In the rug industry, pattern is divided into the three categories of curvilinear, geometric, and pictorial. The first two refer to rugs with conventional motifs that are woven with curving lines (curvilinear) or straight lines (geometric). The third (a much smaller group) refers to rugs which portray people and/or animals. By dividing rugs into these three broad categories, we are able to eliminate what we don't want quickly and find what we do want a lot faster and easier when buying a rug. It is important to mention that these categories are not necessarily three distinct categories and sometimes overlap. Rugs are always categorized by their most dominant characteristics; therefore, even though all pictorial rugs are either curvilinear or geometric, they are not categorized under these two patterns because their dominant characteristic is their representation of people and/or animals. Also, we might even find a rug that consists of both curving and straight lines; we categorize such a rug according to the most dominant type of lines used in creating its design. Return to Top