Free Crochet Rag Rug Pattern

Step-By-Step Guide to Rag Rug Crochet

By
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay is a needlecraft expert and professional textile designer who designs knitted, printed, and woven fabric for mass production. She shares her lifelong love of needlecrafts by writing tutorials and patterns. Amy has over 20 years of professional textile design and writing experience.
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Updated on 09/30/20
Colorful crochet rug from cut repurposed T-shirts on white wooden home floor with wood lantern, candle burning. Cup on hot chocolate wit marshmallows on tray. Flat lay view.
Helin Loik-Tomson / Getty Images

Upcycle your old T-shirts, sheets, and even towels by making a crochet rag rug, perfect to serve as a bath mat or kitchen sink rug. The rug is small, but its visual impact is dramatic, thanks to the vibrant colors. The finished rug typically measures about 23 inches wide by 18 inches high. If you want to make your crochet rag rug bigger, you can crochet a longer starting chain, adding multiples of four stitches. Keep in mind that you'll need more fabric if you choose to crochet a larger rug.

Tip

As long as you have enough fabric and it looks like the rug will turn out to be a size you can use, don't fret about the gauge. 

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Size N - 9.0 millimeter crochet hook

Materials

  • 7 yard cotton fabric, cut into 46- x 1.25-inch strips

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Fabric

    You can use storebought rag yarn or T-shirt yarn for this project or make your own with old T-shirts or other scrap fabric. For best results, cut your fabric on the bias (diagonal). Cut the fabric into strips measuring about 1.25 inches high by about 46 inches wide. Stitch the strips together end-to-end to make a rag ball that's one long continuous strip. If your fabric edges are frayed, turn them inward and stitch all the way down the strip to secure them for a cleaner edge.

    Tip

    If you want your rug to have more than one color, stitch different colors of fabric together into the same rag ball.

  2. Row One

    Chain 52. Double crochet in the third chain from hook. One double crochet in each of the next two double crochet sts. [chain 1, work one double crochet in each of the next 3 stitches.] Repeat the sequence in brackets all the way across the row.

  3. Row Two

    Starting with row 2, work in front loops only throughout. Chain 4, turn. The first three chain stitches count as one double crochet; the fourth chain st counts as one chain stitch. [Skip the next stitch. Work one double crochet st in each of the next three stitches, chain 1.] Repeat the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. End the row with a group of three double crochet stitches.

  4. Repeat

    Repeat row two until your rug is the size you want it to be. This constant repeat makes this a really great project for mindful crochet practice.

  5. End Off

    End off. You can weave in your ends as usual, and if you like you can stitch them down using a sewing needle and thread for extra security.