Susie Home Maker: Floors

"Now take your hands, the tools you work with, you'll be thrilled when you build something nice." from the 1951 movie, Here Comes the Groom

Well, I was going to do the next post in our Susie Home Maker series (inspired by my cousin Susie who is moving into her first apartment this year!!!) about bathrooms, since they can be rather challenging to decorate in an apartment. However, I realized that I had neglected a few other essentials...one of which is floors! The floors of most apartments are not that great. They typically have stains, holes and frayed edges in the carpet, chips in linoleum (or tile if you are lucky enough to have it), etc. I have no earthly idea when the floors in our apartment had last been redone but they were pretty gross!! The best thing you can do to hide these eye sores outside of being careful how you place the furniture is to use lots of rugs! You may be able to find some cute rugs for a good deal that match the other things you already have, but in the event that you don't, here are a few different ideas I have seen for making some really cute rugs!! (I have been really wanting to try some of these! I just have not had the time! Maybe when I start working on our bedroom...)

When I think about homemade rugs, one of the first types that comes to mind is a country braided rug! My parents used to have some of these in their home, and I have seen them in several relatives home. You can make them in almost any shape or size! To make them you just braid long strips of fabric (usually from a durable fabric like old jeans) and then stitch them together into the shape you want.


However, if minimal handstitching sends you into panic attacks, I have also found a pattern that has absolutely no sewing involved!!!


Along that same vein, if you are looking for something that involves fairly minimal sewing/needlework skills, you might also find these ideas pretty neat!


This is a pom-pom rug. You make lots and lots of pom-poms (very easy), and then you sew them (or potentially knot them) onto a rug canvas (or you could use some type of durable fabric like denim or burlap). I personally really like this rug because you could use yarn scraps instead of buying specific types of yarn!


This is a hook and latch rug. While it is another no-sew option, I do NOT recommend it! I have had one of these since I was in elementary school and I still have only completed a couple inches of it! It just takes a really long time to knot each little piece of yarn onto the rug canvas!


While this rug will involve a minimal amount of crocheting, it would make up much quicker than a hook and latch rug!


This rug would require a minimal amount of knitting, but once again would make up much quicker than a hook and latch rug!

Another option that would require minimal sewing would be a Recycled Shag Rug. The only sewing involved is straight stitches on a machine. The instructions recommend bunching the material; however, if you wanted to leave out that step, I think you probably could. It just might be a little less shaggy!

The other kind of homemade rug I typically think of is a woven rag rug. My grandmother has one in her house that I have always loved! If you ever managed to use one of those potholder loom kits as a child, you can probably manage this!


There are several different sets of instructions you might try depending on what sounds easiest to you: 1 and 2!

Finally, there is what we refer to as "Floor Clothes." Basically, you sew anything you want on a durable piece of fabric and place it on the floor! You could attach it to a rug canvas or use some of that carpet tape they sell at Lowe's to keep it in place better.

If you want more ideas to get you started, then you might take The Rug Tour. The great thing about making rugs is that you can 1) Make exactly what you want or 2) Use scraps of what you have so that it doesn't cost you a thing!