Homemade Fabric Rugs

Fabric

• Purchase materials at a fabric shop or choose fabric remnants. Sometimes you can find assorted materials at garage sales, flea markets or second-hand stores. If you prefer a fluffy rug, chenille is a good fabric choice. Wool fabric will produce an extra-warm rug. Cotton is usually the most readily available and the least expensive choice.

Colors and Textures

• Mix and match colors and patterns on the fabric to give you a palette of colors in the end product. Solid colors work well also. When braiding fabric rugs, it is best to keep to the same family of fabric so that the braids are even. For example, if you braid cotton fabric and nylon fabric together, it will not lay flat because the nylon fabric stretches and makes it hard to keep the braids even.

Cutting and Braiding

• Cut the material you choose into 2-inch-wide strips in the same length. Lay three strips on top of each other and sew one end together. Use a sewing machine to sew them together or hand-sew them, but make sure it is secure by sewing across the strips at least twice. Either put something heavy on the end you sew on a flat surface or use a thumb tack to tack it to the wall and braid the three strips evenly to the end. Sew this end together the same way as the first end. Make additional braids and sew the ends together so that it is a very long braid.

Forming the Rug Shape

• To make the shape and size of the homemade braided fabric rug, lay the braided strips on a solid surface such as a table or the floor and start by laying the beginning of the strip out, then wrapping it around in a circle. Ovals and circles are the most popular shapes, but you can create any shape or size. Sew the tops of the braided rows together to fasten.

Rubber Backing

• Rubber backing is a great addition to a homemade fabric rug. It keeps the rug from slipping on a hard floor and increases the life of the rug because it is not sliding on the floor, which could cause fraying. Rubber backing is available at craft shops and fabric shops. To attach rubber backing to a rug, spray fabric glue onto the backing and press the rug on top of it firmly. Simply walking on the rug will press it down and adhere it to the backing.