Since I wanted this to look like an actual rug, I chose 13 ct. canvas. The stitches on this canvas would give it the chunky, heavy look of a real rug.
I knew where I was going to hang this piece when it was finished and that helped to determine what the size would be - 15” X 30”.
The Berber women who create these beautiful rugs (both woven and pile) use natural materials. They raise goats and sheep in many areas of Morocco and that provides wool that they comb and card and then twist into yarn. The wool is then dyed the color needed for a particular rug or blanket. The warp and weft on the loom are usually cotton. Silk is sometimes woven into the rugs in small amounts.
I wanted to use the same type of materials in my own version, so I chose to use thread that was 50% wool and 50% silk. Since I had already decided on the 13 ct. canvas, I chose to use Silk & Ivory for the entire project. No other threads would be used.
Now is the fun part for me - deciding on the colors to use. I went to the website for Brown Paper Packages to browse for colors. Each time I chose a color family, it would open in a separate window. If I didn’t like any of the colors, I would close the window and try another one. Then I could tile them, like on the right, and see if the colors would work together. The blues and browns go very well with the color scheme in the master bedroom. The nutmeg and citron will be used as accent colors, used sparingly.
Step 1 was now complete.
