How to Use Old Clothing to Make Braided Rugs

Gather your old clothes. Get together any old clothing that you may having laying around. While you're at it, get all of your family's old clothing, too. Even towels or sheets can be used when making braided rugs. Use a seam ripper to take as many of the seams apart as you can. If need be, then iron the seams down.

Cut all the clothing into 2- to 3-inch wide strips with the lengths as long as possible. Even baby clothes can be cut up and used to braid with. Next, take two strips and sew the ends together. Keep sewing strips together until you have a 3-foot-long strip. Now make two more 3-foot-long strips. Stack the tops of the three strips and sew together about ½ inch from the edges.

Braid the strips of fabric together. Get a big safety pin and secure the sewn ends to the carpet, chair arm or your jeans. Start braiding the three strips until you reach the bottom and then secure it with a rubber band. As you braid, the strips may become loosely tangled. Hold onto your place with two fingers while you untangle the strips and then start braiding where you left off.

Wind the coil into the rug shape you want. Lay the braided coil onto the floor or a table and start winding it tightly in a circle. It can also be shaped into an oval, square or rectangle shape. If more strips are needed to make the rug bigger, than sew more strips to the first three strips and continue braiding until it's the length you want. Take the rubber band off and sew the ends together on the sewing machine.

Take the needle and thread and sew the coils together. Once you've decided on the rug shape and have the proper length, then wind the braided clothing coil again. Tightly wind a small section and use the needle and thread to secure each side to the opposite side. Continue winding and sewing the coils together until the rug is finished. Enjoy your new braided rug.