Ugh! I picked that rug up last week because it was pretty and $3.99. The previous shopper came back and made a ruckus at the counter, toppling the debit machine in the middle of my transaction and distracting me from the cashier. They charged me $6.00!

I'm taking it back.

(Otherwise, I like this project.)

Great idea...I've been trying to figure out how to cover the hideous fake-wood linoleum in my (rental) kitchen. This might be a really cool, washable way to do it. Could even go patchwork...

So clever and pretty!

thanks for the idea, I need a runner for the kitchen :-)

Wow. Great idea. Seriously, I think this might just have solved my issue with my 10ft long hallway.

you know i was in target last week starnig at these rugs wondering what in the world i could do w/ them. they are such a rich blue-green in person. now, i know. i'm so going to go get these.

This should have been in the Do It Now Jumpstart contest!

I used that rug near my door. Love target.

You could probably make a larger version for as much money by using placemats from the dollar store...

Hi, I was getting rid of stuff and found some placemats.I was thinking of making a rug or a tablecover. I was just going to sew and duck tape the stitches. I then decided to look up crafts using placemats and found your article. I am going to make one after I visit the resale store. They sell bags of nice placemats for $1.50 - $2.00 per bag. Thank you for confirming that I had a good idea.

killer idea.

thanks for sharing.

That is how they made carpets before industrialization, long and narrow pieces stitched together. To clean them they had to un-stitch each section and beat them out and restitch them back together.

I bought the same rugs at Target months ago (in turquoise and pink) and was planning on doing this. I remember ny Great Grandma doing this back in the day. Cool to also see it here!

i did a bad thing and forgot that cute turquoise rug on the back deck after a party . . . . it was pale pale baby blue in just a day. :-(

NorNor, I had 2 of these rugs in my bedroom and they faded in less than a week! I know exactly what you mean...bummer!

Thats awesome! I'm totally going to do this.

Does anyone know how well these hold up to washing? I'm looking for a cheap rug that can hold up in the wash.

Great rug! I love the handmade w/love look. Wabi Sabi ; )

Spectacularly simple - thanks for the great idea Hanners!

Note to Lizzz - "cheap" and "hold up in the wash" don't usually marry :-)

Often not, I agree. I've had one rag rug for about 5 years now that's been just fine in the wash about once a month (no idea on the brand). Every other one I try falls apart after a few washes. And I'd really rather not spend much on a rug that goes in the utility room under the cat box.

O.K. I love this idea and I'm ready to produce one for myself. The problem is I cannot find these rugs for as cheap a price as it seems you guys have. (Everything I've seen is about $25) Target doesn't have anything in stock right now. Does anyone know where to get these things for about $5? I've done a Google search as well but to no avail. Any suggestions?

thanks for the great idea. you can find the rag rugs at Ikea for approximately the same price (maybe cheaper). I've washed mine a dozen or more times and they still look great.

I used the same process but I used carpet samples from a carpet store (they always have samples they want to get rid of) I did not even stitch them I duck taped them together. You have endless color pallets. Even if you but the carpet samples at the 99 cent store you can do a very large rug for under 20 bucks.

I am a dummy: I've thought about doing this so often, but figured the seams would look like they were made by someone who can barely sew (i.e. me). This is so the way to do it.

Great idea!

I just did this today! Except as someone else also said, I used duct tape. No target here in Canada, I got my rugs (2 teal, 2 grey) at Dollarama, for $2 each.

Ikea for inexpensive rag rugs.

zapzap, is it on there site? I cannot find them. :(

Wow, I am definitely going to do this. I could use a couple area rugs to outfit my apartment, but as a student, rag rugs are just about all I can afford. Do they come in other colors? Love the teal, but it doesn't exactly go with the colors in my bedroom.

I kinda did the opposite of this: I bought a 4 x 6 rag rug from Big Lots (very nice actually) and cut it right down the middle (by hand, with scissors!) to make two 2 x 6 runners for my kitchen! Hadn't planned on it when I bought it, but it really worked out well. Also check christmas tree shop for inexpensive rag rug! And my friend in Montreal did make a rug with place mats, as another poster mentioned...

Not listed on Ikea site... but piles and piles in their market place. 2 or 3 dollars....

ok, cool. thx zapzap

leilynne is making a good suggestion: duct tape instead of sewing.

I was thinking Velcro, but tape is better.

This looks great, I love the turquoise and red together.

I don't know about Target rugs but I do have a cheap little rug from Ikea with red and black stripes and it's held up great so far. I've washed it maybe 4 or 5 times and no fading. I think it was $3 and it's about bathmat size.

Is this the rug, Hannah? It's listed at $34.99! Yikes. Maybe I'm missing something...

http://tinyurl.com/yh452no

One of my cats loves to robo-puke every few months. I love this idea, but cat puke seems to ruin every rug I've ever bought, especially cotton rag. Any good tricks to get the stuff out of cotton?

This is such a simple and awesome idea. I'm going to make a "summer rug" for my living area.

Oh, those cheap rag rugs are the best. I buy them whenever they're on sale and swap them out so I always have a clean one down.

They're not the best looking thing on my kitchen and breakfast nook floors, but I'm a very messy cook and I have pets and these rugs can be thrown in the wash with no problem.

I have been meaning to try this with place mats since I saw this post last year. Love it.

Similar story: I always wanted a furry/hairy white rug for under my coffee table. Went to Kmart to buy toys for my nephew and saw the exact rug I wanted for 17.99 (Jaclyn Smith luxe line)- but they were too small. So, I bought two, placed 'em lengthwise and safety pinned them together! Can't see the seams or where they were pinned due to the length of the hair/fibers. It's absolutely perfect and so damn cheap. I was planning on spending much, much more but thankfully don't have to! I love it when a plan comes together.

2 ideas:

check dollar stores for similar rugs. one of the stores I frequent sells similar rugs made out of rags (like old tshirts).

You could also dye white rugs if they're made from cotton or wool. Just buy appropriate dye (and stay away from RIT. it's bad quality and reeeeally toxic).

Another idea... you can cut the fringe off of smaller ones and sew them together into a larger patch work for a big area rug.

I love, love, love this. I'm going to try this over the weekend.

Thanks for sharing.

I just looked at Target's website and the rag rug is now $35!!

Yeah... I just checked the Target site too, and it's $35. They probably wised up to all the DIYers swarming the stores to buy out these rugs.

Lizzz: An easy way to keep them bright is to wash them on cold with a cup of vinegar so the colors don't run. Also, if you wash them with other colors, you run the chance of complementary colors muddying the turquoise.

I just did this -- what a great, simple idea. I want to know if it's possible to stitch two or three rows of these together -- could you cut off the fringe in order to do so without having the rugs completely unravel? Here is my version: http://crookedhouse.typepad.com/crookedhouse/2010/12/rustic-homespun-area-rug.html

I recognize that project from my room in the Spring 2007 Do It Yourself magazine issue. Identical color of blue rugs with red thread. FIY - it's a pain in the rear to do (takes forever to make all of those stitches) and no it cannot be washed. It wasn't long before I upgraded to Flor tiles.

34.99 cant be right...I see them at target they are never more than 6.99. Beautiful combo on the colors!

I use those (target brand) cotton rag rugs between my dog's crate tray and the crate (eliminates the "rattle rattle" of the tray on the wire mesh, and also helps the tray hold up longer). I also use them as accent rugs in the kitchen. While I've had issues with the colors running or fading a little, I've not had any trouble with them falling apart -- except for when the dog decided to try to eat one of them.

This a very awesome idea! I have an IKEA SIGNE rug and was wishing it was wider. Now I totally want to buy a second one and attach it.

Yeah, they're easy to dye with iDye. I've dyed the various sizes of IKEA cotton rugs. Also the slipcovers. One of the common gimmicks at IKEA is the white or natural version of something being cheap, then the colorful versions being a lot more. This is what spraypaint and iDye are for. :o)

iDye is better than RIT for cheap DIY dye. You buy either iDye for natural fabrics or iDye for synthetic, or one of both if your fabric is a blend. RIT contains both kinds of dye mixed together, so when dyeing cotton the type that binds to synthetics is going to be left over and get all over things. You can do it in the washing machine, even in a front loader (just add a pitcher of hot water through the detergent thingy so there's enough water for it to slosh around).

Ooh, you could also sew these together with an all-cotton yarn, then dye the whole thing. You can fit a pretty big rug in the washer -- I put a 6x8 IKEA ERSLEV rug in a standard home front-loader to dye it. Having it kind of crammed in there actually helps with the textured hand-dyed sorta look (like the rugs in the picture have), since it takes the dye a unevenly when bunched up.

I did this with cotton rugs from Big Lots, but sewed them together with matching carpet thread and a big needle. I dyed them with Rit Liquid Dye then soaked them in cold water and salt to keep the dye in. I wash the big rug and matching front door rug on delicate and hang to dry once a month and they still looks good.
Glad others do this too!

Post a pic nurselucy! Bought some cotton flatwoven rugs today for 2.99 each form ollie's (kinda like big lots). 9 of 'em. what to do about the fringe on the ones that are going in the middle? i want a 6 x 9 rug...