It’s time for July’s Home Depot Gift Challenge! Our chosen item this month is sisal and the gift recipient is your best friend. I was so happy with these choices because I already had this DIY Sisal Rug project planned for my best friends new place. That saved me a lot of time with trying to come up with the idea.
My friend needed a round rug for her dining room, sisal was the perfect pick for her beachy decor. However, she’s on a budget & I love coming up with cheap decorating ideas, so I decided I could make her a DIY Sisal Rug.
I headed to her house early one Friday & we went straight to Home Depot for the supplies. I had no idea how much sisal it would take to make a rug large enough for her table, they come in 50 ft rolls, so we figured 4 rolls (of the 3/8″ size*) should be plenty. We got one of the rolls in a lighter shade to use as trim. We also picked up silicone to hold the jute together.
Since this was really a 1-person job, my friend started painting another room in the house while I happily got to work on the rug. I started tightly winding the rope. The silicone did not work out because it doesn’t dry quickly enough so I switched to hot glue which worked perfect.
I just continued happily winding & gluing.
And winding and gluing…and winding and gluing. This was really a slow process. I had no idea it would take so long. My friend painted an entire room, 2 coats of paint plus one coat of primer and I was only half done with this rug. After using the 3 rolls of natural sisal I realized we would need more, so we ran back to Home Depot for 3 more. By the time I was on the 5th or 6th roll and about 6 hours in, I had to call it a day before finishing.
I don’t think this project would’ve been that bad if I had known how long it would take. Then I wouldn’t have tried to complete it from start to finish in one day. If you can leave it aside somewhere and just add to it when you have some free time, it would be less tedious.
Another thing to note while making this is to keep pressing down on it after adding the hot glue, to keep it all level and flat. My friend ended up finishing the project in her spare time. I love the lighter sisal for the trim.
We also picked up some inexpensive rubber shelf liner to use as a backing, to keep it from sliding.
Home Depot also sells much larger sisal rope that would make the project go much quicker, but I didn’t want the rug to be so thick that the table would be elevated.
And although it was a bit tedious, and a little more expensive than I thought it would be, I do love how it came out. Our completed DIY Sisal Rug measures 45.5″ D, using 7 rolls of 50′ sisal rope.
You could also use this sisal rope to create coasters or plate chargers!
Update: You can see clips of me demonstrating how to make this rug on the Rachael Ray show here!
Be sure to check out what my friends made with their sisal rope, they never disappoint with their creativity! You can also follow our Pinterest board here.
We are not associated with the Home Depot in any way.
*This post may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.
Carmody says
July 15, 2015 at 12:25 pmWell Done!!! What a great friend you are. I love how the sisal rope rug turned out.
Jen @ Fresh Crush says
July 15, 2015 at 12:39 pmWow! You are a true friend! The finished product turned out gorgeous!
Shannon Churchill says
July 15, 2015 at 6:09 pmWow!! Blown away by your craftiness! The rug turned out fabulous! Nice work.:)
Deb says
July 15, 2015 at 7:00 pmWow Roxanne! that is amazing….and so much work! I could not believe how long it took me to wrap my frames, this had to be triple the time. Looks fantastic! Want to make me one ; ) lol
Ruthie says
July 16, 2015 at 2:12 pmRoxanne! This is soooo beautiful great! I love this! I would have never thought of making a rug with the rope! Since I couldn’t get my project to work for me maybe I’ll just have to make a rug now with my sisal rope! 🙂
Emily says
July 16, 2015 at 2:15 pmWow! I love this rug! Amazing job!
Sarah says
July 16, 2015 at 4:56 pmLooks awesome! Glad to see all those hours and HOURS of work paid off! Now, I have to go get back to my DIY project that is taking waaaayyyy too long. 🙂
Jessica says
July 16, 2015 at 7:52 pmAren’t you something? This is a great idea, especially sinsce sisal/jute rugs cost so much. I love it!
Meg @ Green With Decor says
July 16, 2015 at 9:11 pmI LOVE this! So summery! What a fun project!
Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says
July 17, 2015 at 12:13 amRoxanne!! This turned out so great!! I totally hear you on the time consuming… ugh! But, totally worth your time, it looks awesome!
Lori Jones says
July 17, 2015 at 1:25 pmvery nice!!! Wonder if one could ” hand sew” it together?? I know it would ne hard on the hands but the look might be worth it??!!
Shirley Wood says
July 18, 2015 at 6:57 amI never would have considered making my own sisal rug! You did a great job. I’m always guilty of underestimating the time it takes for a particular project and then getting upset with myself about it. It turned out great though! You are obviously a good friend!!
Shelly says
July 19, 2015 at 1:31 amThis turned out awesome! It looks so cute. Great job!
Audra @ Renewed Projects says
July 19, 2015 at 9:53 amWow! That is dedication to a craft! I have used rope to wrap containers and got bored around the halfway mark, lol. Your perseverance paid off! Such a beautiful rope rug!
Elaine says
July 22, 2015 at 7:50 amGreat Job!! Thanks for linking up on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! I loved having you!! Hope you can join us again tomorrow!! Pinned to My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday Pinterest page!! 🙂
Meredith @ The Palette Muse says
July 22, 2015 at 6:43 pmWhat a fun challenge! That does look like a lot of work, but so worth it in the end. So useful and creative!
Erlene says
July 24, 2015 at 7:42 pmThe rug turned out great! I’ve thought about making one for our front entryway, but on a much smaller scale.
Jamie says
July 25, 2015 at 7:26 amSuch a fun and easy idea! Thank you for linking up to the Merry Monday Link Party!
Lindi says
July 27, 2015 at 4:44 pmWow!! That is some REAL dedication! What a tedious job! Looks amazing in the end though 🙂 I’m sure your friend loved it! I’m featuring this rug at the Talented Tuesday party tomorrow. I hope you’ll stop by and say hi 🙂
Lou Lou Girls says
July 27, 2015 at 5:32 pmOh my! This looks so fabulous! Pinned and tweeted. Please join us tonight at 7 pm, and party with us. I can’t wait to see your new masterpieces or amazing classics! Lou Lou Girls
Amy@HomeRemedies says
August 4, 2015 at 2:16 pmRoxanne, this rug looks amazing! Very clever, my friend! I totally get what you’re saying about it being time consuming – I made a sisal-wrapped vase last week and it took so much longer than I thought it would! Yay for you sticking it through – it looks like a million bucks!
Demetria says
April 2, 2017 at 8:07 amIt looks beautiful but I think it could be made “greener” by using some environmentally friendly glue or tying it with jute thread as rope/jute items are traditionally made. It might take even more time, but isn’t the planet worth it? The rope will decompose and feed the earth but the plastic glue? That will contaminate.