Day: February 10, 2015

Tools Day: Graph Paper

Karen

I am using graph paper and colored pencils again to design double-binding rag rugs. Twill double-binding rag rugs this time. The draft comes from Swedish Rag Rugs 35 New Designs, by Lillemor Johansson. The graph paper squares are great for playing out my own ideas. I am not aiming for specific color combinations with this exercise. And I don’t strictly follow my colored design when I weave, but instead use it as a guide that suggests a design pathway. This allows me to improvise at the loom as I see the cloth taking shape.

Graph paper and colored pencils for rag rug design ideas.
Graph paper for playing with design ideas, using Prismacolor pencils.
Rag rug design experiments on graph paper.
Experiments with wide and thin blocks of color, unevenly spaced.
Twill double-binding rag rug on the loom.
Putting design experiments to the test. The twill structure gives more substance to the rug than plain weave, as well as adding to the textural appearance in the design.

May your best designs materialize.

Yours,
Karen