DIY Wall Hanging using a Rug

INSIDE : Learn how to to make a DIY Wall Hanging using a rug! This fun home decor project adds interest and texture to your space and is a great way to upcycle area rugs.

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I am joining as a guest participant in the Spring 2024 One Room Challenge and have decided to take on my son’s bedroom! Now, what is the ORC you might be asking? Well, let me tell you.

Over the next eight weeks, I will be slowly transforming my son’s bedroom along with numerous other bloggers and content creators on Instagram. Every Wednesday I will be sharing an update on his room. It should be fun, but also eight weeks isn’t much time for all I have planned.

So, let’s get to the good stuff!!

I partnered with Rugs USA on this project, but let me tell you regardless of our partnership – I LOVE their rugs. And it honestly feels like every time I go to their site, I find at least 4 more rugs that I want to put in my shopping cart.

Today I am sharing a gorgeous textured wall hanging I created for my son’s bedroom using two area rugs. I love that you can use rugs for some many cool things. Did you ever see how I made rugs into baskets? I used Rugs USA on that cool project, also.

See my Rugs into Baskets project   |    Check out also my Best of Wall Hangings post.

What supplies do I need to make a Rug Wall Hanging?

• 3×5 Green Zora Rug
• 4×6 Ivory Hester Area Rug
• Carbo Titanium Scissors (THESE WERE ESSENTIAL)
• Hot Glue (This was what I used mostly)
• Fabric Fusion (I used this fabric glue as a backup)
• Olive Green Yarn
• 20″ Pine Wood Slat board
• Measuring tape
• Scrap Cardboard

Check out how to style an arched bookcase here!

How to make a rug wall hanging

The first step to making a rug wall hanging is deciding how wide you need the hanging to be. I decided to fit the wall space I had, I wanted my piece to be 20″ wide.

Using a measuring tape, mark out 20″ and cut the rug accordingly. I wanted the full 5′ length, so I kept my rug height the same.

PLEASE NOTE : Cutting rugs is not the easiest of tasks with normal scissors. I’ve cut a few rugs before using high quality sewing scissors and even then, it’s still VERY challenging… I got numerous hand cramps. HOWEVER, I bought these Carbo Titanium scissors and was shocked. They are 8x stronger than steel and the ones I got had serrated edges. They cut my rug like butter, it was truly a huge help.

If you are using a rug with a higher nape, you may have a shedding problem after making your cut. After one light vacuum, my rug didn’t fray anymore.

However, if your rug does seem to keep coming apart at the cut line, you can use rug binding to stop any additional fraying.

How to install rug binding

After cutting the rug to your determined size, apply binding tape in 6″ increments all the way around the edge of the carpet.  Apply a bit of hot glue to where the binding tape meets on either end to seal it.

Create a cardboard circle template

I wanted 15″ circle so I placed my cardboard on a flat surface and tied a piece of string to a thumbtack and a pencil. Make sure your string measures 7.5″ so that the full circumference measures 15″.

Using the Carbo Titanium scissors cut out your circle template.

Trace circle template on textured rug

Next, flip over your higher textured rug. I used the gorgeous Ivory Hester rug in the 4×6 size.

Using a marker or colored pencil, trace your circle template three times on the backside of the rug and cut out.

This rug did fray quite a bit more, but since it was a circular shape, I couldn’t easily apply rug binding. So, I used hot glue to help bind the fibers. I did two rounds of hot glue on the edges and it worked perfectly.

Adhere the circles to your rug base

This is where you can really begin to see your rug wall hanging take shape. After placing the textured circles on the background rug, you can glue them down.

I used a combination of fabric fusion and hot glue to secure my textured circles down.

Cover edges with yarn

Once my circles were glued down, I didn’t like how the edges looked. So I used corresponding olive green yarn and wrapped it around the circles twice. I used hot glue to secure it and it gave the wall hanging a much more polished look.

Add tassels

I also added olive green yarn to the bottom of my wall hanging. Simply fold pieces of yarn in half and hot glue them to the backside of the rug.

How to hang a rug on the wall

To hang your rug on the wall, place a piece of painter’s tape on the wall and make sure it’s level. Place two picture hangers on the bottom side of the painter’s tape and then remove the tape from the wall.

Add yarn loops to the top of your rug and slip the pine wood slat inside them. You should now be able to hang rug on wall with ease!

Plus, the wood slat really gives your wall hanging a finished look.

Rug Wall Art

This beautiful rug wall art gives my son’s bedroom a high end look for a low budget cost! I love the contrast in the colors of the rug and also their textures.

The colors play nicely in the space and give his room a one-of-a-kind look!

Okay, let’s see how my to do list is going below now that we have just three weeks left!

TO DO LIST over next 8 weeks –

• Paint Walls basic colors
• Create + Paint Checkerboard / Stripe accent wall
• Remove wooden shutters
• DIY Mobile over bed
• Storage and style an Arched bookcase
• DIY rug art
• Install Mini Shelf Railing
• DIY Lego Storage cabinet
• Update + repair closet doors
• Assemble new furniture (bed + loveseat)
• Bulletin board install
• Style room with new rug, curtains + accessories

Here are a few items I have already picked up for my son’s room :