Faux Cowhide Rug: A Tutorial

After reading The Nesting Place I've been on a bit of a decorating kick, but I've tried to not spend any money in the process.  So we've done lots of spray painting, picture hanging, throw pillow swapping, and...faux cowhide rug making.

I'd never wanted a cowhide rug before (nothing against them!), then all of a sudden I did.  But they are expensive!  Especially if you want a pretty good-sized one.  I consulted Google and discovered that not even Overstock has decently-prices cowhide rugs.  But in my search, this tutorial came up, with instructions on how to make a faux (but realistic looking) cowhide rug using upholstery fabric.  After talking it over with Chet and hemming and hawing for a few weeks on whether or not I actually wanted to do the project, I finally ordered the fabric.  (The woman in the tutorial used the "Black" Udder Madness fabric, but I chose "Milk" (dark brown)).

I am 100% against reinventing the wheel, so I'm not going to go into specifics about how the rug was made.  That's why I linked to the tutorial.  I will tell you that I, like she, ordered exactly 2.5" of fabric, and it was the perfect amount.  The only thing I did "on my own" was choose a shape that I liked for our rug.  (This shape is the one I used.)

I should confess that this is where my duties ended.  It was up to Chet to actually draw the shape and cut out the fabric.  (So if you have specific questions beyond what the tutorial tells you, let me know and I'll connect you with Chet, the one with actual talent.)  Also, we haven't burned the edges of the fabric yet, but we will eventually.  I can see how burning the edges will keep them from fraying (and looking less like fabric and more like real cowhide).

The rug is currently in our bedroom, although I almost put it in Sydney's room (her room is already cute enough though, and our room was lacking in cuteness).  I'm not against having it in a main space where the kids frequent, but I could foresee myself constantly straightening it, and didn't want to place such a huge, first-world-problem-type burden on myself.

Nothing would get done around here without this guy:

Without further ado:

And the models:

And another view, with a realistic laundry situation in the background:

That's it!  Let me know if you have any questions!  Happy Labor Day!