When installing a new carpet in your home, one of the most important skills you need is to be able to join multiple pieces of carpet. Oftentimes a single piece of carpet won't be big enough to cover the area you need it to cover, especially for larger homes. If you have a damaged carpet and need to replace one of the pieces, this is also a vital skill. Just as you need to know how to patch up holes and rips in clothing, you also need to know how to patch up holes and rips in your carpet. Sewing a carpet seam is a simple skill that only requires a few specialized pieces of equipment, and is a great way to save money.

Supplies Needed

In order to sew a carpet seam, you need:

• Straight edge
• Box cutter or utility knife
• Chalk
• Hot-melt tape at least 150mm wide
• Seaming iron
• Row cutter

All of these can be found at your local hardware store if you don't happen to have them lying around.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Overlap the two pieces of carpet where you want to join them. Measure about an inch of overlap to the edge of where you want the carpet to go, then draw a line on the backside of the piece of carpet with your straight edge and a piece of chalk.

Cut down that line with your utility knife to trim the carpet.

Use your row cutters to cut the carpet below the overlap, so the seams join evenly and tightly.

Seal the cut carpet edges with latex or spirit based sealer. 

Join the seam by centering the hot-melt tape underneath the edges of the carpet. Make sure that the carpet edges are even and butt up against each other. Slowly pull the seaming iron over the tape to melt the adhesive. Immediately press the carpet over the melted tape. Roll the seam with a rolling pin. 

Weigh the carpet seam down with a heavy object like a book or a piece of furniture while the hot-melt tape cools, and keep anyone else from stepping in the area.