Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

  • Home
  • Our Family
    • Our Home
  • Courses
  • Shop
  • Contact

DIY Rug

March 22, 2013 By Erica Deuel 25 Comments


DIY rug

Have you ever had a project where once you were in the middle of it-the idea of it didn’t seem quite as grand?  You decide you will never do it again, but in a twisted way you are still glad you did it, and you might actually like the project!?  That was this DIY rug for me.

As we were clearing out and getting rid of stuff to put our house on the market (Our House Attack), I found all our old queen bed sheets.  They were stuffed in the back of our linen closet and have not been touched since we got our king bed last summer.  I put them in a huge pile and was getting ready to throw them out or donate them, when I had an idea.  That pile of sheets was a lot of neutral color fabric that had to be able to be used for something.

a craft for old sheets

I had been wanting a new rug for our sitting room, and decided that a circle rug would look best.  As I priced them out, I saw that they could be pricey, so once I saw that pile of fabric, I knew I needed to try to make a rug.

I started by folding each one of my sheets over, so when I cut my 3″ wide strips, I was saving time by cutting through four layers of fabric at once.

folded sheets

cutting strips of fabric

I literally cut 3″ wide strips out of all of the flat-bed sheets.  The length doesn’t really matter when you are cutting the fabric, but I would go back later and cut them to be about 3′ long.  You ultimately want 3″ x 3′ long strips of fabric to braid.  Much longer than that gets too hard to maneuver.

strips of fabric cut

After all your fabric is cut, you are ready to start braiding.  Braid three pieces of fabric together, just like you would braid anything else.  I used a pin to hold my ends together on a basket to make it easier to braid.

braiding a rug

braided rug

When one of my small strips ran out while braiding, I simply hot glued another strip (of a different fabric pattern) to it and kept braiding.  Once you have a long strand of braided fabric, you can start to curl it to form the rug.  I know most tutorials say to hand stitch the braids together.  I didn’t want to spend that amount of time on this project.  I pulled out my hot glue gun, and it did an amazing job of bonding the braids together.  I simply added some glue and then stuck my braid to it as it curled around.

hot glueing a rug

hot glueing a rug together

Once I ran out of braid, I went back and braided some more strips till I had a long braid once again.  Next, I simply took both ends and hot glued the different strands together.

attaching fabric to braid longer

attaching fabric to braid

attaching more braid strands

I feel like there is so much cushion for error and imperfections with this project.  The ends are barely noticeable by being hot glued straight together like that as you can see in the picture below.

attaching more braids

Although it is slightly noticeable in the picture because of my arrow pointing to it, standing on my rug now, I don’t see any of them.  There was nothing hard or precise about this project.  It was literally just braiding and gluing as I have shown.  The part of this project that made me say I would NEVER do it again is how much time it took.  Granted it didn’t require any thinking, so I did it in front of the TV, but now I have a new understanding of why rugs cost so much.

I kept going with the braiding and gluing steps until my rug grew and grew.

rug growing 1

braided rug tutorial

Finally, I ran out of strips of fabric.  The rug didn’t end up being as big as I would have liked, and it might have a slight ripple speed bump in it.  Overall, I really like it!

I wanted to try to help smooth it out and reinforce my hot glue by adding a back fabric to the rug.  I used another big sheet to cut out a circle of my rug that I then sprayed glued onto the rug.  I still want to go back and use a stronger cement type glue to seal the edge of the under layer fabric to the rug more securely.

back of a rug

added rug support

We have been walking on it for over two weeks now, and it is holding up great!  My dogs love to curl up on it and I think it looks so good in the little sitting area in our kitchen.

sitting area

I think the circle shape helps close the spot in better than the long rectangle shape rug did.  What do you think?  Do you have a circle rug or obsession with circles?  After making my circle mirrors and working on this circle rug, I am obsessing over circles.

the difference in a rug

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

**Congratulations to Candice H. for winning my Easter Basket worth of handmade goodies!  I will be in touch!

signature


Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: DIY, Project Spotlight Tagged With: braided, braiding, DIY, fabric, hot glue project, how to make a rug, queen sheets, recycle, rug, sheets

Comments

  1. Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says

    March 22, 2013 at 11:51 am

    Looks great! Your hard work paid off!

    Reply
    • Debra says

      January 26, 2016 at 2:50 pm

      You can make a soft basked with handles when the project buckels, fold it. Small wooden chair cushions are nice. With ties. I would recommend sewing braids extensions together. I sewd all of them together. They wash up better.

      Reply
  2. Jillian says

    March 22, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    You apparently have the patience of a Saint! It looks great 🙂

    Reply
  3. Anna says

    March 23, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    My grandma makes rugs from old coats, sweats, blankets… The trick is to loosen up your rounds to keep it from bumping. Don’t tug to put the new round on… Just lay it down. 🙂

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      March 24, 2013 at 9:19 pm

      That makes perfect sense!!! Thank you so much for sharing Anna! I was so afraid to have holes or gaps in the rug that I kept pulling it tight, but I can see how that was my mistake! Thank you for the tip! If I ever make a rug again…I will remember your wise words!

      Reply
  4. diaperedknights says

    April 9, 2013 at 4:31 am

    Oh, I love this! You have great style…and I love the wall behind the sofa…so cheery and unique, but pulled together!

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      April 9, 2013 at 6:20 am

      Thank you Heather! You do too! I love your Pouf you just made!

      Reply
  5. JoAnne says

    June 13, 2013 at 10:42 pm

    What about washing the rug ? Won’t the glue melt ?

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      June 14, 2013 at 7:24 am

      Good question JoAnne! This rug is too big for my washing machine, so I have just been spot cleaning it with soap and water. I also have a steamer I use on my couches and thought I could try that, but I haven’t needed to yet! But yes…I would think the glue would melt in the washing machine too-so def don’t use it…even if your washer is big enough!

      Reply
      • Joslyn says

        November 17, 2014 at 9:40 am

        You could use a cold water cycle then hang dry it. 😉

        Reply
        • ericadeuel says

          November 19, 2014 at 10:46 am

          Yes! Perfect idea!! XOXO

          Reply
  6. denise says

    July 12, 2013 at 3:59 pm

    This came out amazing you are cleaver am concerned about the glue in the wash I’m rather on the old school way and will hand sew mine I want to send out tha thanks not to roll tight.it should last a lifetime. Thanks

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      July 24, 2013 at 8:39 pm

      You’re welcome Denise! Hope yours turns out amazing!

      Reply
  7. Jen says

    August 12, 2013 at 10:35 am

    I have a quick question.. how many “old sheets” did you use?

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      August 13, 2013 at 6:18 am

      Hey Jen! I think it was about 6!?! Hope that helps! XO, Erica

      Reply
  8. frankie says

    July 31, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    When you say you did a rectangle rug, does that mean you made a rectangle one to? I want to make a large rectangular rug, a smaller rectangular, a runner and round rug for my kitchen/dining area.

    Reply
  9. Wendi says

    January 11, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    Love this! I have one my mother in law made. I think I may give it a try also! Thank you!

    Reply
  10. Rebecca C says

    January 25, 2016 at 12:45 am

    I have pinned so many tutorials and instructions on how to make one of these…but now your post has actually given me the confidence to give it a try! Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Florence says

    April 11, 2016 at 7:57 am

    That looks great! Always wanted to try making a rag rug…

    Reply
  12. Sharon says

    April 7, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    I am inspired by the ease of this project, and when I am stuck indoors, which in this area can be for months, I am going to give this a try! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  13. SallyBob says

    September 7, 2017 at 5:50 am

    I have been reading and reading many tutorials for this type of rug and not until I read yours did I feel confident in attempting. I have braided the sheets now off to hot glue!!! Thank you for the simplicity in this craft. I am excited to see my finished product!! Thank you again. I hope all your days are blessed beyond capacity and that kindness and love linger throughout your home.

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      October 30, 2017 at 2:54 pm

      Thank you for your kind words. Way to go on giving it a shot. I hope it went well!

      Reply
  14. Wendi Wyatt says

    June 5, 2019 at 5:42 pm

    Very cool! I have been reading everywhere about rag rugs. I was feeling like I was the only one using hot glue.. I have no idea how to sew so this perfect. I have been burning the crap out of my fingers though. I got some latex gloves but it may be worse…idk, if it still burns I will try garden gloves. Thanks for posting for us gluing folks ?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Diy Rugs « Diy decorating and crafts – EnjoyCrafting.com says:
    January 8, 2014 at 8:26 am

    […] Source […]

    Reply
  2. 15 Ways to Upcycle Bed Sheets - DIY CHICKS says:
    December 12, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    […] you have the perfect bundles of fabric on your hands to make yourself a DIY braided strip rug! Spoonful of Imagination guides you through the process of stripping the sheets, braiding different colours together in a […]

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
YouTube-Channel
Erica Deuel

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!




Most Popular Posts

DIY Outdoor Table
Squeeze One More Project Out of Your Old Paint Bottles
DIY Outdoor Checker Board
Chiffon Flower Tutorial

Categories

  • All About the Kids
  • art journal
  • Blogging
  • Christmas
  • Craft Projects
  • Dancing Zebras
  • DIY
  • Eddy's postcards
  • Embroidery Journal
  • Family
  • Featured
  • Fireside Chat
  • Foster Care
  • Giveaways
  • Guest Posts
  • Home
  • Homeschooling
  • Kid Activities
  • Kid Craft
  • My Heart
  • Our Outings
  • Project Spotlight
  • Send Out Love
  • Shop
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Spoonful Lab
  • Spoonful Tribe
  • Tips + Tricks
  • Traveling
  • Uncategorized
  • Vlog

Favorite Categories

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!

Favorite Categories

© 2025 Spoonful of Imagination, Inc.