Not quite! That is, if you do what your great-grandmothers did when they needed to cover floor space. They made rag rugs! It may sound difficult, and a bit old fashioned, but if you can thread a needle and know how to braid, you're in business.
First, you need to start off with fabric. You can use old sheets or blankets, fabric scraps or even clothes destined for the garbage can or donation pile. (If you wanted to make a rug for a bathroom, an interesting idea would be to use old towels and scraps of terrycloth) I used some fabric that I had on hand, leftovers from muslins for my Senior Collection project from last year (awful poly-blends that weren't fit to be used for anything else - but were just fine for a rug!). It essentially does not matter what you use; as long as you like the colors and you can cut or tear them into 2-3 inch wide strips.
After you tear your fabric into 2-3 inch strips, secure three of the strips together by placing just a few stitches on the end to secure them. Now, braid, taking the rightmost strip across and then the left ( or whatever braiding method feels most comfortable to you).
Now comes the fun part. Curl an end of your fabric braid and secure with a few stitches on the underside. Make sure the braided flat area is face-up and face down. You'll stitch on the edges. Flip over your rug and continue to spiral it, stitching in between braids (make sure that you are stitching right in between, otherwise your rug won't sit flat). To add different colored strips, simply attach a different braid at the end of a circle.
You can make your rug as big or as small as you like; the more braid you add, the larger it will be. To finish off your rug, simply tuck under the edge of the end and add a few stitches.
Now you have a handmade rug that cost you nothing except for your time and a few scraps.
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