I know what you are thinking… why would I want to make anything no-sew???
But, hear me out:
These rugs go together so beautifully, are easy to make, are delightfully luscious under foot, and are made entirely out of up-cycled textiles. What’s not to love??
As you can probably tell by the pics above, I have not finished my lounge room size rug yet (it is getting close), but I have made a video tutorial where I make a mini rug to show you all the techniques.
You can check it out here:
And part 2 here:
For reference, this mini rug took me 1 hour start to finish, took 2 t-shirts, and measures 23cm in diameter.
I only go up to 6 strands in the video, but you can definitely go up to 8 on larger rugs.
I would absolutely love to hear about your rag rug experiences and see your creations, so if you have a go (or already have) please comment below, or snap some pics and hashtag them #SEW4BUB
As always, thanks for reading (watching)
Liz xx
Sew 4 Bub 
This is great! I love that you don’t have to sew it together.
Me too! once it is done it is done 🙂
This is a really cool idea!!! I want to make one!
I watched your videos. I really like how you show the process, and the finished project is lovely. I’m not sure I have the patience for this, but I’m considering, because it would be amazing. I have some questions, though. For a larger rug would you increase to 6 after a round and then to 8 and continue with 8 until the last two rounds then decrease to 6 and then 4? What is the purpose of the increase/decrease? About how wide are your strips? What do you want to say about colors & patterns? I like the spiral effect in the sample. Thanks!
Hi Vivian, the purpose of the increase and decrease is to make the rug round, or else it will have a lumpy bit where you stopped, if you continue with the pattern of colours I use in the example then you should have the spiral pattern continue through your rug, however it is easier to use a few similar colours, as it is more forgiving if you have to make adjustments to keep the rug round. My strips are a couple of inches wide, I am not to specific with this, I just cut adult shirts the way the video shows and work with however wide they end up. Hope this helps – good luck with your rug 🙂
Do you alternate increasing and decreasing until you’ve reached the diameter you want? For instance you started with 4 strands then increased to 6, then decrease to 4, then increase to 6 and so on. This was a great tutorial!!
Hi Carolyn,
If you are going for a larger diameter, increase to 6, then to 8. Continue working with eight until the rug is as large as you want it then begin to decrease, down to 6 then to 4. The decreasing is just so the end blends in nicely when you finish up. Hope this helps
Cheers
Liz
I just posted on the youtube video but here would probably be better…I’m going to do this with my abundance of old t shirts but do you think it would be attainable with blue jeans?
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I can’t seem to get past a certain point in the mat before it starts puckering and wanting to make a basket. What am I doing wrong?
Hey Tamara, it is a tension problem. You can make your loops looser or braid through the same loop a couple of times so the outside braid is longer than the inside braid if you know what I mean 🙂
Hi for a rectangular rug can u please help me with a video how to turn it and then continue the braids.. also how do shorten the strands while coming to the end..
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Hi.
How do you know when you’ve completed one full revolution? I’m finding it difficult to keep tabs on the starting point and thus don’t know when to add or drop strands.
Very pretty but not a good tutorial. Cant see what you’re doing and you’re going too fast
Thanks for the feedback lovely, we can always do to get better 🙂
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The picture on the pin is not braid in technique! What is it?
Hey there,
The black white and grey rug (the one in the top pic) is made in the exact same way as the one in the video. It has 8 strands going at the point in the pics.
Cheers
Liz
Thank you so much for doing this video. So many instructors do not tell you when to add the extra pieces. I am definitely going to try this and will hopefully send pictures. So my question is this ….. the bigger the rug the more strips you work with ?
Hey Linda,
How many strips you work with is entirely up to preference. Although I have worked with up to 12 at a time I find 8 the best balance for me, the rug grows fast but I can still handle the braid easily. I suspect this is different for everyone. You could make a huge floor rug out of a 4 strand braid if that was your preference.
Hope this helps,
Warm regards
Liz
Thank you so much! This was a great tutorial!! I messed up in the beginning but because there’s no sewing, I just undid it and started over. I am using jeans and sweatpants and it is working well.
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