Noted of late: old-fashioned rag rugs are starting to turn up in all sorts of settings—and looking both cozy and fresh. Here’s a roundup of favorite woven and braided contemporary examples plus two vintage versions, all made from worn-out and scrap fabrics. Handy and looking for a project? Consider putting your own castoffs to creative reuse: here’s a good tutorial on how to turn rags to rugs.
Flatweave Rag Rugs
Above: The Vermont Country Store’s cotton Sturbridge Woven Rag Rugs come in a range of colors as 24-by-36-inch mats for $24.95, and 24-by-72-inch runners for $39.95. Above: Woven from old jeans, Recycled Denim Rugs, measuring approximately 60-by-90 centimeters (23.6-by-35.4 inches) are £22 from UK reclamation champions Baileys Home. Above: This 33-by-22-inch Early American Rag Rug, $195, is one of several vintage examples available at Nickey Kehoe in Los Angeles. Above: Brooklyn antique textile specialist Sharktooth always has an interesting array of rag rugs. Included in the current inventory: this midcentury cotton 25-by-76 inch Swedish Runner, $450. For more from Sharktooth, see the post we did with owner Kellen Tucker on How to Clean Woolen Blankets. Above: Dash & Albert offers an array of woven-in-India rag rugs, including this Denim Wide Stripe Rug available in seven sizes, starting at 2-by-3 feet for $48.
Braided Rag Rugs
Above: Our latest favorite offerings from Philadelphia furniture and lighting company Lostine: the work of artist Olly Williams who uses old suiting fabric to make his one-of-a-kind designs. Olly’s 36-inch Round Rag Rug in Cobalt is $300. A description from Olly: “I remember the two rugs that graced the bare floors of our Missouri farmhouse in the 1930’s. They were made by my mother who turned worn-out wool clothing into strips and crocheted them. Soon after I retired in my seventies, I saw a kit for crocheting rag rugs. The wood crochet hook reminded me of the one my mother made from a hickory buggy wheel spoke. I bought the kit and now well into my nineties I have decided to make it a family tradition.” Above: This heavyweight Rag Rug is made in Sweden by a design duo who use textile producers’ cotton jersey leftovers that would otherwise get tossed. It measures 98-by-32-inches, and is $1,105 from March in San Francisco. Above: Another Olly Williams suiting fabric design from Lostine, Olly’s Rectangular Rag Rug in Black, Gray, and Navy is approximately 49-by-27 inches; $300.
