Source for natural rugs?

Question
Where could I find area rugs, made from natural materials, for sale?

Details
This started while looking for an area rug with a cool picture for my daughter's birthday. I quickly realized the vast majority of the "rugs" with pictures... were not truly rugs, but printed on fabric on a foam pad. Which got me thinking about what all was in that rug for materials. Which led me to wonder if there is a commercial company somewhere that sells natural area rugs? I am not in a position to make anything right now, so I am looking for one I can just buy and put down on the floor. Thanks in advance for all the wonderful ideas you all always come up with :)

Several years ago, I discovered for the sad truth about rugs.

I have always been around oriental rugs which seem to me have been made for centuries so how natural are they?

While I know nothing about this company they say their rugs are natural though I doubt they have pictures on them.

Bamboo, jute, wool ... always handcrafted, only handmade:

https://www.naturalrugco.com/

I have always also liked rag rugs and seen some threads on the forum.  

I read that you do not want to make a rug though I thought other folks might enjoy these threads:

https://permies.com/t/211707/rag-rugs

https://permies.com/t/2114/rag-rug-weaving

https://permies.com/t/206847/Peg-loom

In Canada, clothes are obliged to have a content label, but the catch is that certain treatments like "non-wrinkle," "flame resistant" and "stain-guard" may be used, may be toxic, but aren't "content" by the definition of the rules.

Things like rugs may have even less requirement to be labelled even for content, so buyer beware!

I have a rag rug that is likely mostly cotton. It was intended for a bathroom and is 35 years old, so that improves the odds. However, ones I've seen since have likely had mixed materials in them.

We bought a wool rug for around our wood stove - again about 30 years ago - and it appears to be 100% wool on a jute backing. However, I've since seen many patterned area rugs that imitate wool rugs, so if they don't say 100% wool and have a pretty high price tag, I would assume they're 100% artificial.

I brought some lovely hooked rugs back from Ontario when I was last there. Definitely wool, definitely natural backing, and definitely extremely time consuming to make. My sister did awesome work. I should have hired her to make one for me.  I can totally understand Matt not having time to go there. However, that same sister pulled a fast one on my mother. She gave mom a "kit" for Christmas - and got her to make her own latch hooked rug (the shaggy sort, not the more difficult loop type). You would have to make up the kit yourself to get wool, rather than acrylic material, but latch-hooking is definitely an entry drug into the homemade rug  addiction... The things I did before children...

Do you have particular feelings on floor pelts instead of a rug?

I've seen some multi-sheepskin pelts that cover quite a bit of space on the ground.

I treated myself to an old one off facebook marketplace.



It's a handmade Arraiolos rug from central Portugal and cost less than a similar sized new rug from a chinese shop.

The best part was that when I went to fetch it from the seller, he took one look at me and recognised me as a customer from the bank he used to work at twenty years prior then told me the history of the rug. It had originally been made by his great grandparents, who would sit opposite each other and work from one end of the rug until they met in the middle. I think the base fabric is linen and the embroidery is pure wool.

Here's a close up...



And a view of the back, showing the fringe which has matted up with age...



Here's a Brazilian video showing some of the techniques used, including some modern ones that aren't used here in Portugal.

Is there a community craft group that you could contact to find out whether there is anyone local who makes rag rugs from pure cotton rags?

You could commission one in the colour and pattern you want for your daughter.

Try auctions and estate sales...A decade ago I bought 3 wool Turkoman rugs from a local auction for maybe $200 all together...they really tie a room together.

I buy 100% cotton rugs from IKEA. Sadly they are often boring patterned.  They often claim they can't be washed, but mine only shrank a little when I put them through my washed and dryer. They also have wool rugs, I'm not sure if they are 100% wool, and jute rugs.

I bought a cotton rug on Wayfair and the quality was horrible - the rug shifts and skews and stretches as you walk on it. Not worth the money even if it is prettier.

I do find I need either a rug pad, or carpet tape to hold my cotton rugs down in high traffic areas so still not 100% natural. But I like that they are washable and not creating microplastic dust.

I have bought all wool and all jute rugs from overstock dot com and been happy with the price and the quality.  And woven many a rag rug, but that requires a loom.

You can crochet a rag rug… you control the size and fiber content, and color.

If you can get the raw fleece, you can make a felt rug.

If we want non mainstream items, sometimes the only viable option is to (learn to) make them ourselves.  

Good luck!

Hook and Loom sells a wide assortment of natural rugs, including some really cool old style braided recycled cotton ones. Theirs are made in India, but they have a lot of skilled rug makers there so it makes sense.

You can order swatches, too.

https://hookandloom.com/

Check your local sheep/alpaca farmers, Fibershed, knitting/weaving guilds, local yarn shops and farmer’s markets for locally made wool and alpaca rugs. The upper Northeast has lots of farmers and sources.

https://www.fallingstarfarmme.com/
https://mainealpacaexperience.com/

Even if you don’t see a rug offered, asking helps producers learn what customers are interested in purchasing.

Lots of local weaving guilds have special sales of things made by members where you might find a variety of rugs.

Jane

Spiral Felted Rug in Various Colors | website https://www.tahomavistafibermill.com/product-page/felted-rug

These are not large rugs but they are the coziest, softest rugs I've ever felt and they are made near my home. I got to meet the alpacas too!

I'd been looking for an all natural fiber rug for my kids' bedroom and was finally going to settle on one from an online company. I only found this place because we happened to go to a field trip to see alpacas and their wool processing "factory" (a tiny shed stuffed with equipment run by less than half a dozen people). It's fascinating to see how they made the rugs.

Maybe you can look around for local fiber processing companies and ask if they know anyone who makes rugs local to you. I knew this alpaca farm was there for years but never thought to contact them to ask if they made anything.

Etsy has all natural fiber rugs… you might find something there.

Are you looking for wool rugs or other fibres?

Many eons ago in my youthful ages; I worked in the distribution center of the Pic N Save retail empire. I worked in the section that handled bulk goods. Which included carpets. I marveled once that one of the 3rd world carpet brands said : Made from 100% unknown Fibers. Honesty aye?

Hi Matt:  I don't know exactly what you are looking for in terms of an image. Ikea has reasonably priced rugs with patterns on them in various sizes. They will list the materials content which you can specify in your search.

First off, avoid Amazon of course. And most large retailers. I have never had difficulty finding good wool rugs, secondhand being my favorites.
I like to see and feel what I am buying in rugs. There are many rug stores in large cities, but local producers allow you to buy closer to the source and with less markup. Wool is my favorite. Cotton is not as durable or as warm in cold/damp weather, and it is uncommon to find cotton that is not an environmental nightmare in its production.
Used rugs, especially high quality wool rugs, are often in good condition and more reasonably priced.

A bunch of folks make braided and/or hooked area rugs with wool. Many (including myself) search for thrifted woolen garments and blankets that we deconstruct and tear into strips for rug-making. While I work exclusively with wool, some focus on using recycled jeans, towels, and t-shirts. Still others choose to create with synthetic fabrics gleaned from recycled garments. Etsy and eBay are both good sources for area rugs constructed from different fibers.

Do you have craft fairs locally? Here we have one every Tuesday in our community centre during the summer. Mostly for Craftspeople without studios to sell to visitors but I think it's an excuse for them to socialise as much as anything! One of our regulars makes tufted rag rugs out of tartan wool scraps, which are very effective.
Similar to these:

a different crafter's rug

source

Bed comforters use to be called bed rugs and carpet,