A question no doubt many of our readers would ask is what are some examples of simple designs for a knitted rug.

This time we are thinking big divisions. We are thinking about halves, quarters and thirds. In other words we start by dividing the round surface in that way.

In this article, I want to concentrate on the effects that can be obtained when we divide the rug in two halves. This means that we are going to use six of the twelve segments to do one thing and six to repeat this or to do something else.

Super simple would be one half in one color and the other half in another color. Generally one thinks of a round rug as a whole, not as two halves, so the result would be quite unusual. This can definitely work with some colors. Since there are only two colors in play, choosing these colors is important. Generally the dominant color in the decor and one contrasting color would work well when the contrasting color is already part of the color scheme. To soften the effect, one could blend colors.

Blending
When using two threads together more shades are possible with fewer colors. By using three colors, six shades can be obtained. Let's use Black, gray and white as an example. The combinations then become
1. Black
2. Black and gray
3. Black and white
4. Grey
5. Grey and white
6. White

These six shades would fit in the six sections of one half of the rug, and then could be repeated in the other half. The order of these segments may be varied again for different outcomes.

Another method would be to combine black and gray in one half and white and gray in the other half.

A very beautiful effect can be obtained by using a graduation of shades of one color. There are two ways of doing this. One would be to repeat the graduation with the first segment being the lightest and the last the darkest. In this way the lightest and the darkest color would join at the halfway mark.

Another way to do this would be to mirror the first half. Therefore the first half would go from light to dark, and the second half would go from dark to light. The end result would be a concentration of the light shades on one side and the dark shades on the other, while the graduations fall in between.

By now you may see a challenge in finding further variations. The main thing, however, is that there is a system by which to proceed. Keeping in mind that thinking of two halves will produce different results than if you were to think of this as one whole makes designing more of a challenge and more fun.

Final thought: for a 1/2 round rug, stop after six sections. It will be nicely rounded, while the straight side will have a slight wave in it, in on one side, out on the other. It looks classy in front of a book case, a door, and a good many other places.