Shaggy Rugs – Not Only For the Hippies!

All of us remember that old school 60’s era “hippy shag” carpeting. What you may not know, though, is that shaggy rugs are actually making a comeback, especially in more recent years. Thankfully, the ugly multi-colors of the past are gone. Shag is not dead yet, everyone!

Shaggy rugs can be considered as a specific kind of carpeting, made of a less dense pile than traditional carpet. There are longer single strands than other types of carpet. These shaggy rugs, with a “deep pile” style of construction, were popular during the 60s and into the early 70’s. While many may have written off shaggy rugs, the fact is that they are still kicking into the new century.

There’s two things that makes a shaggy rug differ from other rugs. We have the length and placement of our fibers, which is longer and more loosely twisted than the super tight type of yarn like what is found in most short loop rugs.

Shag carpeting uses yarn with a much looser twist and single strands are placed farther apart than traditional weaves would be. It is for this reason that shaggy rugs have an appearance that is much more unique than other carpeting, appearing somewhat like grass. Of course, this is why the “mowing the carpet” phrase was created.

Obviously, shaggy rugs don’t appreciate the same popularity as they did at one time, but to many people’s surprise, they are still quite used, so much so that there is still quite the variety of shaggy rugs and full carpeting available from major carpet manufacturers. As far as prices go, it runs basically hand in hand with more traditional rugs and carpeting.

In this new, modern era, shag now comes in three different varieties. You have the long shag, which is the old school shag that we are all used to from way back when. However, there’s also now short shag, which is a trimmed down version of the shag. “The lawn was cut”, if you will. Then, there is mini shag, which is hardly shag at all, and it is closely related to carpet of normal pile. And as for modern color choices, most solid colors can be had, as well as lots of cool patterns that will look great in your home.

Shaggy rugs go perfectly with many different areas in the house and many different styles of decor. The shag love affair may just be coming back, and for good reason. It’s hard to beat the feeling on your feet that a good shaggy rug offers. The modernized shag of today is much better than the shag of the past, yet remains very similar.