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Short Shaggy Rugs

A technique that combines the best of both worlds!

The Short Shaggy Technique of rag rug making doesn't officially exist - it's a style of rug making that the team here at Ragged Life have totally made up! However, after many years of putting it into practice, it's now one of our favourite styles of rag rug making. Why? Well, it combines the texture and relaxed feel of traditional proggy / shaggy rugging with the shorter, neater pile of rug hooking. That's why we think it's the best of both worlds.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned maker looking to expand your skills, the short shaggy technique is incredibly rewarding and wonderfully forgiving. Below we’ll walk through what it is, what tools and materials you’ll need, and how to get started.

What is Short Shaggy Rag Rugging?

Short shaggy is a hybrid rag rugging style that sits somewhere between classic proggy rugging and the tighter, rug hooked technique. You pull short, narrow strips of fabric through a hessian / burlap base to create a lush, textured pile made up of a combination of loops and short, cut ends.

Unlike rug hooking, where loops are pulled through to form smooth lines, or the traditional proggy style where the ends are left long and wild, short shaggy rag rugging gives you a dense, secure weave that's very good for high footfall areas.

We like to use this technique as a compromise solution to make textured rag rug projects without losing too much design definition. Lines remain crisper than the shaggy / proggy technique, but this style is much more beginner-friendly than rug hooking.

Cream, blue, purple and orange short shaggy traditional rag rug with berber moroccan design

What Equipment & Materials You Need

Getting started with short shaggy rag rugging only requires a few basics - some of which you might already have at home:


- Rag Rug Spring Tool: The main tool used to pull your fabric pieces through the hessian backing. See it in action below.

- Cutting Gauge: this nifty gadget allows you to cut fabric pieces to the correct length for this style of rag rug making.

- Hessian / Burlap: The base which holds together all your short shaggy fabric pieces. We sell pre-hemmed pieces for different projects on the Ragged Life Shop.

- Fabric Scissors: We use rag rug scissors which allow you to cut through lots of layers of fabric at once. This is how we prepare our strips quickly and evenly.

- Fabric / Rags: We go into which fabrics are suitable below, but generally if it can be cut into strips and pulled through the hessian, it's fair game!

Colorful floral-patterned rag rug on a concrete floor outside a building.

Want to Buy all the Tools Together?

If you’re new to short shaggy rag rugging, having the right tools from the start makes things a lot easier. Our Shaggy Rag Rug Kit brings all the tools together in one handy, beginner-friendly kit.

It’s a straightforward way to get set up and start rugging without overthinking it.

  • All the essential tools and step-by-step instructions.

  • Ideal for beginners, with room to grow

  • Neatly bundled in one small, practical kit which makes a great gift too!

Not sure of the difference between our Ragged Life kits? Browse more here or...

Ragged Life Shaggy Rag Rug Kit with Spring Tool and Cutting Gauge

Choosing Your Fabrics

The short shaggy technique uses strips of fabric that have been cut to approx 1cm in width by 8cm in length. We find the best way to cut strips to length easily is with a rag rug cutting gauge.

In terms of what fabrics you can use, anything really goes - fabric remnants, old clothes, selvedge strips, jersey t-shirts, holey cotton tea towels, fleece... you name it, it's probably useable.

However, avoid fabrics that shed excessively as the short shaggy exposes both ends of the strip, so less shedding means a tidier, long-lasting rug. Plus, you don't want to be forever vacuuming around you rug!

As with all rag rugging, upcycling old clothing or scrap fabric not only keeps your craft sustainable, it also gives your final piece amazing character.

Multicolored textured short shaggy rag rug on a blue surface
Text 'Where to Start' on a colorful textured background

Short Shaggy Technique

The best way to learn how to do this technique is to watch our step-by-step tutorial on YouTube. We've included plenty of tips and advice for beginners and experienced rag ruggers alike.

However, we've also broken down the basic steps in picture form below...

How to do the Short Shaggy Rag Rug Technique...

  1. Cut your fabric into approx 1 x 8cm pieces: This is easiest done with a rag rug cutting gauge.
  2. Weave your rag rug spring tool across the top of the hessian to pick up 2-3 strands. Clamp onto the centre of the long side of the fabric strip.
  3. Pull half the fabric strip under the hessian strands to create a loop on one side and two cut edges on the other side.
  4. Leaving out a few strands of hessian between each piece of fabric and the next, repeat steps 2 & 3 to build up the technique.

Short shaggy is very forgiving - it doesn’t require precision, so you can enjoy the rhythm of pulling pieces through without worrying about perfect alignment.

Hand holding Ragged Life rag rug cutting gauge with yellow fabric strips and blue handled fabric scissors
Hand using a rag rug spring tool to pull a piece of fabric through a burlap rug backing
Short shaggy rag rugging with a spring tool and yellow fabric
Row of short shaggy rag rugging on a hessian rug base

Projects & Ideas

Short shaggy rag rugging works brilliantly for:

  • Rugs - particularly geometric, colour-blocked designs.
  • Cushions & Bolsters - the shorter pile makes them more practical than classic proggy cushions.
  • Draft Excluders & Boho shopping bags - adding texture in unexpected places.
  • Wall Hangings & Decorative Pieces - the shorter pile makes the final pieces less heavy and therefore easier to hang.

Its versatility means you can mix short shaggy with other rag rug techniques (like proggy or hooked sections) to add contrast and visual interest. In our Hello Rug, the cream border uses the short shaggy technique to let the "flowers" stand out.

Small handmade rag rug mat with proggy flower border and rug hooked hello centre

And here are some examples of projects made by students and the Ragged Life team...

Work shared by Beverley, Hayley, Beckie, Helen, Victoria and the Ragged Life team. if you've got examples of work made in the short shaggy technique that you'd like to share then please send it to hello@raggedlife.com - we'd love to see what you've made!

Decorative rag rug pillow with a multicolored heart design on a white background
Multicoloured short shaggy rag rugged cushion with recycled fabrics on a yellow background
Striped short shaggy square cushion
Denim, tartan and white cotton striped rag rug cushion
Floral design short shaggy traditional British rag rug made on old potato sack
Lantern design short shaggy runner made using colourful blanket selvedge strips
Close-up of a textured rag rugging in mixed fabric offcuts with blue and beige patterns
Stained glass inspired pink rag rug with circle wheel design
Colour blocked square rag rug
Diamond pattern short shaggy rag rug made by Helen
Heart design short shaggy cushion made using recycled sari silk ribbon
Cream and multicoloured short shaggy rag rug
Tartan design traditional British rag rug
Colorful shaggy rug with floral patterns on a white floor, with text 'Short Shaggy Style' above.
Colorful checked pattern textured rag rug with a yellow vase, red and purple vases on a blue surface
Small short shaggy rag rug star festive placemat

Beginner Tips

- Your loops do not have to all face the same direction. When you look at the final rug, you won't even really notice the loops, it'll look more like a short version of the shaggy / proggy technique.

- Do not clamp onto too much of the fabric strip with the spring tool. The less of the fabric strip you clamp onto, the easier it will to pull under the strands of hessian.

- Don't cut your fabric strips too wide. If you are struggling to pull your fabric strip through then you've cut your strip too wide - you should never feel strained. Thicker fabrics should be cut narrower and thinner fabrics cut slightly wider.

- If your fabric has a right side and a wrong side (e.g. one side is patterned and the other is plain) then gripping onto the fabric strip with the wrong side of the fabric facing upwards will show more of the right side of the fabric in the loop.

Pink, green, orange, blue and yellow rag rug with circular design inspired by stained glass windows

Want to Learn in Person?

While short shaggy rag rugging is wonderfully accessible to learn at home, many people find that trying it in person really helps the technique “click.” Seeing the motion up close, feeling the difference between fabrics, and getting instant feedback can make all the difference - especially if you’re new to rag rugging or want reassurance that you’re doing it right.

Our British Rag Rugging for Beginners workshops offer relaxed, hands-on teaching in a friendly, supportive environment. You’ll be guided step-by-step through the short shaggy technique alongside the shaggy / proggy technique and rug hooking, with plenty of time to ask questions, experiment with materials, and develop your own approach. Whether you come along with a clear project in mind or simply want to explore texture and colour, you’ll leave with practical skills, confidence, and a deeper understanding of how to make rag rugging work for you.

Click through below for our class calendar:

Participants of a rag rug class. The table in front of them is full of fabric

Inspiration & Community

The Ragged Life community is full of makers experimenting with the short shaggy technique in inventive ways - combining it with the proggy and hooked techniques, using unusual fabrics, and adapting it for everything from rugs and cushions to baskets, wall art and sculptural pieces.

Seeing what others create can be hugely inspiring, especially if you’re feeling stuck or unsure where to take your own project next.

We love celebrating that creativity. You can share your work with us on social media, join the conversation with fellow rag ruggers, or sign up to the Ragged Life newsletter for tutorials, behind-the-scenes insights, and new project ideas. Whether you’re just starting out or have been rugging for years, you’re part of a growing, welcoming community that values slow craft, reuse, and the simple pleasure of making something by hand.

Got a project to share? Tag us on social media:

Elspeth Jackson at the Ragged Life Open Studio event in Great Wymondley demonstrating rag rug techniques