Upcycled Rug Ottoman

I purchased a cute red rag rug (say that three times fast!) at a yard sale a few years ago, thinking I would use it in my son’s room.  Unfortunately, when I washed it, it bled like a stuck pig, turning the fringe from white to pink.  Recently I felt the creative urge to do something with the rug.  I spotted a nice size ottoman at our local Habitat for Humanity Store  and decided to try covering it with the rag rug. Here’s how I did it:

1.  First, I cut a strip of rug longways, cutting it the same width as the height of the ottoman.  The finished edge of the rug would become the bottom edge of the ottoman.  Because it wasn’t long enough to wrap all the way around my ottoman, I had to cut a second piece from the other side of the rug (so it would have a finished edge, too.

2. I joined the two pieces together using jute twine from Walmart.  (yarn would probably work fine, also.)  I used a simple overcast stitch to bind  them together. 3.  Then, I cut a square piece of rug the same dimension as the top of my ottoman. 4.  Note that with a rag rug each strip of “rag” is sewed to the next strip so when you cut the rug, the strips will begin to fall apart.  To keep the rug from unraveling, I simply removed enough strips to reveal about 1 inch length strings that held the rug together.  I then individually tied them.  Yeah I know, this is a project that requires more time than money! 5.  Then I sewed the top piece to the four sides.  I used the same overcast stitch with the jute twine.  I went over it twice just to be sure the raw edges were secure. That’s it! A cool little makeover for an ottoman destined for the landfill!  I like the texture that the rag rug adds.  Apparently, Sweetie likes it, too!