Can I cut a woven "rag" rug?

Michelle Dodson
by Michelle Dodson
I bought this beauty for my dining room and AFTER I placed it under the table, realized what a nightmare it is to vacuum. So, I moved it to the TV room where I can just shake it out, but it's about 3 feet too long. I'd like to cut that 3 feet off and make a runner for the hallway. It wasn't horribly expensive, by any means, but I really don't want to ruin it. Waste not ...

Any suggestions?
  5 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Apr 05, 2017

    Yes you can cut the rug,just make sure you use a fray check by aliens to stop the rug from heading the nasty threads.

    • Kathe Kathe on Apr 06, 2017

      You will need more then fraycheck- You'll need to unweave enuff that you can tie the warps together to keep it from raveling out.

  • Sherry George Yarger Sherry George Yarger on Apr 06, 2017

    I'm thinking I would feel better about it not pulling apart after cutting if I sewed a seam on either side of the cut to help stabilize the over and under woven bars holding the rows together.

    • See 2 previous
    • Martha Martha on Apr 12, 2017

      This is what I was thinking, too: stitch, then cut. Or the other idea about unweaving part of it and then tying it off might work even better. I'd unweave the warp (string) rather than the rags, then tie the knots, then cut off the rag strip.

  • Linda Hunt Linda Hunt on Apr 06, 2017

    Using both the suggestions by Sherry and Janet is the perfect way to create your runner and enjoy both for many years to come.

  • Liz Liz on Apr 06, 2017

    I weave rag rugs. Determine where you want the rug to end. If you do not want the warp ( fringe). Sew a zig zag stitch to fix the length. then pull the rags from the end . Knot a fringe from your freed warp ends.

    It easier to sew a zig zag a little bit longer. then cut and turn the end and top stitch with a straight stitch.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Jun 19, 2022

    You can do a zig zag stitch to keep it from fraying, another alternative would be to sew binding strips on each edge where you would expect it to fray.