The length of the rug minus the width of the rug equals the length of the first row. So a 4 foot x 6 foot rug will have a middle row of 2 feet, and so will a 3 foot by 1 foot rug and a 12 foot by 10 foot rug, etc. And no, you can't start out round and end up oval or vice-versa. For ovals, a pleasing shape has an 18 to 24 inch center. But the great thing is that you can measure your own space and decide for yourself. The ending dimensions will be approximate because you will want to end when you decide you are finished. You may decide your rug needs a thick border of solid color ... or not.

The center of your rug will always attract the eye. You don't want to make a dark solid center because it will always look like a bulls-eye on a target and be disconcerting to everyone. There is a story of a blind man who entered a room with such a rug and told his hostess that he had the strangest feeling that there was a hole in her floor.

One mistake I've made is making the center color combination too many rows -- easy to do because you have such short rows at the beginning, and these nice long strips, and you want to just keep going. Beauty is in your eye, however, so just have fun with what you like, being aware that your rug will surprise you and never turn out to be what you expected. That's the fun of it.

• A clamp to hold your braid securely to a table while you tug on it
• Sewing needle and threads to connect your strips together
• Some kind of clip (like a potato-chip bag closer or butterfly hair clip) to secure the end of your working braid
• A very large needle, like for darning or upholstery repair, to use for lacing the rug together
• Scissors

Go to Braiding Tools for descriptions of specialized braiding items.