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Hands-on

Custom Persian-Rug Floor Mats

My RSX still had its original worn grey mats. I wanted something custom, so I made my own from a decorative Persian rug instead of buying traditional mats.

My role
Design, tracing, cutting, and sewing
Built with
Vintage Persian-style area rug, red polypropylene webbing, upholstery thread, metal grommets, Brother XR-7700 sewing machine
Mats made
3: driver, passenger, and rear

Highlights

  • Got the rug for free on Facebook Marketplace and chose it because its reds match the car's paint
  • Traced the original mats onto the back of the rug to get the exact shapes
  • Cut from the back with a utility knife so the pile didn't get shaved at the edges
  • Bound every edge in red webbing on my Brother XR-7700 with a walking foot and a heavy-duty needle, rounding the corners as I went
  • Accidentally ordered 1" webbing instead of the 1.5" I planned on, which left almost no room to catch both sides, so I trimmed the pile closer and stitched near the inner edge to keep the binding even
  • Added grommets to the driver's mat for the factory retention hooks and made sure the pedals still had full travel

How I made them

  1. TraceOriginal mats traced onto the back of the rug
  2. CutFrom the back, with a utility knife
  3. BindRed webbing sewn around every edge
  4. Install grommetsFor the factory retention hooks
  5. Fit in carChecked pedal travel

What I learned

  • Sewing thick, multi-layer stacks on a home sewing machine
  • Balancing heavy upholstery thread on top against all-purpose thread in the bobbin
  • Installing metal grommets in carpet