DIY rope rug
A couple weekends ago, I made a rope rug. A 4-foot one, to be exact.
I had seen this rug from the Purl Bee and the MegaDoily rope rug from Ladies and Gentlemen and wanted to make one. My friend Ashmo asked if I’d be willing to make one as a wedding gift for her friend. My answer? Of course!
The inspiration:
the materials:
-Rope cord (16/32 diameter).
I found it on Joann Fabrics, and used about 3 boxes of this stuff. I was lucky to have a coupon, so the rope was 40% off!
-crochet hook, size “S”.
I’d been jonesing for a S hook since the winter, and this was the perfect excuse to get one. I opted for a bamboo one, which felt really sturdy with the thick rope. I’d recommend it over a plastic one. For anyone who’s wondering, a S-hook is the mother of all crochet hooks: it’s about the size of a normal carrot.
steps:
I followed the pattern all the way through, making sure to crochet each round relatively loosely. When I was done, I wove the ends of the rope through the rug.
When I had to join the rope (i.e. when I finished a box of cord), I taped the ends together and sewed them to the rest of the rug to keep them in place. I had to be careful or else they would fray and unravel.
Here’s the rug in progress (and me having fun with it):
It took roughly 8 hours to make. I got blisters from the rope, but that was also because I crocheted it pretty tightly in some areas. Don’t do that.
I was really happy with the final rug. It was chunky and quite comfy to sit on. It’s not the kind of rug you want to put a lot of furniture on though, because of its bulk (it weighs about 20 pounds).
Overall, I’m glad I got to make a giant rope rug. Now I can check that off my list of ‘someday crafts!‘
I absolutely LOOOOOVE this tutorial! I just finished my rug last night! Although, I was super disappointed with the rope. I ordered 3 boxes off Joann.com with a 50% coupon.
But, all the rope had almost dirty oil marks all over then and the rope was extremely dirty in two of the boxes. I am trying to figure out what way to wash the rug to get it more clean, but over all it turned out amazing! There’s a picture of it on my websites home page! 
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing the tutorial!
Stefani
Hey Stefani! Your rug looks awesome! Yay
So sad to hear that the rope was dirty, though. That’s so frustrating. Maybe you can complain to JoAnn?
Can you use another type of yarn? The rope is just SO thick, and I know it would be more study to do it that way…
Hi Sarabeth, you can actually use any kind of yarn you want! Anything from t-shirt yarn to a several strands of super-chunky yarn at once, or thinner rope. Just make sure you adjust your crochet hook size accordingly.
[...] hacer esta alfombra, os dejamos el patrón aquí.El del cáctus lo podréis ver próximamente en el blog de su creadora (Siuke), que además os [...]
[...] DIY rope rug (whollykao.com) [...]
[...] original tutorial uses a very thick rope and the largest crochet hook imaginable. I fudged and used my T-shirt yarn [...]
can you make one for me pls? i will pay you?
i LOVEEEEE IT
Hi! In what section in Joannes did you find the rope cord? I looked everywhere for it and did not find it.
Hi Brittany, the rope cord is near where they keep the furniture trimmings at Joann’s. They make you buy it by the yard at the store, but it’s definitely a lot cheaper if you buy the entire box online (and use a 40% off coupon!).
[...] es de WollyKao, dónde encontraréis el patrón en inglés, y las alfombras siguientes son de Creative Jewish Mom [...]
[...] Den här hösten är hösten då jag äntligen lär mig virka, för kan man det då kan man till exempel göra såhär coola saker. En matta virkad av rep med hjälp av en virknål tjock som en morot! [...]
Hola, Hermosa!!!!,por fin conseguí el patrón a través tuyo, muchas graciass!!!!
de nada chica!
beautiful! I wish I know how to crochet!
Beautiful job!! Where are the directions?? I would love to try this!
Thanks Melissa! The pattern is in a pdf within the post, or you can click here to get them: http://whollykao.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/roperug_pattern1.pdf
Have fun!
ah i have wanted to try one of these forever! thanks for the tutorial!
I love this! i’ll need to try!
this is so cool, i def need to learn how to crochet to make one of these boys!!
For sure! and also…YouTube is actually a pretty good crochet teacher
[...] This DIY rope rug is RIDICULOUSLY awesome. Bravo! – A dip-dye maxi skirt from the ever talented A Pair and a Spare. – [...]
Your rug is beautiful! And, thank you for the link to my shop, Mimi’s Needle Basket
Aw, thanks! I’m glad I got that crochet hook from your etsy shop! Love how it looked, and how sturdy it is!
Cool & awesome! A job well done, Esther!
Oh my!This is awesome. I can crochet, but this is a huge one. Hmm, this is another challenge for me. wish me luck!
That looks really nice! Yet another thing on the list of “Things that make me wish I could crochet.”
This is beautiful! I bet you could even dye it if you wanted to. Thanks for sharing!!!
I bet it’d look terrific dyed! Great suggestion. Hmm…perhaps for next time!
omg. I love this!
That’s great….I don’t think I’d have the patience or the hand strength to do it though……
Esther – That’s amazing! You’re so talented! I love it! ~Patricia
Thanks Patricia!
ok…you need to sell these so those of us who can’t crochet can get one!
I wish! Sadly for the amount of time + labor to make this, I don’t know if it’d be profitable to sell them. But making them as gifts on the other hand…totally worth it!
Definitely going to get me self rope cords!!!!!!!
do it!
Awesome! And I love that one of your tags is MEGA DOILY! Hahahahahahahahaha! I am definitely going to pin this so I can come back to it…once I can crochet!
Find some friends who crochet and start a crochet group! Sounds kinda old ladyish, but its fun!
I wish I could take credit for the name, but the original giant rope rug (made by Ladies and Gentleman) is called Mega Doily.