One of the best methods to add a touch of style and warmth, not to mention a bit of history, to a home is to use a beautiful traditional cloth rug as a floor rug. Cloth rugs are made using several methods.

Apart from the rug manufacturers, thousands of people also create beautiful rugs from fabrics as a hobby. It has become a craft with its own jargon and traditions. A little time studying it can be highly rewarding.

Braided rugs.

With almost endless patterns and color choices everyone can find a braided rug that will match their taste. They are also comparatively more affordable than most other kinds of floor rugs and come in a range of prices. Such floor rugs are also durable and practical. In fact the best protection for your floor whether it be hardwood, tile, linoleum, or even fully carpeted, is to use a braided rug made of fabric on the areas where the foot traffic is heaviest.

For all those reasons braided rugs have been popular in the United States from 1800's. At that time old cloths were used to make the braided floor rugs. Braided rugs became highly fashionable during the 1930's after the Great Depression.

Braided rugs are still made from large number of strips of cloths sewed together to make longer strips. These longer strips sewn at the ends are braided in traditional patterns. Afterwards their edges are also sewn to make them hold the pattern. The patterns used in braided rugs are many and varied, which is one of reasons why they are so versatile. Patterns include, standard braids, flat braids, right hand braids, plaits, false braids, square or round braids, and ladder braids, among others.

Rag rugs.

These were originally made from discarded scarps of cloths using sackcloth as a base. Nowadays they are especially manufactured to look like that using variety of methods.

Rug hooking

Rugs are also made by pulling loops of fabric or yarn through a base woven out of materials like linen, burlap, or Monks cloth. Since the pulling is done using a hook with a wooden handle as in crocheting, this craft is known as rug hooking.

Proddy rugs.

These are also called clippies, stobbies, pricked, and clootie mats. In this method the strips of cloths are prodded or poked through from the back of the base material