Rugs are the secret superpower of home decor. A well-placed, beautifully customized rug can help tie your space together, add interest, and elevate your interior design quickly. But finding the perfect customized rug for your home isn’t always easy.
In this walkthrough, as a professional custom rugs manufacturer, I’ll cover some of the best ways to customize a plain rug. From no-sew to professional options, rug resizing methods, adding texture or color, and embroidery, keep reading for a crash course on making a basic floor covering your own. Hold on tight – things are about to get crafty up in here!
Supplies you’ll Need for Customizing a Rug
The supplies you’ll need depend on your customization method, but here are a few must-haves:
- Basic Sewing Supplies: Needles, thread, scissors, etc.
- Fabric Paint or Dye
- Embroidery Hoop: For stitching designs
- Pom Poms, Tassels, or Other Textures
- Measuring Tape or Ruler
For rug resizing, you may also want:
- Utility Knife or Scissors
- Heat Activated Tape or Duck Tape
Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty techniques for customizing a plain rug!
How to Customize a Plain Rug
Add Embroidery, Appliques, Pom Poms, or Tassels
Sometimes all a plain rug needs is a little handcrafted touch. Embroidery and appliques can totally transform an everyday floor covering. Here’s how to get started:
Embroider a Design
If you have embroidery experience under your belt (or crochet skills), stitching a design right into the rug is a fun option. Here’s a quick how-to:
First, sketch out your design on paper. Things like your initials, leaves or vines, geometric shapes, flowers, or messages work well. Then, trace the design onto the rug using a fabric pen or transfer paper.
Tip: Use removable markers or transfer pencils whenever possible.
Next, hoop your rug and being stitching using embroidery floss. A satin stitch or backstitch typically works well. To finish, tie off your threads on the backside or weave them into previous stitches.
Not confident in your embroidery skills? No worries – you can opt for iron-on appliques instead. Purchase appliques with your desired design or shape online or from a craft store. Then, carefully iron them onto your rug according to the package instructions.
Add On Embellishments
You can easily customize a basic rug by taking some embellishments to it. Pom poms, tassels, ribbon, ric rac, bells, and more can infuse a playful, tactile element with very little work.
Sewing, fabric glue, or hot glue will do the trick for attaching embellishments. For a classy touch, add some metallic pom poms or colorful tassels along the edges. Feeling funky? Create smiles by gluing down some pom poms in a trail across your floor covering.
Go wild and let your inner crafter shine through! Just don’t overdo it on the embellishments or things might start looking more silly than chic.
Alter the Size to Perfectly Fit Your Space
Finding a rug in just the right dimensions can be a challenge. Rather than settling for one that’s too small or too large, put those DIY skills to work by altering the size yourself. Here are some tips:
Make it Smaller
Cutting down an oversized rug is quite simple. First, determine how much smaller you’d like to go and mark a guideline in chalk or with pins. Then, use sharp scissors or a utility knife to create a clean cut, removing any excess material.
Finish the edges using heat-activated tape, iron-on binding, or even colorful washi tape to conceal any fraying. Duck tape along the edges also works in a pinch.
Resize by Refolding and Taping
What if your rug is just slightly too large? Rather than cutting it, try resizing by folding under the edges and neatly taping them into place with heat activated tape, fabric tape, or Duck tape.
Measure the size you want, mark fold lines in chalk, neatly fold under any excess on all sides securing with strong tape. Make diagonal folds at the corners so they remain flat when you’re done.
Enlarge It with Added Borders
Is your rug a tad too small for the intended space? Extend it by adding coordinating fabric borders. This allows you to retain the original while making it larger.
For the cleanest results, remove any existing binding or trim. Then, select a fabric in a matching or complementary print or color to your rug. Cut strips larger than the difference between the current size and your goal size, adding about 1″ extra per side.
Pin fabric strips to the underside edge of the rug, right sides facing. Sew together using a 1⁄2” seam allowance then flip the border right side out and press flat all the way around the rug. For visible stitching, top stitch close to the inner edges.
Update Color and Texture with Paint or Dye
Painting or dyeing allows you to transform the look of a basic rug by altering its color and texture. Before getting started, always test products first on a rug swatch before applying to the entire piece.
Add Color with Fabric Paint
Fabric paint adds color while creating a textured, brushstroke finish. It works on natural and synthetic rug fibers. Follow package directions and paint colors directly onto the rug in your desired design. Long even strokes typically work best.
Pro tip: Outline shapes and patterns with a darker color first so they really stand out. Let paint dry fully between coats.
Dye for Color Changes
For solid color changes, fabric dye often works better than paint. It allows you to fully saturate the rug fibers. Be sure to select a dye safe for your rug’s fiber content.
Follow all safety precautions when dyeing, working in a ventilated area over drop cloths. Wear rubber gloves and old clothing too. Thoroughly soak the rug in a basin or tub with diluted dye according to package directions. For all-over dyeing, stir the rug gently and often as it soaks.
To create ombre effects, soak one half longer than the other before rinsing. Always rinse dyes thoroughly in cool water until it runs clear. Air dry.
Layer Rugs for Added Interest
Sometimes a layered rug look brings the ideal texture, pattern, or color contrast. Luckily achieving this is as easy as rolling out a few rugs! Here are some layering ideas to try:
- Solid color + patterned rugs
- Complementary colored rugs
- Varying textures – try wool + cotton/linen blends
- Same pattern rug – different scales
- Contrasting shapes – rectangle + circle
Keep scale and dimension differences in mind so that all layers are visible and don’t compete for attention. The top rug will act as your focal point, while bottom layers subtly peek through.
Have extra large rugs? Layer by cutting them down into rug pads just slightly smaller than your top rug. Create dimensions ideal for your space so the pretty layers really stand out.