I started this rug a little over 6 weeks ago. I finished the last stitches last night. The last pattern square below was a fun little challenge. I decided to make the motif using stitches done horizontally, rather than the usual vertically over 2 threads. I wanted the “hook” stitches going in the same direction as the arms of the motif. Then I went around the entire motif with a darker brown – each stitch over 1 thread. This gives a sort of three-dimensional look which I like. The challenge was to figure out how to do the background, without overpowering the motif itself. The original has a small border around it, so I did that in the very pale yellow. Then I decided to use the lightest of the greens to do a background. I decided to fill in the center part first and then have a larger border around that. I think it looks good – filling in the center gives an octagon look, which is very Moroccan. So here it is.
Anne commented about the basketweave squares for this set after the last post. Each of the basketweave square took a full skein of floss. I didn’t have 3 skeins of the green I wanted to use, so I stitched the green squares with Anchor #8 perle cotton. I thought the #8 perle would be easier to stitch with and would look great. For some reason it looks like a lightly overdyed color. That’s probably the light is being reflected off the thread in a different way than the floss. Looking at the completed rug and studying it’s overall design and effect, I think the basketweave squares done in floss look much better. Here’s the finished rug.
My thoughts on this rug -
1. Overall, I think it all works well together. The original rugs from this area have lots of color, even changing the color of the basketweave squares within a set. This rug has the look and feel of the original rugs of the area.
2. I learned a lot of new patterns and a few more motifs while stitching this rug. I know I’ll incorporate some of them into my original designs that I’ll be creating next year.
3. I still don’t know the best way to do the motifs that are stitched on top of the solid color areas. Even though I tried hard to make the add-on motifs neat and straight, some of them don’t look good to me. Adding them to the perle cotton squares was more difficult that on the floss squares.
4. Using the overdye threads for the first of the outer borders of each section helps to tie all the colors for each set together. Traditionally, the first border uses about 4 colors from the rug and those colors are alternated around the entire rug. I decided to do that differently and like the look it creates.
5. Orange is not my color, but I love the final result of that set.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this rug as well. What didn’t you like? What worked well overall? What didn’t work overall? These rugs are learning experiences for me – trying to learn about Berber rugs that are made today, and have been made for hundreds of years. The study will continue with the High Atlas rugs. Look for more information at that project, starting next week.
And thank you all for joining me on this journey through Morocco.
I had to do this one! So I started Friday night and was able to quickly finish it last night. Here’s my adaptation.
This one is definitely my favorite of all the patterns used in this rug! And here’s the whole rug so far.
Now I have only two squares to do and the rest of the outer borders. I’ll have it done by the end of the week. Then I’ll do several of the squares on 18 ct. canvas to see how they look in different colors. I also need determine how much thread would be needed for the rug on 18 ct. canvas. And I need to work on more of the stitch diagrams for a stitch guide. The fun never stops.
I decided to put the brown overdye border around the entire set. The outer border of dark brown is just along the outside edge of the rug. In the original rug, they used the same inner border around each set of boxes and around the outside. The only border changes appear in the outer border. I wanted to try changing the inner border for each set as my own personal choice. And I do like it this way. It helps set off the different colors for each set better.
Tomorrow I’ll start on the green section. Stay tuned.
I used the colors for this set and created a similar motif. I worked from the top and the bottom and found there wasn’t room for the little boxes in the middle so I had to improvise. Above the light blue sets, I used about half the number of little boxes as the other rows. For the dark blue, I filled in the entire area that was unstitched. In the areas where there was too much space, I divided the area into two sections of six stitches and then put a small straight stitch across the place where the two sets met. I didn’t like the canvas showing through.
I’ve also worked on the border. The border along one side is completely done and I’ve started the separation band before the next section. I’m hoping to get a lot done over the next few days and complete this blue section by Monday. We’ll see.
The last photo is a little dark, but I wanted you to see the whole rug as it is today.
My adaptation was done with the dark brown as well, but I used a dark blue, a light brown and a dark reddish brown for highlights. I’m not using any red in this particular rug. I chose to do this set with blues instead.The grid is ecru and was filled in with Smyrna Crosses. The rest of the square is filled with Scotch Stitch done over 3 threads.
Anne from The Cape Stitcher asked for more information about where my rugs come from. I’ll do a post tomorrow about the Anti Atlas area, but will give a little taste today. The Anti Atlas Range lies in the south of Morocco, extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Sahara Desert to the south. Here’s a picture from the area.
I’ll post more information and a map tomorrow. Enjoy!
Then I started on the next set, which will be lots of blue and brown. I started the rectangular border with a much darker overdye. The second border is the darkest of the browns for this set. Since they take so long, I started on the first of the three basketweave squares using the lightest blue and a medium brown for the little border. All the borders in each of these sets will have Ecru as the lightest color in the overdye border and the basketweave borders. A little consistency throughout the rug.
We’re having company on Sunday, so housecleaning has taken over some of my stitching time. I’ll try to get these two squares done and posted on Sunday before company arrives, but I won’t make any promises. So far, this set appeals to me more than the first set. All that orange is typical of the area, but not my favorite. And the third set will be lots of greens. A very colorful project, to say the least.
