Guide · For the trade
Custom size rugs: how designers get the exact size and what it takes
Custom size rugs are cut from broadloom carpet and finished at the edge, so any width up to the roll (12 ft, 13 ft 2 in or 15 ft) and any length is possible and anything wider is seamed. Through Interiors a cut-and-bound custom size rug ships in 3 to 5 weeks from any of about 3,700 broadloom styles; a hand-made rug woven to a custom size takes 18 to 20 weeks after a strike-off. Most requests are 12x18, 14x20, 10x16 and odd widths that leave exactly 18 inches of floor at the walls.
This guide is for the designer or the junior who has a room the standard sizes do not fit. It covers how to arrive at the size, how roll width limits a seamless rug, the edge finishes, the fibers that cut well, custom size runners, the lead time and what we need to quote. The broader custom program, renderings and strike-offs are in the custom rugs guide.
When a custom size rug beats a standard one
Standard rug sizes run 5x8, 6x9, 8x10, 9x12, 10x14 and 12x15. They cover most rooms. They fail in three situations: a great room where a 12x15 still floats in the middle, a long dining room where a 9x12 ends under the chairs and a bedroom or hall with a width that puts a standard rug 6 inches from one wall and 30 inches from the other. In each case the rule is the same one you use for every rug: 18 inches of floor at the walls in a standard room, 12 inches in a small one and the finished size is the room minus those margins. A custom size rug lets you hold that rule instead of compromising it.
How custom rug sizes relate to roll width
Every cut-and-bound rug starts as a piece of broadloom, so the roll width sets the largest dimension you can have without a seam. Most domestic tufted and woven goods are 12 ft wide; most European Wilton and many wool loop styles are 13 ft 2 in (4 m); a smaller group, including some patterned Wiltons and the wide-width wool plushes, is 15 ft. The length is open, cut from the roll to the inch. Anything wider than the roll is seamed and a good seam in a solid or textured wool is nearly invisible; in a large-scale pattern it needs a pattern match and a little waste.
| Roll width | Largest seamless rug | Typical goods | Common custom sizes it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 ft | 12 ft by any length | Tufted nylon and wool, most US-made broadloom | 10x16, 11x14, 12x18, 12x20 |
| 13 ft 2 in (4 m) | 13 ft 2 in by any length | European Wilton, wool loop, flatweave and sisal | 13x16, 13x20, 4x14 and 3x20 runners |
| 15 ft | 15 ft by any length | Wide-width wool plush and some patterned Wilton | 14x18, 14x20, 15x22 |
| Seamed | Any size | Any of the above, two or three widths joined | 16x20, 18x24, L-shaped and wrap-around rugs |
Pattern repeat matters as much as width. A 36-inch repeat on a 14-foot rug needs to be centered, so tell us where the rug sits in the room and we place the motif, not the mill.
Edge finishes: binding, serging and borders
Binding is a 1 1/4-inch cotton or polyester tape sewn over the edge; it is the fastest and least expensive finish and reads cleanly on a flat or low pile. Serging is a continuous wrap of yarn, usually wool, around the edge; it looks hand-finished and is the right call on a wool rug or anything with a visible cut edge. A fabric border is a 2 to 5-inch band of linen, cotton or wool mitered at the corners. A leather border, 2 to 4 inches, is the signature finish on sisal and wool loop and the one we cut most for entries and great rooms; see the sisal with leather border collection. Specify the finish with the color against a pom and ask for the binding or border sample with the carpet sample.
Custom size wool, sisal, jute and outdoor rugs
Fiber decides how a rug cuts and wears. Wool broadloom is the default for custom size area rugs: 1,397 wool styles in the catalog, it serges beautifully, it is naturally flame resistant and it hides a seam. Sisal and seagrass cut well but need a border rather than plain binding, because the edge frays; jute is soft underfoot and belongs in bedrooms and low-traffic rooms only. Nylon is the choice for a family room or a commercial lobby and solution-dyed nylon takes bleach cleaning. For a covered porch or a pool house, the indoor-outdoor collection, 203 polypropylene and polyester styles, binds with a synthetic tape and drains. Silk and viscose cut and bind like wool but stain with water, so keep them to bedrooms and formal rooms. We do not make washable rugs; a bound wool rug is cleaned in place or sent out.
Custom size runner rugs
A hall runner cut from broadloom is the simplest custom size there is: 27, 32 or 36 inches wide, any length, with the pattern running down the length. For a 40-foot hall the runner is one strip cut along the length of the roll, seamed at a doorway only if the mill cannot ship that length in one piece. Match it to a stair runner from the same roll and the hall, the stair and the landing read as one piece. Standard runner lengths are in the runners by size collection; see the hall runner guide for widths and lengths by hall.
Round, oval and L-shaped custom rugs
Round rugs cut from broadloom are limited to the roll width, so a 12-foot round is the largest seamless round in most goods and 13 ft 2 in in European goods; serging is the right finish on a curve. Ovals and arched ends cut the same way. An L-shaped rug for a sectional or a wrap-around hall is seamed at the inside corner and bound as one piece; send the plan with the sectional's outline and we draw the shape to it.
Lead time and the order sequence
A cut-and-bound custom size rug is the fastest custom product we make.
- Sample. The broadloom and the binding, serging or border sample ship from the mill within 24 hours for approved trade accounts.
- Size. You send finished dimensions, or the room dimensions and the furniture plan and we work the size back from the 18-inch rule.
- Quote. Net pricing comes back to the trade account in a day or two.
- Cut and finish. 3 to 5 weeks from approval, including the mill cutting the length and the finisher binding it.
- Delivery. Freight to the site, or our installer in the client's city unrolls it on pad and places it.
A rug woven to a custom size on a mill's loom (Prestige Mills, Stanton and Couristan all run a program) is 8 to 16 weeks. A hand-knotted or hand-tufted rug made to a custom size is 4 to 6 weeks to a strike-off and 18 to 20 weeks of production.
Questions designers ask
How are custom size rugs priced?
By the square foot of broadloom used, plus a per-linear-foot charge for the edge finish, with leather the highest. Net pricing is quoted to approved trade accounts; it is not published. For anything over 9x12, a bound wool broadloom rug is usually less than a comparable finished rug of the same size.
Can a custom size rug be wider than 15 feet?
Yes, seamed. Two widths of a solid or textured wool join almost invisibly; a large pattern is matched at the seam with some waste. Tell us the seam position you can live with and we draw it on the plan before cutting.
How long do custom size rugs take?
Cut and bound from broadloom, 3 to 5 weeks. A mill custom size program, 8 to 16 weeks. A hand-made rug to a custom size, 18 to 20 weeks after the strike-off is approved.
Can you cut a custom size from any carpet in the catalog?
Almost any. A few heavy loop constructions and some flatweaves need a border rather than binding and a very dense pattern should be centered before cutting. Ask when you request the sample and we flag anything that will not finish well.
What size do you need from me to start?
The finished width and length, or the room dimensions and furniture layout if you want us to check. The finish and its color. The ship-to address and the install date. With those a quote goes out the same week.
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