How to Crochet Rag Rugs

By
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay is a needlecraft expert and professional textile designer who designs knitted, printed, and woven fabric for mass production. She shares her lifelong love of needlecrafts by writing tutorials and patterns. Amy has over 20 years of professional textile design and writing experience.
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Updated on 12/13/19
Colorful crochet rug from cut repurposed T-shirts on white wooden home floor with wood lantern, candle burning. Cup on hot chocolate wit marshmallows on tray. Flat lay view.
Helin Loik-Tomson / Getty Images

Knowing how to make a rag rug allows you to take any of your old, worn-out textiles and turn them into wonderful works of art that are as useful as they are beautiful. This collection of free rag rug crochet patterns includes a wide variety of designs that all make excellent use of old fabric strips. 

  • 01 of 08

    Making Crochet Rag Rugs

    Crochet Rag Rug

    capecodphoto/Getty Images

    The first step to making rag rugs is turning your rags into "yarn" for crocheting. Cut your fabric into strips and either sew or knot those strips together into a longer strip used as "yarn." Crochet rag rugs are a popular way to recycle old material, but you can also purchase yarn to these rugs if you don't have anything you can use on hand. Roving, super bulky weight yarn, and t-shirt yarn are all options for making these rugs.

    Tip

    Working with thick material like fabric can be harder on the hands than working with traditional yarn. Those with repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome may want to skip rag rugs or start with smaller ones. Everyone else can benefit from frequently resting their hands while working.

  • 02 of 08

    Rectangular Crochet Rag Rug

    close up of crocheted rag rug
    Amy Solovay

    This is a small rectangular rag rug worked in easy double crochet with chain stitches. There is enough of a stitch pattern to keep the crocheting interesting, but it's an easy design overall. The rug is super colorful when made as designed with batik fabric, but you can use any color fabric you want to create a rug of your liking.

  • 03 of 08

    Single Crochet Rag Rug

    Single Crochet Rag Rug Free Pattern

    Dutch Hollow Acres

    This pattern provides some additional instructions for making fabric strips and sewing them together. The pattern is for a single crochet rug worked in a rectangle that you can easily adapt to any size rug you want to make. There is an attractive fringe at the edges, which makes the rug a bit more eye-catching.

  • 04 of 08

    Knit T-Shirt Yarn Rag Rug

    rag rug being knitted with large knitting needle

    Crazy Mom Quilts

    Don't throw away old t-shirts! This rectangular single crochet rug is a creative way to recycle them. The t-shirt yarn tutorial is unique and it comes with detailed photos so you'll easily see how to make this project.

    Continue to 5 of 8 below.
  • 05 of 08

    Round Rag Rug

    Crochet Rag Rug Pattern and Tutorial

    Crochet Collection

    This project is another single crochet rag rug, but this one is worked in the round to create a rug with a more organic shape. You can use any basic crochet circle pattern to make your own version.

  • 06 of 08

    Doily T-Shirt Yarn Rug

    T-shirt Yarn Doily Rug

    Crochet in Paternoster

    Create something beautiful with this pattern. It is perfect for use with t-shirt yarn (as designed) but can be worked with any fabric you have. You can also use other doily patterns worked with larger hooks and yarn to create rugs. The result is a really unique piece.

  • 07 of 08

    Rectangular T-Shirt Yarn Rug

    T-shirt Yarn Crochet Rag Rug

    My Recycled Bags

    For this pattern, the rug is made from old t-shirts and sheets worked in the round to create a rectangular shape. Make the rug larger by continuing to work the pattern if you like. Each rag rug will turn out slightly different, depending on the materials you use and your own unique way of crocheting.

  • 08 of 08

    Rag Rug Video Tutorial

    circle crochet Rag Rug

    Sugar Bee Crafts

    Use this video tutorial to show you how to turn sheets into the fabric. It's a great resource for visual learners to help them get a sense of how to make a rag rug step-by-step.

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