Designing a Rug

Posted by Mary Welling-Bonney Dec 7, 2007

There are a number of ways to design a rug and none of them are more right than the others.

First we need to establish that purchasing a predesigned pattern is not what we are after. That done, we need to look at the purpose for the rug. If the rug is to market, it limits your choices slightly. Just like anything else you have to have the artist's permission to market their design.

Start by looking at what is out there. The internet is a great resource for that. You can get ideas by looking around your own home. What are the things you enjoy? What colors appeal to you? Are you someone who likes earthy colors or someone who appreciates a lot of color and pop? Color will play a big part in your design.

If you think of an image and draw it out, then find it looks awkward from your initial idea. Don't despair. If you look at many of the ideas out there today, some of the nicest works you will find will be in a primitive style. They have a very childlike appearance to them. Just look at it as your version of primitive styling.

I mentioned that many rugs have a childlike quality. This leads to another idea to create a design. Use your children's drawings. Even have the child draw onto the fabric you will be using.

I know of some people who use the line drawings in color books.

There is no wrong way.

If it is for your own use, you can take someone else's design and alter it. I do caution about doing this when it is not for you only because the finished product may too closely resemble the original design.

Designs are very forgiving and found everywhere.