How to Make a Rope Rug from Old Clothes
A practical, colourful rug can be useful in an entryway or holiday home. This project wraps ordinary clothesline with strips from old T-shirts, shirts, or children’s clothes to make a decorative rug.
What You Need
- Medium-weight rope. The amount depends on the size of the coil; about 5 m may be enough for a small rug.
- Old clothes or fabric scraps, including knit fabric.
- Strong thread for hand sewing or a sewing machine.
- Hot glue.
How to Make the Rope Rug
Cut fabric scraps or unwanted clothing into strips about 4–5 cm (1½–2 in) wide, in whatever lengths are practical.
Use a small amount of hot glue to fix a fabric strip to one end of the rope. Wrap the rope tightly, overlapping the turns slightly.
When a strip ends, secure it with hot glue and continue with the next one. The result is a length of colourful wrapped rope.
Coil the rope into a circle and secure each turn as you go with doubled strong thread or a sewing machine.
Use the finished rug as decoration, not as a substitute for a non-slip underlay. On smooth flooring, add a suitable underlay or place it away from a walkway to reduce trip risk. Check the stitching and wear regularly. Hot glue can burn; scissors, needles, and sewing machines require careful adult supervision.
@bussinka, yes, I have one like this at my dacha, made from old T-shirts: simply a braid coiled into a spiral. I stitched it on a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch, though you can also sew it by hand with blind stitches. It does take a long time and is rather fiddly…