 3/4-inch gap between the border and the perimeter squares. Make sure the squares and the backing are right side up. Pin the squares to the backing.

Use the ruler and marker to draw diagonal stitching lines across all of the squares. Each stitching line should be a 1/2-inch apart and cover the entire rug. Sew over each stitching line with a straight stitch. Use a backstitch at the start and end of each line of stitching. Cut the ends of the threads.

Cut down the middle of every row of stitching. Do not cut the backing.

Pin a 3/4-inch bias strip to the right side of the narrow sides of the backing. Make sure the long edges of the backing and the bias strip match up. The bias strip should also be right side up. Use additional strips if necessary. Line up the edges and cut excess fabric.

Pin 3/4-inch bias strips to the long sides of the backing in the same way that you did for the narrow sides. The border should be complete.

Pin a 7-inch-long bias strip between each square on the rug. Sew down the middle of the strips around the borders and between the squares with a straight stitch.

Use a cold water normal cycle to machine wash the rug.