How to Cut Rags for Woven Rag Rugs
The practice of making rugs from rags is a very old one, born of necessity. Rag rugs are easy to make, a useful way to keep your hands busy and require very little (if any) specialty material or tools. The foundation of the rag rug is the rag itself. Rags are easy to come by and can be made from old clothing, sheets or any other disused fabric.
Instructions
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Wash and dry the fabrics you plan to use in your rug. Try to select similar fabrics that will wash well together.
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Consider the size and use of the rug you are making: the wider the strip, the thicker the rug. If the rug needs to be strong enough to stand up to high foot traffic, make your rags wider, up to 3 inches. A good rule of thumb is to cut 1-inch wide strips.
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Cut up your old fabrics into strips (rags). Strips can be of varying lengths and you can sew them end-to-end to make them the length you need.
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Sew strips end to end if you have several that are wide enough, but not long enough, to achieve the desired length. The length of the strips will determine the size of your rug; the width of the strips will determine its thickness.
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Tips & Warnings
Ideally, the fabrics you choose will be old enough that the colors are no longer at risk of running in the wash, but if you are using some newer fabrics and you are afraid the colors might run when you wash the rug, you might want to leave out whites and lighter colors that will pick up the bolder ones.
