The Art of Rug Making Embellishments: Adding Flair to Your Creations

Beyond simply woven or hooked fabrics, creative rug makers enhance their handiwork with dimensional accents and artistic finishing details. Embellishments like pom poms, intricate borders, artistic fringe, and fabric appliques elevate rugs from crafts to textile artworks. Supplementary decorative touches require advanced skills from master rug artisans but boast stunning, elevated appeal. This article explores the many options for embellishing handcrafted rugs to add artful flair, texture, and visual interest through creative adornment.

Colorful Embellishments

Pops of color enliven rug motifs and patterns:

Pompoms

These fuzzy balls of yarn come in endless colors. Sew pompoms along rug borders or use to accent motifs like flowers, ladybugs, or balloons. Add merry texture.

Buttons

Wood, ceramic, or etched metal buttons make charming accents on rugs. Sew on clusters of mismatched buttons for whimsy or create geometric patterns.

Ribbons

Satin, grosgrain, or sheer ribbons stitched onto rug edges or motifs create a delicate, feminine embellishment. They can also define shapes.

Fabric Appliques

Cut fabric into special shapes like stars, circles, or scalloped edges and applique onto plain rug fields using zigzag or satin stitching to create visual interest.

Painted Details

Once the rug base is complete, go back and hand paint intricate details with fabric paint like flower centers, animal facial features, landscape elements.

Embroidery

After rug construction, embroider decorative freeform floral vines, geometry, critters, symbols, or words using vibrant floss. Add personalized flair.

Textural Embellishments

Diverse fabrics and materials bring rugs to life:

Felt Appliques

Cutout felt shapes and letters in contrasting colors apply easily to add bold interest and whimsical motifs. Felt adheres when pressed.

Fringe and Tassels

Long wool fringe or fluffy cotton tassels finishing rug edges provide beautiful movement and texture. Make tassels from yarn scraps.

Raffia, Jute or Twine

Natural fiber ropes and twines stitch, wrap, and bind rug edges adding organic texture and natural hues. Define shape and edges.

Fabric Strips

Torn strips of fabric get hand stitched along borders or between motifs adding folksy patchwork flair. Upcycle fabric scraps creatively.

Leather Accents

Punch shapes out of leather or suede then stitch or rivet onto rugs as abstract emblems, geometric borders, or within motif outlines for texture.

Yarn Tufting

Take a single large needle and extra chunky yarn to punch decorative tufts onto the rug surface forming swooping curves, dots, or organic eye-catching texture.

Artistic Borders and Creative Edges

Frames finish a rug beautifully:

Braided Borders

Flat or round braids made from fabric strips or yarn outline and accentuate the rug silhouette and patterns elegantly. Add braided corners or decorative shapes within.

Crochet

A hand crocheted border adds sweet homespun appeal to rug edges. Coordinate thread colors to those woven into the motifs.

Fringe

Long, lush fringe along two or four rug sides adds movement and traditional artisan flair. Make monochromatic or rainbow multicolored.

Contrast Borders

Framing with wide borders of contrasting colors, fabrics, or textures makes central motifs pop visually. Thick borders balance intricate centers.

Shaped Cut-Outs

For contemporary flair, hand cut rug edges into waves, points, or other shapes. Geometric angular borders look modern.

Betweens

After hooking a rug, further embellish by hooking or stitching contrasting rows or geometric lines in open areas to separate motifs. Defined separation creates focus.

Rug embellishing unleashes creativity, transforming handmade floor coverings into showstopping fiber art. Even simple accents worked in thoughtfully elevate the handcrafted aesthetic. A bit of sparkle or texture completes your rug masterpiece!