Carpet has to be cut to become a runner, and a cut edge frays. What you do about that edge is the single biggest decision you will make after choosing the carpet itself — it changes how the runner looks, how long it lasts, and what it costs.
There are three options. Here is what each one actually is.
1. Bare — no edging
The carpet is cut and left as it is. The cheapest option, and fine if the runner is going under stair rods that hold the edges flat, or if you are fitting it yourself and plan to tuck the edges.
Cost: nothing extra.
Honest drawback: a cut edge looks like a cut edge, and on a flatweave it can shed over time.
2. Wool whipping
Yarn is stitched over the edge by hand, wrapping it. It gives a soft, slightly rounded finish that follows the carpet rather than announcing itself — the traditional choice, and the one most people pick when they want the carpet to be the star.
Cost: £8 per metre, per side. Both sides of a 7m runner is £112.
Best for: wool-look carpets, period houses, anywhere you want the edge to disappear.
3. Binding tape
A woven tape is sewn along the edge, giving a crisp, defined border. This is the option that lets you add a colour — a charcoal tape on an oatmeal runner, or a duck-egg linen against a grey herringbone.
Cost: £18 per metre, per side. Both sides of a 7m runner is £252.
Best for: making a feature of the edge, and for high-traffic stairs where a firmer edge helps.
The 33 tapes
We keep 33 binding tapes across four designs, and you choose the exact one on the product page:
- Cotton herringbone (12 colours) — a fine chevron in the weave. The most popular, and the most forgiving against a patterned carpet.
- Cotton standard (8 colours) — a flat, plain weave. Quiet and classic.
- Faux cotton (5 colours) — a harder-wearing synthetic with a cotton look, good for busy family stairs.
- Linen (8 colours) — a looser, more textured weave with a natural, slightly rustic character.
How to choose a colour
Two approaches work, and one rarely does.
Match it — pick a tape close to the darkest tone already in the carpet. The edge reads as deliberate without drawing the eye. This is the safe choice and it almost never looks wrong.
Contrast it — pick something clearly different: charcoal against oatmeal, navy against grey. Striking, and worth doing if you want the staircase to be a feature. Look at it on a sample first.
What rarely works is a tape that is nearly the carpet colour but not quite. It looks like a mistake rather than a decision. If you cannot match it closely, contrast it properly.
Which side is which
Edging is priced per side because that is how the work is done. Both long edges of a stair runner are normally finished, since both are visible. If you only need one side edged — a runner going against a wall, for instance — ring us and we will price it.
See it first
This is exactly what samples are for. Three carpet samples for £5.99, delivered free, and you tell us which binding tape to sew onto them. You get the real combination in your own hallway light, which is the only test that counts.
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