How to Make a Rug Out of Leftover Carpet

One of the best ways to add color, texture, and warmth to a room is by adding an area rug. The problem with area rugs though, is that they can be quite expensive. Some large, quality made rugs can run you into the thousands. An affordable and still attractive solution could be to make your own area rug using a remnant piece of carpet. This is great especially if you have leftover carpet from an installation, but even if you don't already have some on hand, you can buy deeply discounted remnant pieces from a carpet supplier. Either way, creating your own area rug this way will save you money. Here’s how to do it.

Measure

Naturally, the first thing you want to do is measure the area that you want the rug to cover. Once you have your measurements, you can travel down to any home improvement store or to a specialty carpet store in order to source your carpet remnant.

Trim

Once you get your remnant piece home, you will want to trim it to make the appearance even and neat. Use a dark marker along with a straight edge to mark a guide for where to trim. Of course, do this on the backing of the carpet and not the pile itself. Then, using a very sharp knife, (box cutter, exacto knife, carpet knife) cut along the guide you made. Make sure to have something beneath the carpet so that you do not damage the flooring or table underneath your workspace. Take a step back after you have made your trimmings and make sure that all edges are straight and look nice.

Bind

The next step is to install a binding layer underneath the carpet piece. Flip the carpet over and place your binding strip on the backing. Start in the middle and slowly smooth it out towards the edges. Once the whole piece is covered, trim off the excess binding strip.

Seal

The final step is to seal the edges. Hot glue is great for this step. Using a hot glue gun, pipe a thin, consistent bead along a segment. Then pinch the carpet pile, backing, and binding layer together with your fingers for a few moments until the glue is dried. Continue to repeat this process until you have covered the entire perimeter of the rug.

And that’s the basics to making a rug from a remnant piece of carpet! Once you know this process, you can play around with dressing up rugs in different styles. Add some tassels or pom poms to the edges if you want!

And when your carpets need repairing, don’t forget to reach out to your friends here at Nip Tuck Carpet Repair!

By Nip Tuck Carpet Repair 4-6-2022