Let’s make a rag rug!
Follow this tutorial to learn how to crochet a rag rug in the round using yarn made of old t-shirts and leftover yarns from your stash.
This is an easy upcycle project, that is suitable for beginners, where you can create something beautiful out of your old worn-out clothing. I’ll teach you the principles of making a circular rag rug step-by-step so that you can make the rug in any size you want.
You can watch the video tutorial above, or if you prefer: keep on reading…
I made a similar rag rug around three years ago and I also have made a rag rug basket, which is made in a similar technique, but in a square shape and if you’re interested in that you can check out that video as well.
When I made my first t-shirt yarn rag rug I did not have that many funds to decorate my home with so I set myself a challenge on: What can I make with things that I already have?
Around the same time, I promised myself to not let any of my textile waste going to landfill anymore and as such, I had started to save all my worn-out clothing & scraps to be used for future projects.
I had also seen a crocheted round rag rug on Pinterest. I couldn’t find any tutorial on how to make it, but as I know how to crochet so I just winged it, and this is how I did it:
To make your rug you’ll need:
- Old t-shirts which you make into t-shirt yarn (Check out my tutorial on how to do so here!)
- Scrap yarns from your stash (or, if you do not have many, get some yarns from the thrift store, freecycle or from a friend’s stash)
- A crochet hook & basic crochet skills – you can be a beginner and pull this project off really well. All you need to know is how to make a slip stitch, chain stitch, magic ring and single crochet (US crochet terms).
Let’s start making the rug!
Pick the yarns you want to start making your rug with. I went with a hot pink scrap yarn and a light grey t-shirt yarn.
Make a magic ring with your scrap yarn, and then chain 2 stitches (ch) into the ring. Make 6 single crochets (sc) and then slip stitch (sl st) into the first single crochet to close the round.
Now it’s time to add the t-shirt yarn as follows: Hold the yarn next to the work where the new round will start. Pull your crochet hook into the next stitch in the circle and then wrap the yarn over the hook and the t-shirt yarn. Draw the yarn through the work only and then wrap the yarn around the hook and the t-shirt yarn again. Pull through both of the loops. Now the first sc is made and continue by making another sc into the same stitch. After that continue to make 2 sc into each stitch in the circle by wrapping the scrap yarn around the t-shirt yarn in the process.
Once it’s time to complete the round make sure to wrap the end of the t-shirt yarn into the work. You can also do this by pulling the end into your work with your hook. As you work on your rug make sure to pull away any ends of yarn to make sure that they’re properly tucked away in the rug.
The rug is made into a continuous circle with a scrap yarn wrapped around the t-shirt yarn. To make sure your rug is increased enough in size to lay flat you will need to increase 6 stitches (sts) each round as such on the third round you will increase every other stitch so that you will have 18 sts in total, and then continue to increase from Round 4 as follows:
- Round 3: 1 sc in first sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 18 sts total
- Round 4: 1 sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 24 sts total
- Round 5: 1 sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 30 sts total
- Round 6: 1 sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 36 sts total
- Round 7: 1 sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 42 sts total
- Round 8: 1 sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 48 sts total
- Round 9: 1 sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 54 sts total
- Round 10: 1 sc in next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 60 sts total
- Round 11: 1 sc in next 9 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 66 sts total
- Round 12: 1 sc in next 10 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 72 sts total
- Round 13: 1 sc in next 11 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 78 sts total
- Round 14: 1 sc in next 12 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 84 sts total
- Round 15: 1 sc in next 13 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 90 sts total
- Round 16: 1 sc in next 14 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 96 sts total
- Round 17: 1 sc in next 15 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 102 sts total
- Round 18: 1 sc in next 16 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 108 sts total
- Round 19: 1 sc in next 17 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 114 sts total
- Round 20: 1 sc in next 18 sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep around → 120 sts total
And so on…!
You might have noticed that this is a total practice or the 6 times-table… 😉 I find it helpful to have a stitch marker at the beginning of the round to help me make the right amount of increases for each round.
Once I had established my increases I did not count my stitches anymore and instead, I just made sure to increase into my previous increases. Just make sure to pay attention to your previous round if you go with this method so that you do not miss doing some of the increases.
I decided to switch colours of yarn as I went along making the rug. When switching colours all you need to do is tie the ends of yarn together and continue to crochet around the t-shirt. When it’s time to attach a new piece of t-shirt yarn: cut a little hole in the middle of the yarn and pull through a
the new piece of yarn, and then continue to crochet around the yarn.
Have fun mixing & matching colours!
Make sure to have fun mix and matching colours. For example in the beginning of my rug, I used the same light grey t-shirt yarn but by using hot pink, followed by baby pink and then mustard yellow I am creating a completely different look.
When switching t-shirt yarns I continued to cut the little hole in the middle of the yarn, as I recommended you to do, but I found it helped to also have the ends in place with a couple of pins.
I wanted my rug not to be the same as the old rug but I wanted them to be able to work together colour-wise and be around the same size, as such I pulled out my rug-in-progress on top of the old rug to see how much more work I needed to do as well as which colours to use.
I would recommend you to lay your rug out in the area where you would like to put it to see how it works in the space. Ask yourself: Does it need to be bigger and, if so, how much bigger? Do you need to add any other colours, or add more of certain colours?
Before doing my final rounds I held the edge of my rug towards other sections of the rug to get an idea which colours it would look good to finish it with. This is a good way to check what colours could work next for you.
Take your time!
My second rug was made over the course of two months, and I think the first rug took even longer than that to make. The rug is far from hard to make once you have mastered the basic principles, however, be aware that this project takes time especially as the rug gets bigger and bigger.
Therefore make sure to take many breaks whilst making your rug. Crochet can be strenuous for your arms and shoulders if you’re crochet during a prolonged period of time. Therefore try to work a little bit every day instead of a big chunk of time once in a while.
The footage of the video tutorial above was in total 4,5 hours long and then I didn’t even film the whole process. That might will give you a bit of sense of how long it took for me to make this rug.
How to finish your rug
Once you’re about to finish the rug: Crochet until you reach the stitch marker, if using, then cut the end of your yarn so that it looks like a pointy triangle. Single crochet around the yarn until you come to the beginning of the pointy end. Then instead of single crochet, make a slip stitch and then pull the yarn through the loops. Cut off the yarn and leave a long tail.
Then I pull the pointy end in towards the work on the back with my hook, as, well as the ends of any joined pieces of yarn. I also made sure to smoothen out any bulky areas on my rag rug pulling them inside the yarn.
With a darning needle, I pulled the long tail of yarn on the back of the rug along with the last stitches of the last round. Cut off any excess yarn.
The rug is done! Or almost… before calling the project complete I had to block it and I recommend you to do this as well to help it lay flat. I decided to hand wash the rug, but you can also block it using a steamer, or by pressing it with an iron.
I hand-washed my rug in cold water with a mild detergent suitable for handwashing. Before letting my rug dry in its proper shape I made sure to get as much water out of the rug as possible. This I did by rolling the rug up in a towel pressing out any excess water.
Then I let the rug lay flat to dry on a couple of towels. To ensure the rug stayed in shape I did put a couple of weights on top of the rug on some plastic bags that had sneaked into my life recently. I did this to prevent rust to transfer to the rug. You can also use books to help a rug flatten – just make sure your books do not get damp!
And finally… after many hours of work, my rug is now complete! 🥳
Want to save this project for later? Pin it!
If you make a t-shirt rug like this – don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @missmatti – I would love to see what you make! 💗
