Why make your own instead of buying a ready-made runner
Ready-made stair runners are convenient but they come in a fixed set of widths and lengths, and the finish - the binding tape colour, the serged edge, the border detail - is whatever the manufacturer decided. Making your own from a broadloom carpet remnant, a length off a roll, or even a large flatweave rug gives you control over all three: exact width, exact length, and a binding colour that actually matches your scheme rather than the nearest stock option. It's also often cheaper per foot, because you're buying carpet by the yard or metre rather than paying for a finished, edge-bound product with someone else's labour built in.
The trade-off is that you're taking on the two jobs a runner manufacturer normally does for you: cutting the material dead straight and square, and finishing the edges so they don't unravel under foot traffic. Neither is difficult with the right tools, but both are easy to get slightly wrong, and a slightly wrong cut telegraphs itself the whole length of a staircase. Read through the method once before you start cutting, and don't rush the squaring-up step - it's the one that ruins runners when skipped.
What you need
- Carpet or rug material - broadloom off a roll, a remnant, or a wide flatweave rug wide enough to trim to your chosen runner width
- A steel straight edge or chalk line at least as long as your runner width
- A sharp carpet knife with spare blades - a blunt blade drags fibres instead of cutting them
- Binding tape or a serging/overlock service, plus a heavy-duty needle and strong thread if binding by hand
- Stair rods, a gripper/tackless strip kit, or a heavy-duty staple gun depending on your fixing method
- A tape measure, a set square, and chalk for marking cut lines
How much runner do I need?
Work out the material before you touch a knife. Measure the going (the horizontal depth of one tread) and the rise (the vertical height of one riser), multiply the number of steps by each, add the two totals together, then add margin for a half-landing wrap if you have one. In US units, a flight of 13 steps with a 10 in going and 7.5 in rise needs 13 x (10 + 7.5) = 227.5 in of pattern length, which is 18 ft 11.5 in. In UK metric, the same flight with a 25 cm going and 19 cm rise needs 13 x (25 + 19) = 572 cm, or 5.72 m. Add 5-10% on top for pattern matching, cutting error and a returned edge at top and bottom - that brings the US figure to roughly 19 ft 10 in to 20 ft 9 in, and the metric figure to about 6.0-6.3 m.
If you're not confident measuring your own stairs tread by tread, the stair runner calculator on this site will do the going-plus-rise sum for you and add a sensible waste allowance automatically - just enter your step count and tread dimensions and it returns a cut length in both feet/inches and metres.
| Flight size | US length needed | UK length needed |
|---|---|---|
| 12 steps, 10 in / 25 cm treads | 17 ft 6 in + 8% | 5.3 m + 8% |
| 13 steps, 10 in / 25 cm treads | 18 ft 11 in + 8% | 5.72 m + 8% |
| 15 steps, 11 in / 28 cm treads | 23 ft 9 in + 8% | 7.15 m + 8% |
Know your numbers in 30 seconds
Enter your step count, tread depth and riser height — the stair runner calculator gives you the exact length to order, in metres and feet, with waste included.
Open the stair runner calculatorCutting the material square
Lay the carpet or rug flat on a clean floor with plenty of room either side. Measure and mark your chosen runner width at both ends - most stair runners run 24-36 in (60-90 cm) - and snap a chalk line or lay a straight edge between the two marks. Check the line is square to the selvedge or backing weave with a set square before you cut; broadloom backing is woven on the straight, so if your cut line isn't parallel to the weave the runner will bow or twist once it's under tension on the stairs. Cut from the back of the carpet where possible, scoring rather than sawing, and let the blade do the work over several light passes rather than forcing one deep cut.
Cut the length the same way, squaring the end cuts to the width cuts. If your material has a directional pile or a pattern repeat, cut all the way to a full repeat rather than stopping mid-motif - a runner that stops on a half-pattern at the bottom step looks unfinished no matter how neat the rest of the job is.
Don't cut to the exact length
Cut 2-3 in (5-7 cm) longer than your calculated length at both ends and trim to final size after binding, since binding tape and serging both take up a small amount of material width and length.
Binding or serging the edges
Raw carpet edges fray under foot traffic within weeks, so every edge that will be walked on needs finishing before it goes anywhere near the stairs. The two standard options are cotton or nylon binding tape sewn or glued over the raw edge, and serging (also called overlocking), where a heavy thread is looped continuously over the edge with a specialist machine. Serging gives a slightly lower profile finish and is what most professional stair runners use; binding tape is easier to do by hand at home and comes in more colour options if you want the edge to be a visible design feature rather than invisible.
If you don't own a serging machine, most rug and flooring shops will serge a customer-supplied length of carpet for a modest per-foot fee - it's often worth paying for this one step even on an otherwise fully DIY project, because a hand-bound edge on a runner that gets walked on daily rarely lasts as long as a machine-serged one.
Fitting your finished runner
- Decide on your fixing method before binding - gripper strip needs a small turn-under allowance at top and bottom, rods need pole pockets or a folded return at every riser junction
- Fit gripper or tackless strip at the top and bottom of the flight, and at the back of each tread if you're using a waterfall-style fit
- Lay underlay or runner pad the full width of the runner on every tread and riser
- Position the runner centrally, checking the side margins are even at both the top and bottom of the flight before fixing anything permanently
- Work down from the top, fixing tread by tread and pulling the runner taut over each nosing so it doesn't sag or ripple
- Finish the bottom edge by tucking it under itself or trimming flush to a bottom gripper bar, depending on your chosen finish
This tread-by-tread fixing sequence is exactly what the diy-stair-carpet-runner guide covers in more depth if you want step photos and fixing-specific detail, and it's worth reading alongside the stair-runner-installation-tools guide so you're not missing a tool halfway through.
Common mistakes when making your own runner
The most common failure is cutting the width slightly off-square, which only becomes obvious once the runner is fixed and one side visibly narrows towards the bottom of the flight. The second is skipping underlay to save a few pounds or dollars - a runner without pad wears through at the nosings in under two years on a well-used staircase. The third is binding the edges before confirming the final width, which locks in a mistake that then has to be unpicked. Slow down at the marking and cutting stage; every later step depends on that line being straight.
Whatever you decide, get the numbers first: the stair runner calculator doubles as a stair runner length calculator, adding nosing wrap, landings, winders, pattern repeat and waste so you order the right length the first time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a stair runner from a normal rug?
Yes, provided the rug is wide enough to trim to your chosen runner width and long enough (or joinable) to cover the full flight. Flatweave and wool rugs cut and bind well; loop-pile or shag rugs are harder to serge neatly and fray more at a cut edge.
Do I need to bind both long edges of the runner?
Yes. Both long edges are walked past or brushed by feet and vacuum heads constantly, so both need binding or serging. Only the very top and bottom ends can sometimes be left unbound if they're tucked under gripper or folded into a pole pocket instead.
How much does it cost to make your own stair runner versus buying one?
Making your own from carpet by the yard/metre plus a serging fee typically runs 20-40% cheaper than a comparable ready-bound runner, mainly because you're not paying for the finishing labour built into a manufactured product. Savings shrink if you pay someone else to fit it too.
What width should I cut my homemade runner?
Most homes suit 27-32 in (68-80 cm) on a standard 36 in (91 cm) staircase, leaving an even margin of exposed tread either side. Narrower stairs often use 24-26 in (60-65 cm); wide feature staircases can take 36 in (90 cm) or more.
Can I skip binding if I'm using stair rods?
No. Stair rods hold the runner down at each riser junction but do nothing to stop the woven backing fraying at a cut edge. Every raw edge still needs binding or serging regardless of how the runner is fixed to the stairs.
Is it cheaper to serge at home or pay a shop?
A domestic serger costs more than most people will use it again to justify, so unless you already own one, paying a rug or flooring shop a per-foot serging fee is usually cheaper and gives a neater, more durable edge than hand-binding.
How do I stop my homemade runner slipping on the stairs?
Fit gripper or tackless strip at the top and bottom of the flight and use a proper runner pad underneath - the pad's grip layer does most of the work of stopping slippage, more so than the fixing method at the ends.
What's the biggest risk of making my own stair runner?
Cutting the width or length slightly off-square. Because the error compounds visually down 12-15 steps, even a small deviation at the top becomes obvious by the bottom step, so double-check every cut line with a set square before committing.
Know your numbers in 30 seconds
Enter your step count, tread depth and riser height — the stair runner calculator gives you the exact length to order, in metres and feet, with waste included.
Work out exactly how much runner you needEvery guide is written from hands-on measuring and fitting experience, checked against the calculator’s own maths, and re-reviewed whenever prices or methods change. Read our editorial standards.