DIY BRAIDED RUG | make a rug from old clothing + fabric scraps!

[@peterdienstmann2498]

I'm a teacher, and I'm going to share this with my class as they are learning about pioneers of North America. PS. The 2-slit method of joining is brilliant!

[@AcornHillHomestead]

Bravo! Great idea.

[@tinkagain]

That was the best, simple instructions I have ever seen. Everything you need to know without the idle chatter! Thank you!

[@ingrid6752]

absolutely! Very concise!

[@KBlobby732]

I agree, exactly what I was looking for and without any prattling on - even the tv show reference was useful.

[@cindybeach150]

I totally agree!!!! Best ever!

[@kerriebailey8459]

Great tutorial - concise and to the point.

[@JCM-mi5re]

Completely agree! I’ve been looking for this video for a month! Thank you for being concise!

[@moonmagnolia7]

I LOVE this! Not only does it remind me of the rugs my grandma used to make out of old clothes, it keeps old clothes that are not fit for donation out of the landfill.

[@bluegirl2902]

That is absolutely amazing, the most amazing thing I've seen in my 69 years of sewing and crafting. I do not at all know how in the world to ever thank you!! You are so clever!!

[@lynnpowers6741]

I too REALLY appreciated your use of time, you provided all the instructions clearly and concisely, managed to throw in personal tips and tricks and WHY, spared us any extra or repetitive info and kept a perfect pace. All this sounds as if you were "all Business " but yet you came across very personable even letting us know about a possible obsession for GILMORE GILRS which also exposed your sarcastic side when bashing the Netflix remake. Anyway, sounds super easy, gunna start mine now. Thank you for taking the time to share this

[@julesfairfax5623]

Thank you. I've been doing( sewy- Knitty, make-y) things for years-- This IS the best, clearest, shortest set of directions-- I am now a fan. Thanks SO MUCH!

[@julie3601]

YES! Teaching without the ego and superstar stuff. Thank you so much.

[@janirwin1]

Brilliant. Thank you for not wasting my time by immediately showing me how to do this.

[@autumnnfell]

Thank you so much for this Megan, I have been collecting worn out favourite clothes and old clothes from my mothers forgotten sewing projects for years and just have them under my bed. Finally I know a worthy cause and just in time because this winter floor is making my feet cold!! Such a straight forward instructional video without all the distracting rambly bits. You're awesome! Beauuuutiful colour palette.

[@BalladofJanine]

Finally someone teaches you without gaps in this process.

[@MeganNielsenPatterns]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the tutorial! Good luck with your rug! xo

[@BalladofJanine]

Megan Nielsen I have done three!!

[@MeganNielsenPatterns]

Oh my gosh Jane this makes me so happy to hear!!

[@lindseyveroneau2215]

We love a thorough tutorial ❤️ !

[@ericab1302]

Looove this - want to do it with my baby girl's clothes and keep adding to it as she grows out of things 😍

[@holsann]

Omg I love this idea! TTC right now and hope I'll be able to remember this for my future kiddos

[@dawn7612]

Very nice job. Grandma would be so very proud of you... Your instructions were simple to understand. Thanks!

[@augustadanner3937]

thank you for making this easy to understand and easy to do. I love these old rugs and since I no longer have any older family crafters alive to teach this craft you are a blessing to find.

[@msmorningstar2116]

The best video on braiding rugs yet.

[@jilljones1502]

I know you did this 3 years ago but it really helped me so much. I just ordered leather needles to make handbags but I typed in braided rugs and I have no idea why and you popped up. So now I can use my leather needles you made this understandable and quick. Bless you.!

[@rissaarei5336]

Super easy, uses up scraps which I just HATE to throw away and looks great. My new favorite! Also, great, simple and clear explanations. Now excuse me, I'll go hoard some more scraps, I want that rug!

[@MarniePeter]

This is the best video I have ever seen yet for a SIMPLE way to make a braided RUG! THANK YOU!

[@devidaughter7782]

this was just perfect for what I was looking for; thank you! after 4 min I feel inspired and equipped to get started!

[@glxpassat]

You absolutely are amazing at making the process so much easier. I'm very dyslexic, and have been experiencing a hard time understanding the concept, as everyone is a mirrored effect. This was an excellent tutorial.

[@cynthiaamitrano8915]

Thank you so much. My grandmother used to make these all the time. I buy them at bazaars now and again, but they really aren't as well made as yours. I don't think my grandmother sewed her rugs together. I think she may have used a crochet technique. I'll never know. She passed away when I was 10.

[@sharondavis6121]

Wow this is so easy. Thank you for the straightforward way you gave directions. I like the fact can keep adding as new scraps are available.

[@princezzpuffypants6287]

Simple. Straightforward. Complete. Perfect tutorial. Thank you!

[@TheIntuitiveBodyFoodieNetwork]

Nice. I made an oval rug like this 19 years ago and sewed it all by hand. Didn't own a sewing machine back then. I do now. Still, it's good to know how to make this by hand as well without a sewing machine. You just never know. 😉

[@Melora.s]

Thank you, this is just the tutorial I was after. I love the colour palette, it's really pretty.

[@wakeupseattle1997]

Megan, this is great! Thanks so much for sharing this. I just made my first toothbrush rug that actually turned out to be a bowl. :-) Please make some more videos. I love your voice and your videos are clear and easy to follow. You are clearly very gifted and should share more of your crafting ideas.

[@naomizacharias8767]

I love this. My aunt had made a rug like this when I was little. So nostalgic!

[@taradufour2187]

Love the constantly growing aspect. Great color pallet also. Beautiful!

[@bonobonowan1596]

omg! this is the best tutorial in youtube! tucking it in is genius! i watched other tuts and i was hesitant to do it because of the sewing and looming and sewing it by hand. this vid inspired me! thank you

[@cheryls4526]

wow. that is a lot easier than the ones that use rope. no measuring strips or sewing diagonal in the corners. fantastic. where has this been all my life. ?

[@juliettewalker3770]

Very well shown and I agree no ideal chatter I sure enjoy seeing your rug grow. Thank you for sharing it looks very lovely 👍

[@52Mirza]

I seen others do the same type rug but yours is the best most simple to do. The others are two complicated. I like your version the best.

[@wendyseddon6029]

Excellent tutorial. Love your very easy instructions and looking forward to trying out the technique. Thanks for sharing your skills.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

I remember my grandfather teaching me how to make rag rugs over fifty years ago. He used 2" wide strips unless it was something thick like denim and he rolled the strips in to them selves and then he made a stitch every few inches to hold them together. He sewed the strips together end to end. He had a braiding bench he used and tacked the beginning to the top of the bench with a small nail. Then he braided until he had probably over a hundred feet of braid. When he got to that point he began making the rug. He first calculated the desired dimensions. We had a living room that was 12 feet by 16 feet so he measured the furniture and concluded that would leave a bare space in the middle that would be 7 feet by 11 feet. He subtracted the 7 from the 11 and that left 4 and so he began with a four foot strip of braid then bent the braid and folded it back on itself and sewed the folded braid by hand then just continued coiling the braid around forming an oval. It looks like you could make a fair size rug in a few hours. His method took days but the braid was extremely tight and neat and the rug was very stiff and thick which made a nice cushion to sit on as a kid. I never learned to use a sewing machine and I will be making a run similar in size to the one above. I have about fifty pairs of old jeans ranging from dark indigo Levis to well faded and bleached Wranglers. Some are over 30 years old and none fit me. The color palate of my living room is cobalt blue, pale blue, white and wood tones. So I'm making a blue jean rug. I have about equal amounts of dark indigo, faded almost white and medium faded so I will be braiding them in three colors with some variation from jean to jean but it should come out as a coherent color scheme coordinating well with what is already in the room. The furniture is all painted white. The upholstery is wide white and cobalt stripes. Curtains, walls and trim are white. I have antique Spode blue and white pottery in a curio cabinet and the floor is light natural oak. I have more material than I need so I'll be making matching pads for my antique rocking chairs and then probably some small area rugs. I have other colors of other fabric from my old clothes that I will be using for other rooms but I'm starting in the living room. I know this will be a long process due to my methods but I'm stuck in this house with multiple underlying conditions alone and a lot of time to myself.

[@ModernMoonBean]

Thank you so much!! Lovely story and helpful. I was also wondering about making an oval rug and here it is. :)

[@dawn7612]

Good luck completing that project...

[@duckyday1099]

This was the best how to video I've seen. To the precise and to the point . Thank you.

[@muthwer]

This is the best tutorial I have seen on braided rugs. Thank you for sharing.

[@Jibbie49]

In 1958, my mother started to let me sew on her new Brother sewing machine. She was firm about having to have the strips sewn and then turned inside-out. She only used old coat and blankets that were wool, so we made a "wool rug." She'd ask people for old wool coats or men's suits, etc. and it seemed they all had them left back in the closets. Once they knew she planned to make a rug, they had no problem passing them on to her.

[@kerrycrouch3896]

I’ve been looking for a material project , that I can create .... and I’ve just found your tutorial , your enthusiasm and joy in what you create leaps out of the screen .... I love crafting but have had to give up most of it due to fibromyalgia .... but this I can do 💕Thankyou , found my home at last Xx

[@missmatti]

I cannot believe I even learnt a new joining method watching this video. I used to only cut through at one piece but it looks more secure doing it your way! :)

[@SMartypAntsPants]

I've been sewing these by hand, thinking it would be too fiddly on the machine, doh. Thank you for showing us how easy it is. You've saved me so much time. Time to be able to make more, yippee

[@hayleymarie6013]

How have you sewn it by hand?

[@breefisher4370]

How do you hand sew it?

[@SecretLifeOfASeamstress]

Love this rug so much I can’t wait to have a go myself. Such a pretty way to use up scraps xx

[@debc7741]

Thank you, I love braided rugs and your tutorial was great! I especially love the colors you put in this one!

[@sariannya]

omgosh, thank you for making this task so much easier. i was sewing each piece together. ugh. long hard way not always the best lol.

[@elijahessentials9064]

I love that it’s constantly growing!! 😁

[@sarahtrusty6717]

Fantastic tutorial. So easy to follow. Thank you.

[@arnna715]

exactly what I needed to find thank you. I'm embarking on my first project, a 4.8m rug so will need all the help I can get.

[@ambrosemclaren145]

How I appreciate a time trimmer! Congrats. Concise, to the point and a breeze at that. Saved an old houserobe for this project and really appreciate the tip on different textured and weight fabrics. Subscribed! Thanks.

[@mimimakes5427]

Can’t believe I only just found this! Definitely now on my to do list. Thank you Megan!

[@15minoflame]

I like the way this looks so much more than a crochet rug it looks so put together

[@pietavoipio5552]

Absolutely brilliant! My son made a round rug at school by some sort of frame weaving thing but unfortunately it wasn't tight enough and the whole rug came apart. 😬 I had no idea how to reweave it but your tutorial solved the problem. Thanks! 👍

[@Mashkoor110]

wow. great, no nonsense and no faffing about advice. LOVE it. thank you, you have a new confirmed fan.

[@peachesfireside178]

I really like how your rug will keep growing as you get more scraps! I also like your first way of joining the material together it looks so smooth. I am going to check out what else you are showing. This is my first video of yours. Happy New Year.

[@brittanyspendlove7578]

Thank you so much! I hate creating waste with old clothing, so this has been incredibly helpful as I plan to make a rug very soon. I'm so eager to get started!

[@nanalisa68]

Exactly the kind of tutorial I love! Amazing use of old belongings without adding to our ever growing garbage !! Do you crotchet ??

[@patriciasweet9102]

My mo made rugs like this when I was little. All by hand. She made a few when my kids were little. They loved to play with her rag balls.

[@JudiChristopher]

OH My Gosh... You have no idea how much this video made me HAPPY. Years ago my grandmother was going to show me how to do this... but she passed away before she could. I have seen other videos on KZbin but they crochet it... Judi doesn't do that... LOL... THANK YOU so much for sharing this great video. question: do you do a zig zag stitch? It was a little hard to SEE what you where doing...

[@korab.23]

thank you for covering the size of strips and how to join! I haven't decided yet if I want to braid a rug or crochet but this helped so much💛

[@farahjamaldin5323]

Wow thank you. This is by far the most usrgul wsy to use good scraps! You've chabged my life, no lie

[@bowerbirdstyle7661]

Thank you for that! I've always wanted to know how to do this. I'm happy that I can use a sewing machine to do it instead of hand sewing.

[@ArtsyLadyCrafter]

TFS this easy and quick process for making a rag rug.

[@cek7940]

I love that and want to go make one. Those were great color choices too, very beautiful! Good job!

[@CANDYZANE69]

My Granny made these as a past time to keep her busy. She always had a bag of scrap clothing at her feet and a braided rug on her kitchen table. I think she used the second method of joining the scraps for the braid, as I noticed she always had the scissors at the table, and she never sewed the pieces together. I thought she tied them! Also, she did not have sewing machine, so she hand sewed the rug together. Like I said she had lots of time on her hands. It was her favorite thing to do and yes watch T.V. doing it.!

[@098believe]

Awesome idea, so simple and beautiful and it makes use of all my scraps of cloth and old clothing. Thank you for sharing this tutorial.

[@cindybeach150]

Thank you so much for making this tutorial! It is the easiest video to understand and follow that I have seen on the web!

[@walaashershabi1583]

Lovely, thank u for make it easy for everyone who love this type of art❤

[@JyotiArtworks]

Nice to meet you dear awesome and good work fantastic video have a happy time

[@janlloyd7605]

Thank you, I have made scrap rugs by knotting them, which works, but your ideas make something you can be much more sure of the end result.

[@dougalexander7204]

Megan, thank you. I didn’t know about the first tip about adding a new strip. I’ll try it. Also, never tried to sew together with a machine. Seen one by hand. Took forever. Made many by crochet. I’ll try braiding another and use the machine, Thanks again.

[@krdiaz8026]

It's December now. I wonder how big the rug is now if she kept adding to it. 😀

[@108miriam]

For me as well, this was the best and simplest method and instruction......thank you

[@debwingert7439]

Thanks! Clear concise instructions. Perfect

[@monikahash1652]

This was incredibly clear and informative and so fun to watch! Thanks so much for inspiring my next quarantine project!

[@barbaraboyd6022]

Thank you for the braided rug tutorial. It is great. I’m gonna start one with all my stash. I’ve looking for a good idea and it was. Thanks again

[@ashrafsarrami512]

Hi,many thanks for sharing your new idea with us,by the way ,Did you use different kind of material?I mean one is stretch the other two were cotton?

[@sarahdiana8934]

Thank you for the simple, clear instructions. Great tutorial!

[@ThoughtfulCreativity]

Love this! I hate wasting fabric, too!

[@veragailfaircloth117]

Nicely done !!!! Love the way you explained making the rag rug simple and easy to the point !!! 💟

[@maureenblanchard2522]

Love this little rug. How do you sew it together once the rug gets too large for the sewing machine?

[@goodinthewood2304]

Wow, when I saw this was such a short video I was wondering if it would really show me what to do. I’m fired up now to make a braided rug for my new house! I’ve downsized all my old stuff away, but I sure don’t mind a trip to the fabric store to dig through the sale bins for some fun fabric. Thanks!

[@carefreedelight2355]

A brilliant tutorial, no fuss , no mystery just go do it...like it's easier thing to do! Makes me want to just DO IT!

[@eternalfizzer]

Thanks for showing a comparison of different joining methods. Usually a crafter shows one method (their fave) like it's the best, but that's their opinion and may not be everyone's fave. Love your time estimate :-D

[@vibhaAmit]

Beautiful friend 👍

[@elisabethquarto7091]

So concise and helpful! Thanks for a great tutorial!

[@jenniferdorsey4374]

Thank you for your video, short and sweet, to the point!

[@annadavis814]

Brilliant. Best video I have seen on braided rugs. Thank you so much.

[@lindamorgan2678]

Excellent your way of joining is the best for sure the other ones just take time and the third one would make a slight lump.. A Growing rug how cool !!!

[@linda2love4u]

Awesome. I have a mission for making rag rugs. I will ge t back to you with my progress. Thank you.

[@rosiejenkins6571]

In love with your technique, both sewing AND filmmaking 😻😻 keep going! Can’t wait to learn more from you

[@suzielavictor3150]

I have looked at many toterials and this one is the best one..... Thank you

[@pennylane2304]

Hello Megan - from Tassie! Wonderful tutorial - I am so happy, and now enjoying being a subscriber to your channel. So well done, down to earth and natural. Thank you.

[@Zincchromeshema]

I love this way of making a round rug!

[@paulablack576]

Great tutorial! I love how you made it look so easy :) Can you please tell me how about how far apart your zig zag stitches are? I want to try this because I have soooooo much scrap fabric just calling to be used! Your rug is beautiful!!

[@jessicanascimento5008]

Hi Megan! I understand that you advised to use a heavy duty sewing needle, do you advise to use a upholstery/ heavy duty thread as well? I love your channel and appreciate all your informative and inspiring videos! Thanks!

[@carefreedelight2355]

Brilliant! I feel I can actually do it - bar the machine sewing which looks tricky. I can see my self hand sewing it I. Desperation!!!

[@Velehna]

Did you ever try this? I don’t have a sewing machine but I do want to make this with all my scraps.

[@franceswitham8214]

You are a marvelous teacher. I will make this. Love it.💥💥💥💥💥

[@aprilvasquez6400]

I hand sew mine. Haven't made one in years. Might this summer

[@krishnaskitchen6904]

Can you explain how you hand sew one? My email address is [e-mail]. I would much appreciate if some one can tell me how to hand sew one.

[@pollymonopoly8803]

Wow. Just wow. Incredible

[@teampotter9887]

I love the color pallet. Is that a combination of gray, white and pink only or did you add up some other colors, and what is it? I’m going to make one for a kitchen rug. Do you have a video that the end of the rug are loose?

[@serendipitymoments4684]

Easy and fast, simple instructions! Thank you!!!

[@mandybell7884]

Thank you so much for this lovely video ! ❤ I totally love this rug ! Thanks for giving easy to follow instructions - ❤

[@Aangel452]

That was such a great fun craft idea, thank you as I have lots of scraps. A question please- To make a square rug do you just shape it that way before and as you sew! 🤗

[@Dawn-fz5cu]

Thank you for sharing this! I especially love the idea of leaving the ends loose so you can add to it! :)