Who doesn’t have at least one pair of old blue jeans sitting in a closet somewhere? One great way to give them a new purpose is to turn them into denim rag rugs.
Denim is not only fashionable and versatile, but jeans are easy to repurpose and have an extremely durable construction. That’s why it’s such a great fabric to use for repurposing and upcycling.
I love repurposing old denim into quilts, bags, and more fun denim projects. And denim rag rugs are another super fun way to use those scraps!
Rag rugs are such a great way of upcycling fabric strips and old fabric and give all those pieces of discarded fabric a longer life.
Some of these area rugs require a sewing machine and others are no-sew ideas. Some use the waistbands only, or the seams, the pockets, a denim strip or even the entire pair of jeans.
How Many Jeans Do You Need to Make a Denim Rag Rug?
The short answer is that it really depends! It’s going to depend on what size of rug you’re making if you’re using the whole pair of jeans or only portions of it, and so on.
The longer is that each tutorial usually tells you how many pairs of jeans it took them to create their rug.
You can use these techniques to make a rag rug in any size you like with just slight variations. Of course, the larger the rug, the more pairs of jeans you’ll need.
If you find you don’t have enough jeans to create the rug you want, you can always head to the thrift store or ask a family member or a friend if they have any they’d like to get rid of!
Inspiration & Tutorials for Denim Rag Rugs
Now grab those old jeans and use one of these great tutorials to create your own rug!
Denim Rag Rugs DIY Ideas & Tutorials
Here are several unique ways to upcycle your old jeans and turn them into a statement piece for your home as a denim rag rug!
This clever DIY denim rug uses the pockets of old blue jeans to create a pretty spectacular doormat.
Of course, you can place any spot in your house you want and make it as small or as large as you wish!
This beautiful rainbow denim rag rug is possible thanks to this great tutorial from My Poppet.
It utilizes upcycled denim scraps and upcycled cotton yarn to create a stunning look in your living room and that will likely be a great conversation starter for your visitors.
Are you interested in weaving your own rag rug?
This great rug will help inspire you to try to create for your favorite place in your home.
This detailed step by step tutorial creates a rather large circular pattern rug using different shades of denim.
If this is too large for your space, you can always adjust to make a smaller version.
This tutorial gives great step by step instructions on how to sew your own denim rug that’s perfect for small spaces.
They also include care instructions!
Sewing denim can be difficult especially with the thick parts such as the seams and waistbands.
This tutorial gets around this by showing you how to make a no-sew blue jean rug.
Braided rugs can take a long time but they do turn out beautifully.
If you would like one in your home, use this giant one as inspiration.
If crocheting is your creative method of choice, this rectangular rug made out of upcycled old jeans is perfect for you.
While you’ll need a lot of denim seams (approximately 50 pairs of jeans!) to recreate this rug, it’s definitely worth it when this is the end result.
Use all those old t-shirts and jeans to create a colorful crocheted rag rug like this one.
Looking for even more rag rug ideas? Here are some rag rug tutorials for all different kinds of fabric, not just denim.
And if you’re not sure where to start when it comes to using old denim for upcycled projects, check out my post on how to cut up old jeans for sewing and upcycling projects.
Looking for even more ways to use your old denim? Try these posts:
- DIY Denim Quilt Ideas Anyone Can Make
- DIY Denim Boro Coasters
- Quick Denim Quilt (Improv Quilt with Instructions)
- Easy No Sew Denim Dog Toy (Braided Tug Toy)
- How to Make A Bag from a Denim Skirt
- Upcycling Stretch Denim – Face your Fears!
- DIY Denim Handbag with an Upcycled Leather Belt Strap
- DIY Denim Quilt from Old Jeans (Reversible Picnic Blanket)
- How to Cut Up Old Jeans for Sewing & Upcycling Projects
- 20 No-Sew ways to Upcycle Old Jeans!