There’s many different shapes for braided rugs, here, we’ll discuss a couple.If it’s an oval rug you want, start with the center braid and make sure it is as long as what the difference is between the width and length of a finished rug. (Example: A 6×9 rug needs a 3 ft center braid. 8×10 or 4×6 rug needs a center braid of 2 feet) Turn the braid and fold it back to equal length in a hairpin type of shape. Lace or sew the two ends together. Lacing will make a rug reversible. Keep going round and round with the sewing on the core of the rug with a big needle and carpet thread. Don’t stretch out the braiding strip when you’re lacing or sewing.
A round rug is about the same, except you start in a spiral form
For a rectangle rug, take the beginning braid and make it more than twice as long as the overall length of the rug. When measuring this braid, make sure you leave at least an inch for each foot extra, since it could be lost in the first lacing. Pin the braid at first braid’s length and cut the braid near the pin. Lift up the second braid back to the start of the first braid and lace the two together. Make sure you match the loops of the braids so that you have a nice pattern. Its best to lace your third braid over to the opposite side of the first braid, and to keep lacing to alternate sides as you add braids. This way, you’ll have a nice straight and flat rug with the braiding being nice and even. Once you get to the size you want, stitch each end to secure your braids, and stitch on rug binding tape all the way across both of your ends.
Lacing Braided Rugs
Down the straight sides of the rug, the loops of your braids are beside each other to create an open “V”. Use a curved needle and carpet thread and lace through the alternate loops of adjoining braids. Once a rug starts to curve, we use another method. For the proper fullness to keep a rug nice and flat, you need to increase it by lacing the thread through 2 loops on a new braid and keep going through alternate loops on the Braided Rugs
