rag rug
A rag rug is a rug or mat made from rags. Small pieces of recycled fabric are either hooked into or poked through a woven-fabric backing of hessian (burlap in North America), or else the strips are braided or plaited together to make a mat. Other names for this kind of rug are derived from the material (clippy or clootie rug) or technique (proggie or proddie rug, poke mats and peg mats). • Illustration — Rag rug constructed from T-shirts and bed linen In the UK, these thrift rugs were popular in the nineteenth century and during World War II in working-class homes seeking to reuse precious material.
Also recorded as rag carpet · list carpet
rag rug
User:ManipulatinMae · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Field
- rug · flatweave
- Related practice
- rag
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In this article
Techniques
The hessian back may have come from a food sack.
There are three main techniques. In the UK it was common to poke or pull a small clipping of cloth through a hessian (burlap) backing, giving a shaggy appearance. In the US, a thin strip of fabric was hooked through the hessian so that the top surface was a small loop pile. A third technique is to plait, braid, lace or sew the fabric strips together.
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Rag rug, revision 1344300770 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Textiles
37 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Moroccan rugsTerminology
- Navalgund DurrieTerminology
- red carpetTerminology
- Shabalid buta carpetTerminology
- shaddaTerminology
- shyrdakTerminology
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