It’s been musical rugs over at our house lately – I thought I had our entry rug all figured out when I placed my new West Elm geometric rug by the front door. But it ended up being a no-go for that spot (I’ll fill you in on why in a minute) so I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and go custom to get the 4′ x 5′ size that I needed for my odd little entry space. But after going to a few carpet and rug stores, I realized that the only carpets that I could get cut to size and bound without breaking the bank are all kinda ugly. So what’s a girl to do but take what she’s already got (a chunky 4 x 6 jute rug) and do a little DIY to make it the custom size that’s just right for the space:
Here’s how it all went down (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here}). The 4 x 6 jute rug that I started with (you can find it {here}) worked perfectly in the entry of our old house but it wouldn’t fit widthwise in our new one so I had it running lengthwise down the hall. It was too big. So recently I replaced it with a 3 x 5 West Elm wool dhurrie rug that I loved but after living with it for a while I decided that it was too small (I know it doesn’t really look it in the picture but trust me that in ‘real life’ the size looked off).
What was the “just right” size? 4 x 5. Hmm, if only I could get rid of a foot of my 4 x 6 rug….
That’s when I had the idea of doing a DIY resizing of my jute rug. A few hours later I said hello to my new 4 x 5 chunky beauty!:
And goodbye to the old size that annoyingly overlapped the doorways to the living and dining rooms:
My newly resized 4 x 5 rug is much better behaved – she’s big enough to fill up the entryway but not so big that she disrupts the flow from room to room:
The DIY rug resizing wasn’t the quickest of DIYs (it took me about 3 hours) or the cleanest (you wouldn’t believe how much junk/dirt comes out of the rug when you unweave it) but it was simple to do and so worth it in the end. The key to this DIY is to start with a natural fiber rug that is handwoven and has fringed ends (mine is this inexpensive chunky jute rug). The width of the rug stays constant but you can shorten the length of it as much as you need to. You’ll want to shorten it from both fringed ends so that the look of your final fringe is the same on both sides.
Start by untying all of the fringe knots on one side, paying close attention to how they were tied. Once that’s done, start un-weaving it. Keep going until you have unwoven the number of inches that you had planned. Now, it’s time to reknot the end. For my rug, I noticed that there was an ongoing pattern of two curly strands and one straight strand. To retie the ends, I made a loop with the straight strand:
and then put the end of the straight strand through the loop from front to back:
Take the two curly strands to the left and put them through the loop you just made:
Flip the curly strands up out of the way and pull the loop tight so that it becomes a knot.
You’ve finished your first piece of knotted fringe! Just keep moving down the line tying one knot after the next. At the end, trim your fringe to the length you want. Loud music and caffeine help.
What you’ll find is that your newly knotted fringe will be curly! I actually love the curly fringe and think it adds to the look of the rug but if you’re not a fan and are really ambitious, I’m guessing that you could iron the fringe straighter.
As a side note, for any natural fiber rug that’s being placed over hardwood, be sure to use a rug pad! I’ve learned the hard way that without a pad, the rug can rub and change the sheen of the area of hardwoods it’s covering.
So I’ve gotten one more foyer project done….
but I still have several left to go including adding some color to the walls (I’m choosing from these gray paint options) and possibly painting the door too – wouldn’t it look so much better if it was black like it is on the front?
stephanie kraus says
very clever Kris and looks perfect!! xo
cassie says
WOW you are braver than me! it looks awesome, kris!
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says
Wow, I am impressed. I would never in a million years have thought to shorten it and then to actually tackle this project. Amazing. Looks fabulous.
Pam @ Simple Details says
Oh wow, what a brilliant idea, Kris! I love the way you think out of the box!
Tracy Laverty says
Clever! I like that you used what you had and made it work. I love your style Kris!
Becky // This Is Happiness says
You are so smart!! Looks great Kris!
Taylor Greenwalt says
Now that was clever….it looks great!
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says
You always come up with the smartest solutions. I never would have thought of that. It looks great!
Sarah @ 702 Park Project says
You, my friend, are a genius!! Love it!
classic casual home says
This is awesome! I am having a seagrass rug resized for a client’s new home. We just need to cut one side and the carpet company is charging us $65 to sew a new binding on…not bad, but I like YOUR price even better.
VEL says
Way to go Kris! I would have just looked for a new one, but your right in doing this since it now looks perfect!
For winter and Fall, I do love oversize rugs but the entry since I don’t want anything wet going inside, so I usually switch mine to a 5 x 8 sisal rug up front. 🙂
Lauren@SimplyLKJ says
Genius!! Love how you were able to repurpose what you already had.
Providence Hill says
I have that EXACT same rug and it is also too big for my space! I’ve been thinking about doing just what you just did. Now I know it’s possible I’m all in!
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
OK – now that’s a crazy coincidence!! Go for it – it’s a little boring and backbreaking but worth it in the end!
splendid market says
Okay, I am exhausted just studying the tying patterns, but good job, the final products looks great, and I actually, loved the study of how the rug was made.
Melanie @ The Painted Chandelier says
Oh my word! You are so smart to try that, Kris! You are really great at resizing things and making them work better in your spaces. I’m going to pin this for future reference 🙂
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
I got lucky on this one – I wasn’t sure if it would work of if I’d have an unwoven mess in the end!
Becca says
You are so ambitious! It looks amazing. I have this same rug on a MUCH larger scale (13×10?) but my fringe is a matted mess! My MIL uses a walker and after a visit I noticed that the constant going over it destroyed the fringe. I’ve been trying to decide if there would be a safe way to remove the fringe without he rug unravelling. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Becca! Instead of cutting off the fringe, maybe your best bet would be to tuck each individual fringe piece into the weave on the underside of the rug. I think you could also cut the fringe shorter without it unraveling as long as you don’t go too short!
Reba says
I can’t believe I found instructions to do this! Thank you thank you! I have a beautiful HUGH chunky loop Jute rug and need to shorten it, I have been terrified to do it myself with no instruction or encouragement. So thank you, now I will get on with re-sizing my rug.
Reba
Sara M says
Bless your heart, oh my gosh. I just ordered this exact rug in the mail at a size too long for my room… literally wider than the room. It’s $50 to return ship it… this may be my solution! YAY
Kris Jarrett says
Awesome – hope it works out for you!!
Bobbi says
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I have been looking for a jute rug for my dining room but, I’m having a hard time finding the right size. I’m going to get a quote for a custom size this week. But, this is a great option if the custom quote is too high. Thanks again!
Kris Jarrett says
So glad it was helpful! Sounds like one way or another you’ll find one that’s a perfect fit!
Sharron says
How would you shorten a table runner without further ends. Mine is 72 ” long so I could cut in half and use in my coffee table etc. It’s like a huge rug material
Kimberly says
Hello,
Would it be possible to unweave on the other side as well? I need something shorter and narrower.
Kris Jarrett says
With this particular rug I don’t think you could take the weave out of the long side without the rug falling apart…
Lisa says
Kris you are a lifesaver! I bough some jute rugs for my RV and I love the color and everything about them EXCEPT they are, annoyingly, just too long. Took the first one apart today and got one done. Mine wasn’t frayed already so I had to work the strands out of the end, but the knots worked out perfectly all the same. Thank you!
Bri says
Thank you sooo much for sharing this! I had the same jute rug rolled up in the corner because it was too big or small for my space. Now I can actually use it instead 🙂