To make a shirred rag rug, strips of wool must be gathered, then they are shirred in coils or rows with thread. This isn’t like a stitched shag rug in which gathered strips of fabric are sewn to a base fabric.

Shirred contemporary area rugs have very rich, deep textures and are reversible. The normal shirred rugs can be assembled by employing several different strategies. In exact shirring, the folds of fabric radiate from a center or line up in rows, while faux shirring is dissimilar in the folds of fabric are laid round the rug in a sequence of “s” shapes instead of radiating from the center.

The different shirring methods are described below.

Stitched Center Shirring : this type of shirring is the oldest type of shirred rugs and are quite easy to construct. This technique is done by taking strips of fabric and working them onto a thread, then going in an out to provide folds along the thread. The shirred sections are then coiled and stitched to create the rug.

knitted Center Shirring : There are 2 versions of this type of shirred rug which are accomplished by a crocheted action wherein fabric strips are shirred onto a long thin afghan kind of crochet hook.

The 1st strategy of this type of shirring is known as the “hump-back hook” or “bent” hook method. A specifically bent, long thin crochet hook is used to shirr the fabric and each fold of fabric is worked off along with a double crochet stitch or a combo of a single crochet and a chain stitch. The fold is then attached to the rug as it is worked. This knitted shirring methodology is regarded the most sophisticated of the strategies. Different hump-back crochet hooks have been marked over time that are called the “Schirren” hook, the “Shirret” hook, or “Art rug Needle.”

The second kind of shirring methodology is the afghan hook method. This is done using fabric strips which are shirred onto an afghan ( or bent ) hook. Then the folds of the fabric are worked off and secured to form a chain stitch. This leads to a long strip of shirred fabric, which is then coiled to form the rugs and secured by stitching or knitting with a steel crochet hook. This technique of crocheted shirring is the easiest for an amateur to accomplish.

Edge Shirring : this strategy is done along one edge of a strip of fabric instead of in the center. The rugs are typically thicket and need to have a spacing strip to allow the rug to lie flat.

Mono-shirring : This method is used to create a thick mat or blanket by employing a single big piece of wool fabric which is gathered along many threads.

faux Shirring : this kind of shirring is usually simpler than the regular shirred methods and have the same deep texture and are also reversible. Wool strips are stitched along with a fold at each stitch. The difference between faux shirring and shirred rugs is the folds of fabric lay around the exterior of the rug, while in regular shirring the folds spread out from the center.

The 3 main techniques of making faux shirred rugs are described below.

Needle and thread : A long sewing needle is utilized in this strategy which is quite like the development of standing wool rugs. The difference is that each stitch is secured with a folded section of fabric.

Awl stitched : this technique is done with an awl and contains a loop of thread that secures each fold of fabric. Numerous devices have been employed to create these rugs, including the “texing” needle.

knitted : These are made with a little steel crochet hook, with one crochet stitch securing each of the folds. Since this strategy is straightforward to do, it is reasonably simple to make patterns in the rug.