How to Make a Knotted Shag Rag Rug
A knotted shag rag rug is an easy craft project that can produce an attractive and useful addition to a kitchen or entry floor. Composed of simple scrap materials, this rug is easy enough for children to make, and a relaxing craft for adults to work on in spare moments throughout the day.
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Things You'll Need
- Burlap fabric
- Scrap cotton fabric or old clothes
- Scissors
- Duct tape
- Sharpie
- Size H crochet hook or size that is comfortable for you
Instructions
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1
Cut a piece of burlap for the base of the rug. The rug can be any shape, but for children or beginners a rectangle is the easiest to work with. Make the burlap piece about 2 inches larger in both directions than the finished rug desired. Use duct tape to finish the edges on all the sides, smoothing the tape down over the top, then folding it back towards the other side.
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2
Decide on the design of your rug and mark the burlap base using a Sharpie or other marker. Mark the outlines of the shapes, and put an initial or other symbol inside each shape to indicate the color desired. For instance, if you are making a checkerboard design, use a ruler to measure, mark the design with the marker, and put an "R" inside the red squares and a "B" inside the blue ones. If you want to make a uniform colored rug or a wild scrappy one, omit this step.
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3
Cut the cotton fabric into 1/2-inch strips. Cut each strip into pieces 4 inches long. If you are making a designed rug, separate each color of strips into separate plastic bags or baskets.
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4
Begin at the upper left-hand corner of the rug. Slip the crochet hook down into the second space from the left edge, and back up through the first space at the edge. Fold a fabric strip in half, and grab onto the fold with the hook. Use the hook to draw the fabric through the burlap until the loop is back up on top. Stop when the fabric strip is halfway through. Guide the two ends of the strip through the loop and pull gently to tighten the knot.
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5
Slip the crochet hook into the next space in the row on the burlap backing. Continue adding strips in this manner until the backing is completely filled with rag strips. Shake the rug to fluff up the strips and your rug is finished.
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Tips & Warnings
Fabric can be found very inexpensively by purchasing used clothes at thrift stores. Old cotton skirts have a lot of good usable fabric for these rugs.
