MAKING a ROUND “BRAIDED RUG” STYLE TRIVET FROM T-SHIRTS

Braided rugs are a classic of American Colonial and Colonial Revival interior design. Originally made out of whatever scraps were available, this craft experienced a revival in the U.S. during the Colonial Revival of the 1960’s and 70’s. Back then, this craft used high quality wool “ends” – large remnants that were available from the many woolen mills that dotted the banks of American rivers. My mother made the hexagonal hall runner shown in the photo above. Sadly, those mills are gone now, and the craft has in many ways returned to its roots, with people making rugs and household accessories out of rags, old towels, t-shirts, and even plastic shopping bags.

This Instructable will attempt to show how classic rugs were made. Discarded t-shirts will be used as the material, since wool remnants are no longer available. The pictures will show how to make a round trivet, but all of the principles are the same for making rugs, baskets, pet beds, etc.

(For those who are wondering, I made the trivets and the cat basket shown in the photos above, but my mother made the hexagonal hall runner.)

You will need a basic knowledge of hand sewing (mostly blind stitching and backstitching) and/or machine sewing.

Old t-shirts (preferably 100% cotton), needle and thread (and sewing machine if you feel comfortable using one), yarn or string for lacing (preferably 100% wool or 100% cotton), several clothespins and binder clips, safety pins and/or large “T” pins, a large blunt yarn darning needle, large sharp needle, a crochet hook, fine needle-nose pliers, and a braiding stand or other means of holding the braid while you continue to work (such as a binder clip or clamp secured to a table or chair).

The photos above show one kind of braiding stand, which has a small knob to lift and open the front, and a spring to close the front and hold the braid. Many other kinds can be found on the internet, or you can rig up something yourself.

Three t-shirts will be laundered and dried, turned inside out, cut into strips, and the strips sewn together to make a long strip, and then rolled up. Each strip is folded to hide the cut edges inside and to form a tube that is mostly round in cross-section, and the tube blind-stitched securely for a few inches. The three tubes are then pinned together, and then braided, with the back of the folds held on the left, and the open side of the folds facing to the right. The fabric strips are folded as they are braided. It takes some practice to fold the strips WHILE braiding, and keeping all the folds pointed to the right. The braid is then laced. Knitting yarn or string and a large blunt needle are inserted between the loops in the braid, alternating around a loop on the trivet, then around a loop on the incoming braid, then back to the trivet, etc. This method hides the lacing and makes the trivet reversible.

The classic neo-colonial braided rugs displayed a wide variety of clever designs, as shown above. Zig-zags were common, and even more intricate motifs such as flowers, hearts etc. Most such designs require several rows to be developed. For instance, at least three whole rows around the rug are required to bring out a zig-zag. Such designs are common in rugs, but can’t really be developed in something small like a trivet.

For a trivet, the combination of one light color, one medium color, and one dark color is generally pleasing to the eye.

All one color may sound nice, but it causes the eye to focus on imperfections in the braiding and lacing, such as folds being visible, etc. Using three different colors causes the viewer to focus on the colors instead.

White seems to be a very common color of t-shirt, followed closely by black and grey.

Three men's t-shirts should provide enough material to make a fairly large trivet. Three women’s medium shirts should make a 14” trivet, or a pair of 10” trivets. Three men’s shirts will probably make a pair of 12” trivets.

If making something large like a rug, don’t become too attached to the idea of using the same three colors from beginning to end. To do so, you’d need to acquire a significant number of identical shirts. Traditional braided rugs were known for swapping colors throughout, so concentrate on finding colors that harmonize with each other.

For rugs and other large projects, plan ahead to have colors that can be swapped in when a color runs out. Swap a dark color for another dark color, a medium for a medium, and a light for a light. For instance, swap black and dark blue. For medium colors, swap medium blue, grass green, and red.For light colors, swap white, yellow and pink. Think about your color palette through the project.

The t-shirts will be turned inside out, and it’s the INSIDE of the shirt that will be showing in the finished item. Launder and dry on high first to make sure they have shrunk fully. If you don’t want to put them in your washing machine, they aren’t good enough! Reject them, especially if they have oil and grease on them. Shirts that are printed, or have small holes or stains can be acceptable, as long as these don’t interfere with folding the fabric and braiding it.

Fabric content: 100% cotton is preferable. Different fibers wear at different rates, so try not to mix fibers. Synthetic fibers also tend to stretch more, which can make braiding difficult.

Wear: The shirts shouldn’t be TOO threadbare. Wear is okay, but braiding will be difficult if one of the three strands of material is very thin compared to the other two strands. Although this is (technically) a “rag rug,” using actual rags is very time-consuming and makes the whole process harder. If the shirt is really threadbare, just reject it.

Printing: Some printing is fine, but you don’t want the printing to show through to the inside, or prevent folding of the material during braiding. Be careful – some types of printing stress the fabric, and produce holes and wear around the edges of the printing. Also, the type of printing that’s applied as a large plastic sheet is difficult to work with and should be rejected. If the printed fabric is difficult to fold vs. the unprinted areas, you may want to reject it.

Stains and holes: Stains that don’t show through to the inside are fine, as are small holes, as long as they don’t prevent easy folding and braiding of the material. Large permanent stains such as latex, paint, caulk, etc. that make the fabric stiff should be avoided. You may be able to cut around these stains. High-visibility stains that go all the way through will also have to be worked around.

There are several Instructables that describe how to turn t-shirts into "yarn" or strips that can be used in other projects: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-T-Shirt-Yarn-From-an-Old-Tee/ and https://www.instructables.com/Recycle-T-Shirts-into-Seamless-Yarn/ .

Planning the Width of the Strips:

For rug braiding, the t-shirts should be cut into strips that are 2” wide. If this is your first time doing this, choose three shirts of similar weight / thickness.

It is possible to use shirts made of different weights of material, but there’s an important consideration -- when braiding, the three folded-up strands need to be of a similar thickness. This means that very lightweight shirts made of thin material will need to be cut into strips WIDER than 2”, so that when folded during braiding, the strand made of lighter material is just as thick as the 2” strand made out of heavier material.

Similarly, shirts made out of very heavy fabric (such as winter-weight shirts or turtlenecks) can be used, but the strips should be cut NARROWER than 2” so that the folded strand is not thicker than the strand made out of a summer-weight shirt. In the photo above, showing several rolls of t-shirt fabric, the dark red material is from a turtleneck, and is thicker than the material in the white, black and blue rolls. It was therefore cut narrower.

Prepare the Shirt:

Cut off the hem of the shirt, the collar, and the sleeves. Cut away and discard the hem, seams and collar. The sleeves might be usable. Lay the shirt on your work surface, inside out, and smooth it so there are no wrinkles.

There are two ways to cut up the shirt into strips, either with many cuts straight across, or a single spiral cut. With the “straight cut” method, there’s less measuring and less cutting, but it produces more strips that will need to be sewn together to make one long strip. With the “spiral cut” method, there’s more measuring and cutting, but it produces fewer, longer strips, so there are fewer strips to sew together. It’s your call, whichever task you hate more (measuring or sewing), use the other method.

Straight Cut Method:

This method is shown in the two photos above. Starting at the bottom of the shirt, measure 2” strips with a ruler and a pen. It’s okay to write on the fabric, because the edges will be folded in and hidden as you braid. Cut along the lines to produce strips. If the shirt was tubular and had no side seams, you’ll have to cut the giant loops open to make strips.

Spiral Cut Method:

This method only works with t-shirts that are tubular, and have no side seams. There are two ways to do it.

In the first way, start measuring a 2” strip at the bottom and mark it with a pen. Roll the shirt over, and continue marking. When you come to your starting point, move up at an angle and continue marking the 2” strip until you get to the top. Then cut along your lines to produce one long strip.

In the second way, lay the shirt down, and measure 2” strips from one side of the shirt, but stop marking two-thirds of the way across the shirt. Cut along the lines. Then open the shirt and lay it down with the uncut one-third laying on top. Then cut from the end of one cut, UP one strip to the next cut. Keep doing this to produce a long strip. Then clean up the ends.

Shorter strips can be cut from the front and back of the shirt above the armpits, and also from the sleeves.

Once the strips have been cut, it’s time to sew them together to make one very long strip. Most t-shirt material has a curl to it, and it’s important to sew the strips together so that the curl works WITH you during the braiding phase. Some shirts, such as nice turtlenecks, have no curl. For these there is no “right” or “wrong” side.

Pick up a strip, and gently pull on it lengthwise. It will curl, as shown in the first picture above. The outside of the curl (convex side) is going to be the “right” side. The inside of the curl (concave side) is going to be the “wrong” side.

To sew two strips together, lay the two right sides against each other, at a right-angle to each other. Sew them together diagonally, then trim away the little triangular excess pieces. This is shown in the second and third photos above. Sew all the strips from one t-shirt together in this way. There is no need to iron the seams. Rolling up the fabric will take care of this.

Starting at one end, roll up the strip, with the “wrong” side in, separating and flattening the fabric at the seams. Secure the end with a large “T” pin or safety pin.

PRO TIP: Before rolling, you may find it useful to measure (approximately) the length of the fabric before rolling it up, then attaching a small note with the yardage. This will make it easier later when deciding what colors to use when making something. Another tip: you might want to attach a safety pin halfway, at the midpoint. For instance, if the roll is 44 feet long, then attach a pin at 22 feet. This will prove handy if you want to make, say, a pair of matched trivets.

To make a round trivet (or a round rug), the end of each of the 3 strands need to be stitched into a tube, and the 3 strands are pinned together. Then a “shrimp” needs to be made so that the innermost turns lay flat. The three strands are then braided normally, and the braids are laced together. Braiding and lacing are continued until the desired size is reached, then the trivet (or rug) is finished off.

When braiding, the folded edge of each strip is kept on the left, while the open side of each folded strip is kept to the right. It is important to keep in mind that the side of the braid that is visible while braiding will become the “right” side of the trivet, so it should be as neat as possible.The trivet is laced on the “wrong” side.

To begin any braided item, the three strands need to be prepared and pinned together.

First, fold the end of the fabric lengthwise, with the right sides together. Backstitch across the top, about 1/8” – 1/4" from the upper edge, starting from the fold and going to the raw edge. Turn the fabric right side out. Then fold the raw edges in lengthwise. Fold as much fabric in as possible, to make a strand that is almost round in cross-section. Then blindstitch down for 2 – 3”. Do this for all three strands.

Now, pin the three strands together. Take a safety pin, and push it through the top of one of the strands, then the second and third strands.

To braid three strands, take the leftmost strand, and place it over and between the other two strands.Then take the rightmost strand, and place it over and between the other two strands. These two steps are then repeated, L R, L R, etc.

To braid t-shirt strips, the strips must be folded inward (with the curl) to hide the cut edges. There are several ways to do this. Which way works best will depend on the nature of the t-shirt fabric that you’re working with.

The goal is to fold the fabric in such a way that (1) the cut edges are folded and hidden inside the strand, (2) the "spine" of the fold is always to the left and the open edge of the fold is always pointed to the right, and (3) the strand is folded in such a way as to produce a fat round strand that has a round cross-section, rather than a flat strand. A rounded strand will look good on both sides, while a flat strand will produce folds that will dimple and catch dirt.

For very thick fabric, you may be able to fold the two cut edges into the middle, then fold the two folded edges together against each other in the center. For thinner material, the strip can be folded in half, then in thirds, with the raw edges hidden. It doesn’t matter how the material is folded, so long as the “open” edge of the fold is kept to the right, where it will be hidden and protected when the trivet is laced. It’s desirable to keep the raw edges hidden inside, but it’s not crucial. T-shirts are made from a knitted fabric that doesn’t really fray or run much, but it does look better if the raw edges are folded inside.

The goal is to fold the fabric in a way to produce a nice, firm strand that is nearly round in cross-section.

Try to keep the open edge of the fold pointed to the right, so it will be enclosed within the trivet when it is laced. Keeping the open edge hidden will make the trivet reversible, look better, and will keep dirt from getting inside the strands.

Braiding can be challenging.The material is folded on the fly as you braid, and it can be difficult to keep the folds under control for very long. If the folds are wandering, hold the braid in place with a clothespin and re-fold the strands. It all takes practice.

A round trivet or rug starts with a “shrimp”. This is an odd bit of braiding that makes a sharp turn that lays flat. It may look complicated, but just take it slow and refer to the photos.

Why make a shrimp? Instead of making a shrimp, one could simply start regular braiding from the beginning, and forcibly lace the braid into a tight turn to start the trivet. But this will cause the braid to fold and lay on its side, producing a bump at the center of the trivet or rug. In the case of a trivet, it will be unsightly, and hot dishes won’t sit level and will rock. In a rug, this protruding bump will wear more as it is walked on, and this is where the rug will eventually fail. Above is a close-up photo of the inside of a cat basket made without a shrimp. It’s fine for the cat, but I wouldn’t want that on my dining room table.

To make a “shrimp”, thread the three strands onto a safety pin, with the backs of the folds pointed to the left, and the open edge of the folds to the right. Think of it like three books laid on a table, with the spines to the left.

Now start braiding the “shrimp”. The entire braiding sequence will be:

L R

L L R

L L R

L L R

L L R

L L R

L L R

“L R”: Bring the left strand over and lay it between the two other strands.Then bring the right strand over and lay it between the two other strands. Pull the strands snug. In the first shrimp photo above, the maroon strand is the “L”, and the white strand is the “R”.

Now start making turns:

“L L R”: Bring the left strand over and lay it between the two other strands. Then repeat this, bringing the (now) left strand over and laying it between the two other strands AGAIN. NOW bring the right-hand strand over and lay it between the two other strands. (“L L R”) When laying the right-hand strand between the other two, be sure to pull it tight to make the braid turn and kink to the right. In the second shrimp photo above, the “L L R” sequence is salmon (L), white (L), then maroon (R).

Repeat the L L R another FIVE times, for a total of six times. Be sure to pull the right-hand strand tight each time.

After this, begin braiding normally (L R L R L R, etc.). The last photo shows the braided shrimp, and the beginning of regular braiding.

Lacing the braids together with cord is a better method than sewing the braids together with thread. Strong cord or yarn is pulled through BETWEEN the strands of the braid on the rug, then between the strands of the incoming braid, then back between the strands on the rug, etc. This causes the cord to be hidden between the strands of the braid. The result is prettier and looks neater. The cord is not exposed, and is not subjected to wear, which means the rug will last much longer than rugs where the braids are sewn together with thread. Hiding the lacing also makes the rug or trivet reversible.

Choosing a Lacing Material: Classic braided rugs used multi-stranded cotton where the strands were woven to form a tube. What was great about this kind of cord was that when the end of a section of cord was reached, a new section of cord could be spliced on without needing to make a knot. This kind of cord is difficult to find today, so this instructional will use yarn or cotton string.

Knitting yarn can be used. Choose a strong yarn. Choose a yarn that matches (fairly closely) one of the colors used in the braid. The lacing cord will be sunk between the loops in the braided strands, but it occasionally shows a little bit, and will be less visible if it can bland into one of the three fabric colors.

When choosing the fiber content, think about the use of the item. For a floor rug, a strong acrylic yarn will probably work well. For a trivet, wool might be better for handling hot pots placed on it. Cotton will also be good because it won’t shrink as much as wool when washed, and the entire item will have a single fiber content.

If the yarn or string is thin, it can be doubled up.

Tools: You will need a blunt yarn darning needle with a large eye, and another large needle that is sharp. For finishing the trivet, you’ll also want a pair of needle-nose pliers at the end, the smaller the better. Electrician’s pliers are best.

To lace the shrimp, start with a length of your selected lacing material. 18” should be more than enough. Thread it onto a SHARP yarn darner, and put a knot in the end. In the pictures above, cotton yarn is used, doubled up.

All braiding is done on one side (the “right” side). All lacing is done on the other side (the “wrong” side). Pick up your shrimp, and hold it so that you are looking at the OPPOSITE side from when you were braiding it. That is, so that the “book spine fold” side is to the RIGHT, and the open side of the fold is to the LEFT. This is shown in the first photo above.

Lacing the shrimp can be tricky, but take it slow and follow these steps, and the photos. The numbers of the steps match the numbers in the photos.

1. Hold the shrimp so the stub ends are pointed up.

2. With the point of the needle, go through the rightmost stub (maroon in the photo), from right to left. You’ll want to hide the knot, so it will help if you pull down the outer layer of fabric, and go through the stub about 1/8” – 1/4” from the tip.

3. Sink the knot and pull the fabric up to hide it.

4. Go through the middle stub (salmon colored), from right to left.

5. Go through the leftmost stub (white), from right to left.

6. WITH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, go under and behind the fourth loop (white).

7. Pull the cord tight, to pull the stub end of the shrimp into the inner curl of the shrimp.

8. With the POINTED END of the needle, go from left to right through the middle stub (salmon colored).

9. WITH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, go under and behind the sixth loop (white).

10. With the POINTED END of the needle, go from left to right through the rightmost stub (maroon colored).

11. Pull the cord tight. It will naturally “point to” the next loop to be laced (maroon).

12. WITH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, go under and behind that loop. Pull the cord tight to sink it in between the braids.

All lacing from here on will be done with the EYE of the needle, because lacing goes under and behind the loops, and does not pierce the fabric. You can either switch to a blunt needle now, or wait until the cord is used up and new cord is needed, and switch to a blunt needle at that time.

13. As the cord is pulled tight, it will naturally point to the next loop on the trivet to be laced (salmon). With the eye of the needle, lace under and behind that loop. Pull the cord tight.

14. As the cord is pulled tight, it will SKIP the next loop (white) on the incoming braid, and will naturally point to the one after that (maroon).

15. Lace under and behind that loop (maroon), and pull the cord tight.

16. Lace under and behind the next loop on the trivet (white).

17. When the cord is pulled tight, it may still be visible. Use the lacing needle to force the loop down between the braids, then pull it tight. It should (mostly) disappear.

18. The cord should point to a loop two ahead on the incoming braid (white loop), skipping a loop (salmon).

19. Lace the next loop on the trivet (salmon).

20. Skip the next loop (maroon) on the incoming braid, and lace the next (salmon).

21. Lace the next loop on the trivet (maroon).

22. When pulling the cord tight, it may point to the NEXT loop on the incoming braid (white). See how the fabric is visible on both the left and right of the cord? Lace that loop (white).

23. You have now completed lacing the shrimp.

Now continue lacing the main body of the trivet. Every time the lacing cord is pulled through a loop, pull it tight (first photo). Then line up the needle in the “ditch” between the loop that was just laced (white loop on the incoming braid) and the next loop (dark red loop on the incoming braid). This is shown in the second photo. The needle will point to the next loop to be laced (the dark red loop on the trivet). Lace that loop (third photo).

If the strand remains visible (i.e., doesn’t sink between strands when pulled tight, see fourth photo), use the eye of the lacing needle (or an awl or other blunt instrument) to grab that section of cord (fifth photo), and push the loop of lacing cord down (sixth photo). Then pull it tight again. This method generally works well to hide the cord (seventh photo).

When only 3” – 4” of lacing cord are left, it’s time to add on a new piece (photo 1).

Cut a new length of cord, and tie it on with a square knot (photos 2, 3). A square knot is better than an overhand knot, because it’s smaller, which means it slides between the strands more easily. Because it’s smaller, the square knot is more easily hidden in the strands.

Once a new length of cord is tied on, continue lacing. With a square knot, one loose end will point forward and the other loose end will point backwards (photo 4). Use the eye of the lacing needle (or a crochet hook) to pull the “backwards” end between the strands that were just laced (photo 5). Allow the backwards loose end to trail as you continue to lace. As you do, use the crochet hook to pull the “forward” end forward with the lacing cord as you go (photo 6). When the knot is very close to the rug (photo 7), pull it down under the next loop (along with the forward-pointing loose end), but try to not pull so tight that it pops out into view. That is, try to bury the knot between the strands inside the braid (photo 8).

Keep lacing, pulling the loose end forward through a couple of loops (photo 9), then let it hand loose as you continue lacing (photo 10). Then take a crochet hook and pull the loose end under a nearby strand (photo 11). Pull it under other nearby strands (photo 12), until there’s only about 1/8” – 1/4” of loose end peeking out (photo 13). Then grab it and snip it off close to the rug.

Because the trivet will get larger and larger, longer and longer lengths of braid will be needed to go around it each time. You will need to skip loops on the incoming braid in order to make a trivet that doesn’t turn into a bowl.

Fortunately, the lacing will tell you when to skip. After lacing a loop on the trivet, line up the lacing needle in the ditch formed between two loops, it will point to the next loop to be laced on the incoming braid (photo 1, star). Lace that loop on the braid, then lace the next loop on the trivet (photo 2). Then line up the needle in the ditch to see what loop needs to be laced next on the incoming braid (photo 3). If it lines up exactly with the ditch between two loops (photo 3), don’t skip. Just lace the next loop (photo 3, purple loop). Then lace the next loop on the trivet (photo 4, blue loop). If the needle doesn’t point to the next loop, but to the loop after that (photo 5), skip the next loop on the braid, and lace the loop that needle is pointing to (photo 5, blue loop). Then lace the next loop on the trivet (photo 6).

There is one rule: NEVER skip a loop on the trivet or rug, only on the braid being attached to it.

Skipping can be used to slightly adjust the shape of the trivet. If the trivet seems to be getting out of round, add some extra skips to bulk up some areas. Adding extra skips adds extra material.

Continue braiding and lacing until the trivet is the size you want. It may be that you simply run out of one color, and decide that it’s big enough.

A nice way to finish a trivet is by adding a loop for hanging.

First, braid out almost to the end of your material. Then cut the end of each strand to form a point about 2” long (photo 1). Fold up the fabric to hide the raw edges, and blindstitch it to form a long taper (photo 2). The raw edge at the very end of the taper does not have to be hidden, because it will be hidden inside the trivet.

All three strands should be nearly the same length. Then braid all the way to the beginning of the tapers (photo 3). Secure the braid, and count back 12 loops on the left side of the braid. Mark this twelfth loop with a safety pin. Now unbraid back to the safety pin.

Make a right-turning corner: Do a R-R-R-L, that is, take the rightmost strand and lay it between the other two strands. Do this again, and again (photo 4). Then take the leftmost strand and lay it between the other two (photo 5). Pull the “L” strand fairly tight, to make the braid form a neat 90-degree turn. Now braid to the point where the strands begin tapering (photo 6). On the “wrong” side, lace up to the corner (photo 7).

Fold the braid over so that the start of the tapers are in line with the trivet (photo 8). Flip it back to the right side, and select a strand to be inserted into the same-colored loop on the 90-degree corner (photo 9). Use fine needle-nose pliers to reach through the loop, grab the end of the same-colored taper, and pull it through snug (photo 10). Then use the pliers to pull this strand through a loop of the same color on the trivet. The remaining two strands should be pulled through strands on the trivet. In photo 10, this will be the white strand being pulled through the white loop on the trivet. The light blue strand can be pulled through any strand where it can be hidden.

Then use the pliers to pull each strand through loops on the trivet to hide them. The left-most strand should be pulled in a direction sloping to the left, the right-most strand should be pulled in a direction sloping to the right, and the middle strand should be worked straight into the trivet.

Finishing a Rug: Traditional neo-colonial braided rugs were finished in a beautiful, but complicated, way. First, the ends of each of the strands were cut to a point, and then folded and blindstitched to form a tapering tube. This was braided to the very ends, and this tapered braid was then laced onto the rug.

Then…. several more “butted” rows were added on! Each row was braided and laced independently. For each row, the strands were braided and laced, and when the lacing came around to the beginning, the ends of each strand where sewn together to form a single braided ring the size of the rug. Then the last section was laced on.

On a large rug, as many as six butted rows were added on. This didn’t hide the taper completely, but it greatly de-emphasized it.

Now you can see why a loop for hanging is a nice way to finish a trivet!

• A women’s medium shirt will produce a single strip about 30-32 feet long, which (with two other strands) will produce a braid about 26 feet long.

• A men’s large or extra large t-shirt will produce a strip about 45 feet long, and when combined with two others, should produce a pair of 12-1/2” trivets.

• Your yardage may vary.

If you enjoy this craft and want to do a lot of it, keep records of the yardage produced by various sizes of shirts, the length of braid produced by that yardage, and the size trivets made by that much braid. You’ll have an easier time planning future projects.