Family Encyclopedia >> Home & Garden

How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Step 1

How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Position Fabric Layers

Put the non-slip mat on the floor. Click it to remove all creases. Lay the cotton batting on top of the rug pad, also pressing out any creases or creases. Then lay the fabric face up on top of those two layers, making sure it's nice and flat as well (Image 1). Trim off any excess around all four sides so all three layers are exactly the same size (Image 2).

Step 2

How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Pin layers together

Put all three layers in place in various places around the rug (Image 1). Make sure all three layers stick together and don't move. You should now have a nice big three-layered rectangle or square, pinned around the edges and in the center (Image 2).

Step 3

How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Cut edge cloth

From the outside edge of the fabric, cut four 4" strips of fabric from dish to dish (width of fabric). You may need to cut more strips if your rug is larger than the width of the fabric and sew the strips.

Stage 4

How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Fold the borders

Iron the strips as if you were making your own homemade bias tape. Fold each strip in half wrong sides together, down the center and iron to create a crease. Open the fold then fold the outer edges 1/4" to the wrong side and press down (Image 1). Repeat for all four strips. Fold the strip in half again, enclosing the 1/4" edge folds. 4" Center, and press (Image 2). Repeat for all four strips. Now you are ready to lace up your rug.

Step 5

How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Pin edge to rug

Unfold one strip and place it face down (folds facing up) along the edge of one side of your rug. Keep the edge of your seam about 1-1/2" from the edge of your rug and pin along the 1/4" fold line. Do this for only one side of the rug.

Step 6

How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Sew the border to the rug

Sew the link in place with a heavy-duty needle. Sew directly on the 1/4" fold line so you don't see the stitches when the binding is folded back. Remove pins when sewing (Image 1). Fold the binding over the raw edge of the rug, enclosing the side of the fabric. The center fold of the seam should be the outside edge of the rug. Pin in place. Sew directly across the top of the seam to secure it in place (Image 2). You can also hand sew the bottom seam in place with a lash if you don't want to see a sewn line at the top.

Step 7

How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Sew the adjacent edge

To work on the adjoining edge, lay the joint along the edge as you did the first time, but allow a few inches to stick out from each end (Image 1). Fold the excess fabric over the corner to the back of the rug and pin it in place (Image 2). It should look something like this. Sew the binding to the mat as you did for the previous sides (Image 3).

Step 8

How to make an upholstery fabric rug

Finishing Steps

If your rug has a few wrinkles, use an iron on a low setting to gently remove them. Just be sure to press gently, and don't let the iron stop because you don't want to melt the non-slip mat pad underneath.