- 1). Determine the diameter, in feet, of the round rug you would like to make. Divide the diameter in half and multiply it by itself (square it), then multiply times pi (3.14) to determine the area of the rug you are making in square feet. For example, a round rug with a 5-foot diameter circular rug would be 19.63 feet.
- 2). Convert the square footage to inches to determine how much fabric you will need by multipying your result in step 1 by 12 inches. For a 19.63-square-foot rug, the result would be 235.56 square inches. Round up your result to the nearest whole number. In this case, that would be 236. Never round down or your rug will be a smidge lopsided.
- 3). Convert inches to yards to determine fabric length by dividing the result from step 2 by 36 (the number of inches in a yard). A circular rug with an area of 236 will require 6.5 yards of one-inch-thick strips of fabric
- 4). Cut fabric into long 1-inch strips no more than 1 yard in length. Try to cut fabric all the same length to make it easier to work with. If this is not possible because you are working with recycled clothing, simply cut two strips at an angle (such as when cutting ribbon to keep it from fraying) and stitch across the diagonal additional smaller strips of fabric to any short pieces to make all your strips about the same length.
- 5). Stitch three strips of fabric together on the short side, side by side. Safety pin the stitched end of your three strips to a pillow and position it between your feet to keep it steady while you braid. in your mind, number the strips from left to right 3, 2, 1 in that order.
- 6). Lay strip 1 over strip 2 and cross strip 3 over it. Continuing down, lay strip 2 over strip 3 and cross strip 1 over that. Continue braiding in this way until you have about 3 inches of fabric left at the bottom of your strips unbraided. Don't forget your numbering system as this will stay the same after you've added more strips.
- 7). Sew three new strips of fabric to the loose ends of your braid. You may wish to move the safety pin down closer to the bottom of the braid to make it easier to work with, or simply continue braiding with your longer strips from where you left off in step 6. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all your pre-measured fabric has been braided.
- 8). Lay the braid out on the floor and coil it tightly at one end into a spiral pattern. Stop after you've coiled about one square foot, leaving the loose end free.
- 9). Thread a carpet needle with carpet thread and stitch the sides of the strips together at the center of the coil first using a box stitch. Continue stitching the edges of the strips together along the coil until you reach the loose end. Secure the thread with a knot and cut. Continue coiling the remainder of the braid, stopping to stitch every square foot or so, until the rug is finished.
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