Recycle Old Towels and Make a Braided Rug

We ran a post showing how to make a braided rug using old t-shirts, in this one we’re using towels to make a rug. What a great way to make use of towels that are stained or maybe have holes in them. As you can imagine, a towel rug is thicker and very plush and soft, plus it will absorb water well, making it a good choice for a bathroom. Instead of coiling it in a circle, you could do an oblong circle so that it would fit better in the bathroom.

You will need a sewing machine for this, to sew the strips together as you go. Three large towels are enough but adding more will give you a nice, large rug. Choose colors that will blend together well, unless you want the rug to be a solid color.

Fold each towel in half length-wise and cut them into strips 1.5 inches wide. When you have all your strips, take one of each color and put them on top of each other with the ends together. Sew across one end to hold them together.

Then start braiding. Try to keep the edges turned to the inside to keep fraying to a minimum. As you come to the end of one strip, sew another one to it and keep going until you’ve braided all your strips.

Then start with one end and twist the braid around in a circle, or start with a small straight piece and twist around it for an oblong rug. As you make each circle around, use a heavy-duty needle with thread and sew each row to the previous one to hold it all together. Choose the side you want for the back for your sewing.

Now you have a beautiful, practical rug to enjoy!

You can find this project at Sisters of the Wild West.

Image Source: Sisters of the Wild West