Our House… DIY Rug to Fit

In the kitchen at ‘Our House’ I had a rug that went from the sink to the stove, but awkwardly didn’t go the rest of the way to the fridge. So I DIY-ed a new rug, here’s the story, and a quick before and after:

This is the old rug, and it’s a very good quality, durable wool rug. I’ve had it for over 10 years, and lots of spills etc. but they’ve shampooed right out of it, no problem. I am tired of the rust and darker colors though, and the size has always bugged me.

The way the kitchen is designed, it just looked awkward, it looked liked it needed to go the whole way to the fridge.

The problem was the size, standard rug sizes are 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 or a runner is only around 2’ or so by 7 or 8 or 9 feet long… none of them were right for this space, which needed to be 3 ½’ x 7 ½’… I’ve been looking for years, and unless I spent a lot! on a custom sized rug, this size was not to be found.

But the other day I was in Target and it suddenly hit me, why can’t I take a bigger rug and cut it to size, but what about those edges? Well there are tons of rugs out there with the sewn canvas type edges, they must be ok…. So…

This is a perfectly perfect rug, and was discounted almost by a third, nearly $20 off original, just because the original wrap was missing. And being the indoor/outdoor rug that it is, I’m thinking it should clean up from spills pretty well too. And, I love the color and pattern… how perfect can it be?

(Sorry photo is blurry, I’m obviously so excited about the price and perfect-ness I’m shaking.)

Then I went to JoAnn Fabrics Etc. to get some indoor/outdoor fabric. Again, considering the clean-ability factor. The fabric I selected is a heavy canvas type print, with the colors having a small accent of the olive green to coordinate with my cabinets, and the blue I’ve been incorporating throughout the house, the tan is a total match of the tan on the upper walls of the kitchen, plus I like how it is an interpretation of the striped fabric on the Pottery Barn bench I reupholstered (which is in the adjoining living room) but it doesn’t perfectly match it.

After checking that my machine would handle sewing through it before I actually cut into it, and it did just fine, love my Pfaff machine! I measured out the size the rug would be, figured out where the pattern would look best to be centered, and eyed the fabric edge with it. (I had considered stenciling on the rug too, but opted not.)

Then I cut out the size, I also cut away the factory bound edges so that there were no ‘bumps’ in the edging.

I also cut 6” strips of the border fabric, sewed them all together creating one long strip, and pressed in the edges ½” and pressed the whole thing in half to make it easy to sew it on the rug.

The biggest issue I had was the rug was so stiff, it had a mind of its own when I was sewing it, and to try to sew a straight line was nearly impossible. Fortunately, the thread I used blends in well, and unless you get down on your hands and knees, like I did for this photo, you don’t notice it.

 

Now the rug is the right width of 3 ½’ so the sink can be centered on it.

And the right length to fit in the whole space properly.

I’ve already vacuumed it once and no problem, I’m thrilled with my new DIY custom sized rug!

As always, please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest the more the merrier!

I appreciate you stopping by.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Lindsay says

    I was googling DIY Laundry rugs & found this tut ~ genius & Target/Clearance- score! I have the same exact problem in my kitchen & one rug is hard to match so I’m going to paint my own, but this is perfect & very clever. Great Blog btw.

    Reply

  5. Stacey says

    That is a wicked cool project! Great idea! Love what you did especially the trim! Thanks for linking up this week!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

    Reply

  6. Nif says

    What a clever idea! I love your choice of rug and trim. I have the same kind of problem with the space in my kitchen. I will have to try this!

    Reply

  15. kim@madeinaday says

    What a great idea!! I had been looking for a little refrigerator rug for under the water dispenser for months now and this is great, I can just make a smaller one!! I found you at At the Picket Fence, I love your blog and would love it if you would come by and link up at my linky party going on now!
    Kim@madeinaday
    http://madeinaday.com

    Reply

  17. Diane@InMyOwnStyle says

    The rug came out wonderful and now you have a one of a kind beautiful custom rug that is just perfect for your space. A friend of mine once sewed cushions for me that I had vinylized first, She said it was like sewing 2 x 4’s togehther. 🙂 Thank goodness for great machines.

    My best -Diane

    Reply

  19. Sharon Hines says

    The rug is beautiful! I absolutely love the new color scheme…the pattern on the outdoor rug and the colors of the fabric work together really well. Thanks for sharing!

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

    Reply

  21. Jo @ Let's Face the Music says

    Your choice of rug and fabric are perfect for this project. This is my new go-to project for those awkward floor spaces especially if I can get the rug on super sale. Thanks for the tute. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music

    Reply

  22. Tanya says

    You are insanely creative! I love this rug, and am having the same issue. Old rug too red, now doing cooler tones. Off to check out outdoor rugs! Thank you for sharing your ideas

    Tanya 🙂

    Reply

  30. sugar says

    this makes so much sense, but wondering when the rug people are going to start making better rugs for the kitchen themselves? Seems like they’re still in the 80’s and should start following blogs to see what people really want these days.

    Reply

  31. Karen says

    Hi! Just wanted to check in with you and say that I’m enjoying your Blog. What a great idea for your rug! I hope that you’re enjoying your purchases, and that it’s coordinating with what you already have. It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday at JJill!

    Karen

    Reply

  34. Sally says

    Way to go. You did a great job. It turned out beautifully like it was store bought. I love the colors as well. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

    Sally

    Reply

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