Rag Rug Tutorial Using 2" Squares

A few people wanted to know how to make one of these rugs.

I started with a piece of upholstery fabric that measured about 20" by 28". Other people have mentioned that denim is often used for the base and I think that is a very good idea.

I put a piece of striped cotton fabric on top to eliminate the need to draw lines. The lines on the striped fabric are a tad more than 1/2" apart. You might be able to avoid using lines by butting the presser foot up to the previous row but needed the lines to keep me going fairly straight and would either use a striped fabric as a guide or take the time to draw lines.



I sewed the two fabrics together by stay stitching around the edge.

I started in the middle, but would not do that again. Next time, I will start with the empty fabric to the right.

Fold a 2" square in half to form a triangle. Put the fold at the top and the tip on the line and stitch a few stitches. Put your next triangle on top. They are about a 1/4" apart but I didn't measure when I made the rug, just sewed a few stitches and added the next triangle.

I found it easiest to use my machine's knee lift for the presser foot and the stop/go button instead of the foot pedal.

My rug used about 4000 two inch squares. I cut them using a regular rotary cutter blade but someone suggested a pinking blade and I think that is a very good idea.

Other people said they have used double knits for this type of rug.

I am not sure how this will hold up after being washed and will post a report here after it has been washed.

UPDATE: Here is a picture of the rug after 1 wash

My Rag Rug is Finally Finished!

I have been working on this rag rug on and off for at least two weeks. I started it to thin out the scrap bin. It was bulging with fabric so I took out everything that was of lesser quality and also every fabric I was sick of looking at. I cut it all into 2 inch squares, I had a very large shoebox full.



I cut a piece of upholstery fabric about 20" by 28" and sewed a piece of striped cotton on top so I wouldn't need to draw lines. One by one, I folded the squares in half to form a triangle and sewed them on the backing in rows. It took about 50 rows to cover the base with about 80 squares in each row. That's about 4000 squares, approximately ten yards of fabric.



Hopefully it will wash well and last a long time.

Finally now I can get back to quilting!

Cold!

It's cold, really cold. 10 degrees but feels like 12 below with the wind chill. Our weather is supposed to stay like this for a week, then it is going to get colder. Guess it could be worse, we only got a little snow.