DIY Ombre Cotton Piping Rug

Rugs are kind of my thing. I LOVE a good rug as long as the price is right. I don’t have a budget of hundreds, let alone thousands, for rugs so I have a list of the places I like to hit up when I need something new for the floor. I like Ross because the prices can be crazy cheap if I’m not being terribly picky about color or size or whatever because the variety is also a weensy bit crazy. Home Depot is my go to for huge rugs because the prices are good and the styles are on-trend. And I love IKEA because let’s face it, I love just about everything IKEA does. Except for their shopping carts. I friggin’ hate those shopping carts!

Sometimes what I want and see in my head isn’t something I have found. When that happens I go with my fourth favorite rug option… DIY. What I wanted was a rug to go in this corner of the living room that adds a little extra seating for when guests are over and where the pets’ toy bin is. Their food and water are nearby, too. Wherever the food is the animals will be so they hang out over here a lot. And I felt bad that they were lying on stone-cold tile flooring so I decided to put something there. After coming up a miss for something soft and kind of small I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a box of cotton piping.

You can also use the cotton rope but I couldn’t find that business to save my life in town so I went this route. In the end, this sucker is plush and soft and the animals love it. I can’t blame them. I gave a quick lie down on it and I totally dig it, too!

For this project you will need:

• 1-inch cotton piping
• dye
• bucket/bin/sink/etc to dye
• upholstery thread
• upholstery needle (sharp!)

Now my math kind of stinks so this project wound up being a lot more expensive than I would have liked, so be sure to look into ropes as an alternative to this as you might save money or just be sure to correctly use craft store discount coupons. I purchased an entire 40-yard box of cotton 1″ cotton piping cord for $1.29 a yard. Which is, dun, dun, dun… $51.60 PLUS tax and that was not in my budget when you have to add in thread and dye. So I used a 40% off coupon but got kind of messed over by Hobby Lobby because their math came out hinky and I didn’t notice until I did that stare at your receipt, what the heck thing, as I was reading the paper and walking away. Now it should have been $30.96 + tax with my coupon and when I went back to ask was told that the math was sound. Um, a calculator ain’t wrong but I still wound up paying $41.28 + tax because I was without the option of returning because items since things from the fabric counter aren’t returnable EVEN if they aren’t cut. Harumph. I’m a bit irritated. Can you tell?

Let’s move on…

Find the end of your cord or rope and prepare a tub or bucket of dye per package directions. I’m doing this in the hall bath… classy!

Basically, to get ombre you’ll start with putting about 1/2 of the length into the dye and allowing it to sit for some time. For me, that was 2 hours. Next, you’ll take about half-ish of what is left and dye it in less time, for me that was about 45 minutes.

Rinse well, or until the water runs clear, in a sink or tub. Wring out any extra water and toss in the dryer to finish the job. NOTE with this piping the ends will frazzle like the dickens so tie it off to prevent much loss. Here is mine all dried and ombre and looking fab on my fave IKEA rug.

Take the end and tie it off with upholstery thread. Use glue (I used e-6000) to stop the end from fraying.

While still wet start coiling the glued end in on itself. Using curved upholstery need to make quick stitches!

Continue coiling and stitching. This will take, erm, forever. But it’s worth it in the end!

And while it may look hinky and flat on the back, the front is all puffy like a cinnamon roll!

As the project gets bigger you’ll need to place it on the floor, pretty side down to continue stitching the rug so it lays flat. Oh, and if you misplace your curved hook you can totally use a straight one but it will totally take a lot longer and will require a thimble or you’ll have sore thumbs. (ow!)

Still puffy. LOVE!

So here is the pet area I speak of and the new little rug! It looks so cute!

And since looks can be a bit deceiving here it is with my size nines hanging out on the edge. This thing isn’t humongous but it is a good size. Once you get that size glue off your end and stitch under the most recent row to finish up.

Big ol’ craft coupon fails and all, I still love this rug. Maybe mostly because the doggies love it so much but maybe also because I’m digging that ombre style!

Allison

A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.