Making a Simple Modern Canvas DIY Rug

Save money by making your own modern hand-painted DIY rug using canvas fabric. It’s a simple, budget-friendly project for adding extra warmth and style to any room in your home.

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Simple, Budget-Friendly DIY Area Rug

We’re excited to be partnering once again with Canvas Etc. to create this painted canvas area rug. We chose a heavy-weight 100% cotton canvas material, suited for floor cloths, duffle bags, sand bags, bed roll along with a long list of other uses.

This #8 canvas duck fabric is heavy especially when it’s in a large rug size form. If using a domestic sewing machine on this canvas, I would suggest sticking to minimal seams and simple designs as it is challenging to maneuver the heavy-weight canvas through the machine.

We ordered a piece of canvas fabric that measured 84” wide and 144” long, which is 7’ wide and 12’ long. Our intention for this rug was to place it in the kid’s playroom in the basement. It’s a large room so the bigger the rug, the better for the kids to play on.

But seeing the canvas rug in our family’s cottage dining room under the oversized table, we decided to keep it in this space instead! Next we’ll need to sew a set of dining chair slipcovers to really dress up the room!

Advantages of using Canvas as a Rug:

• Budget friendly – actual rugs are quite pricey, a DIY is a good low cost alternative
• Custom size – store bought rugs come in standard sizes such as 5’x7’, 8’x10’, 9’x12’ so by making your own DIY rug allows you to customize the size to fit your space. This canvas comes in 5 other width options, 84” being the widest available width.
• Simple and Modern Design – personalize the rug to suit your space by choosing a coordinating color or pattern.

Materials Needed:

• 100% Cotton Canvas; 84” wide by 4 yards (144”) long
• Sewing machine and matching thread color
• Fabric scissors
• Iron
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Pencil
• Americana Decor Chalky Finish in Relic
• Decoart Fabric Medium
• Painter’s Tape, 1” wide
• Paintbrush or Paint Roller

How to Make a Rug out of Canvas:

Cutting and Preparing the Fabric

Lay the piece of canvas on a flat surface for prepping.

Since we’re keeping the full length of the canvas we ordered for the rug (12’ long), all we need to do is trim the edges along the two short sides ensuring we have a squared, straight cut.

Using a long piece of painter’s tape, run the tape across the full width of the canvas (from selvedge edge to selvedge edge) close to the end. With a pair of scissors, cut the excess off along the edge of the painter’s tape.

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Next, iron out any creases and wrinkles from the canvas prior to cutting. Since the size of the canvas was so large, we found it easier to iron it on the floor. We laid the canvas out on the floor and placed a large towel under the canvas to protect the flooring. Take care when ironing!

Sewing

Add a single needle topstitch along the short ends of the canvas to prevent further fraying.

Leave the selvedge edges unstitched. This will not fray as these edges are technically sealed and finished already.

Preparing the Rug for Painting

Measure 4” in from all edges of the rug and mark with a pencil. Repeat this every couple of feet along the length of the rug.

Run a long piece of painter’s tape aligning the pencil markings with the edge of the tape.

Yep, I think this canvas rug will also do the trick in the kid’s playroom;) We may need to create another one!

Next, measure 3” in from the edges of the previously placed tape and mark with a pencil. Repeat this every couple of feet along the length of the rug. Run a long piece of painter’s tape aligning the pencil markings with the edge of the tape.

Lastly, measure 1” in from the edges of the previously placed tape and mark with a pencil. Repeat this every couple of feet along the length of the rug. Run a long piece of painter’s tape aligning the pencil markings with the edge of the tape.

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These are the measurements for the stripe pattern:

Painting the Rug

Mix 2 parts Chalky Finish paint with 1 part fabric painting medium.

With a paintbrush, paint the space in between the painter’s tape. We started off using a roller but found a paintbrush provided a more consistent paint.

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Leave the paint to dry fully before moving on to the next step.

Finishing

Once the paint has dried fully, peel away the painter’s tape to reveal the stripe pattern! Touch up any rough edges with a small paint brush. Go over the painted stripes with an iron to heat set the fabric medium.

We had planned to add a non-slip backing treatment before we place it in the playroom but surprisingly, the canvas rug doesn’t slide as we had expected under the feet. If you wish to add a non-slip backing to your DIY rug, you can use one of these non-slip rug pads.

And there it is, the modern, budget-friendly canvas rug is complete! Clean up any messes and stains with spot cleaning, do not place it in the washing machine.

Did you know that CanvasEtc. offers their fabric remnants for free! Just pay a nominal shipping fee for a 5lb box of remnants for your DIY and crafting projects!

For more painted canvas project ideas, check out this modern stenciled table runner, dining chair slipcover and DIY storage ottoman.

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