How to Make a DIY Runner for Less (Ikea Hack)

Rugs can be so expensive! Last month I shared with you the first phase in setting up our new home office; a coat of paint for the desks and an organized workspace. The tiled floor can be chilly on our feet, so we placed a couple of mis-matched rugs at each worktable. My hope was that we’d find something a bit more substantial to use in the long-term.

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While prepping for a recent trip to IKEA {a store that Erica and I both love}; I found the $25 Soften rug listed on their website. If I purchased 2 of the rugs, the dimensions were nearly perfect for what I needed under our desks {10 ft}. It is also a flatwoven rug, which means it is easy to vacuum, shake out and throw in the wash.

The problem with 2 rugs side-by-side, though, is that they will constantly be moving out of place — even with a rug pad. These 2 rugs needed to be transformed into one long runner.

I picked up some inexpensive fishing line like this {affiliate link} since

1. it’s made for water, so there is no concern with washing and
2. it’s clear, which will hide the stitching.

Granted, there are similar threads made for fabric but they aren’t quite as cheap. Also, I like having the fishing line on hand for temporary uses like hanging party and holiday decorations.

Before I started sewing I laid the 2 rugs, face-to-face, with the stripes {or pattern} lined up.

Since this runner will just be under our desks, I didn’t sew the entire length of the rug. Instead, there are just several stitches at every white stripe {I’ll update this post if that turns out to be insufficient; but I expect they’ll hold just fine.} If you were going to use this runner in a hallway, it might make more sense to stitch the entire seam, since it would be receive a lot of foot traffic throughout the day.

Once I completed the stitching, I unfolded it and was really pleased at how easily it laid flat with no bunching. The stitches are really hard to see unless you look very close.

As for the rug itself, I love the simple black and white stripe. It fits well with the modern look of our desks and drawers and is a nice contrast against the traditional, curvy legs of my favorite chair.

So… $50 for a 10′ Runner! You could also buy 6 Soften Rugs and make an 8×10 area rug {technically a 7’9″x9’10”} with this tutorial for only $150!

Have you ever sewn several rugs together? How did you feel about the finished product? Did you use fishing line, too?