Guide · For the trade
Shag rugs and high pile rugs: constructions, pile heights and where they belong
Shag rugs are cut-pile rugs with a pile of 3/4 inch or more, up to 2 inches in a wool or polyester shag and 1 1/2 inches in a Moroccan hand-knotted piece; high pile rugs is the catalog term for the same group, which starts at 1/2 inch. They belong in bedrooms, under a coffee table in a seating group and in a reading corner, on a felt pad, with no chair or bench legs on them, and nowhere near a dining table, a door swing, a stair or an accessible route.
This guide is for the designer who has a client asking for a shag, or who wants a deep-pile rug for a specific room without the care calls afterward. It covers what counts as shag, the five constructions that make a deep pile, fibers, where the pile height limits placement, pad and furniture, vacuuming, and whether the look is current. Pile height as a spec sheet measurement across all constructions is in the low pile vs high pile guide.
What is a shag rug?
A shag is a cut-pile rug whose yarns are long enough to lie over rather than stand up; the name is from the shaggy surface that results. The pile is 3/4 inch at the low end and 2 inches or more at the high end, against 1/4 to 1/2 inch for a conventional cut pile. The 1970s version was a tufted nylon or polyester broadloom in orange and avocado; the current version is a hand-woven wool, a Moroccan Beni Ourain, or a machine-woven polyester or polypropylene with a fine, dense yarn. The term high pile covers all of them plus the 1/2 to 3/4 inch plushes that are not quite shag.
Four constructions that make a deep pile
| Construction | Pile height | Fiber | Hand | Spec it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand-knotted Moroccan (Beni Ourain, Azilal) | 3/4 to 1 1/2 in | Undyed or vegetable-dyed wool | Dense, springy, the most durable deep pile | A living room or primary bedroom piece; see the Moroccan rugs guide |
| Hand-woven wool shag | 1 to 2 in | Felted wool, wool and viscose | Loose, heavy strands, lies flat | A bedroom or a reading corner with nothing on the rug |
| Hand-tufted plush | 1/2 to 1 in | Wool, wool and viscose, polyester | Soft, uniform, holds its height | A bedroom at a mid price point, custom colors |
| Machine-woven shag | 3/4 to 1 1/2 in | Polyester, polypropylene, nylon | Fine, dense, slightly slippery | Rentals, children's rooms, a budget bedroom |
Of the 94 high-pile rugs in the catalog, polyester machine-woven pieces are the most numerous and the wool hand-made pieces the ones we spec for rooms that matter. Pile heights appear on the spec sheet in inches or millimeters; a mill's "ca. 40 mm" is a 1 1/2 inch shag.
Fibers for a shag
Wool is the fiber for a deep pile that has to stand back up: resilient, self-extinguishing, and it felts slightly at the tips with use rather than matting. Polyester is the softest to the hand and holds bright color, but it crushes under a foot and stays crushed, which is fine in a bedroom and not in a seating group. Polypropylene is the least expensive and the one that cleans, and it flattens fastest. Viscose and bamboo silk appear as highlights in wool shags for luster; keep those out of any room with a drink in it.
Where a shag rug can go, and where the pile stops it
A deep pile holds crumbs, catches chair legs, lifts under a door and is a trip in a corridor. Bedrooms: yes, under or beside the bed, with the bench and nightstands on the floor. Living room: yes, under the coffee table within the seating group, with the sofa legs on the floor or on the rug's edge, not sinking into the pile. Nursery and playroom: a wool shag is soft to crawl on, hard to keep clean; a 1/2-inch plush is the compromise. Dining room, kitchen, entry, hall, stair: no. ADA accessible routes: no, the pile limit is 1/2 inch. Over radiant heat: a deep pile over a felt pad insulates the floor and slows the room, so use a thinner pad and expect a slower response.
The 70 percent rule and sizing a shag
Size a shag the way any rug is sized: the rug covers about 70 percent of the floor under the furniture group, 18 inches of floor shows at the walls, and the front legs of the seating sit on it. The difference is the edge. A 1 1/2 inch pile rises that much above the floor, so a shag that stops under a sofa leg rocks it; place the rug so the legs are fully on or fully off. In a bedroom, a 9x12 under a king or an 8x10 under a queen; in a living room, 8x10 or 9x12 under the seating group.
Pad, furniture and the installer
A shag on a hard floor takes a 1/4-inch felt-and-rubber pad; the felt gives the pile something to compress into and the rubber stops a heavy rug from creeping. Over carpet, a thin rubber-topped pad. Furniture: anything that sits on a shag leaves a dent and rocks; a coffee table with a broad base is fine, a chair with 1-inch legs is not. Tell the installer to unroll the rug pile-side up, let it rest 48 hours, and brush the pile in one direction with a soft brush before the client sees it; a shag that has been rolled looks flat on the day of install.
Vacuuming and care to hand the client
A shag can be vacuumed with the beater bar off or raised to its highest setting; a rotating brush on a hand-woven shag pulls strands out and wraps yarn around the brush. A wool shag sheds heavily for the first weeks and then stops. Shake out smaller shags outside, rotate twice a year, blot spills, and send a wool shag out for cleaning every 3 to 5 years; it should not be wet at home.
Questions designers ask
What is the 70 percent rule for rugs?
The rug should cover about 70 percent of the floor area the furniture group occupies, leaving the walls clear by 18 inches in a standard room and 12 inches in a small one. It applies to a shag the same as to a flatweave; the only adjustment is that the sofa legs sit fully on or fully off the deep edge.
Can a shag rug be vacuumed?
Yes, with the beater bar off or lifted, or with suction only. A rotating brush pulls strands out of a hand-woven wool shag. Weekly suction vacuuming, a shake outside for small pieces, and a professional wash every few years keep it standing.
What is a shag rug, as a construction?
A cut-pile rug with a pile of 3/4 inch or more, made by hand-knotting, hand-weaving, hand-tufting or machine weaving in wool, polyester or polypropylene. The yarn length and the density of the pile decide how it looks and how it wears; wool and Moroccan hand-knotted versions stand up for decades, machine-woven polyester for a few years.
Are shag rugs in style?
The wool and Moroccan versions have not left the trade catalogs since the 2010s and are a standard bedroom and seating-group spec. The orange polyester 1970s version is a period reference, and the current machine-woven shags in grey and ivory are a rental and children's room product rather than a design statement. The look is current when the fiber is wool and the color is undyed or muted.
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