Guide · For the trade
Irregular shaped rug: how custom shape rugs are made, templated and priced
An irregular shaped rug is made one of two ways: cut to a template from broadloom and finished at the edge, in 3 to 5 weeks, for any shape whose curves have a radius of 12 inches or more; or hand-tufted or hand-knotted to the shape on the loom, 18 to 20 weeks after a strike-off, for organic outlines, tight curves and shapes with holes. Either way the rug is priced on the rectangle it is cut from, not the shape itself, and the one thing the designer owns is the template.
This guide is for the designer who has drawn a curved, stepped, notched or free-form rug and needs to know whether it can be made, how, and what to send. It covers the two programs, the template, the edge finishes that follow a curve, the shapes we cut most, the pricing logic, and the questions a client will ask. The custom rugs guide covers the full custom process and the custom size rugs guide covers rectangles, rounds and L-shapes from broadloom; this one is about the shapes in between.
Two ways to make a custom shape
| Program | Shapes it suits | Minimum inside radius | Lead time | Constructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut from broadloom | Curved fronts, hearth notches, column cutouts, bay-window bows, trapezoids, soft ovals | About 12 in for binding, 6 in for serging | 3 to 5 weeks | Any of about 3,700 broadloom styles: wool, sisal, flatweave, Wilton, nylon |
| Made to shape by hand | Free-form and organic outlines, scallops, rings and shapes with holes, multi-lobed "bubble" rugs | About 2 in | Strike-off 4 to 6 weeks, production 18 to 20 weeks | Hand-tufted wool, hand-knotted wool and silk, hand-loomed |
Broadloom handles most architectural requests; the by-hand route is for the rug whose shape is the design. Hand-tufted is the usual choice because the tufter follows the outline on the backing cloth exactly and the edge is finished with a latex back and a stitched tape that takes any curve; a hand-knotted shape is woven as a rectangle and the shape is cut and overcast after, which is why hand-knotted shapes carry a waste charge.
The template: what to send
A dimensioned drawing works for a shape built from arcs and straight lines, and a CAD file (DWG, DXF or a PDF to scale) is best. For a free-form outline, send a full-size template: kraft paper, rosin paper or a roll of Mylar laid on the floor and marked, then photographed with a tape in the frame and shipped rolled, or the installer makes it at the site measure. For a rug that meets a curved wall or a hearth, the template is made from the wall itself, not from the plan, because a stone hearth is never the dimension on the drawing.
Edge finishes that follow a curve
Serging, a tight wrap of yarn over the cut edge, follows the tightest curves, down to a 6 inch radius, and reads as a hand-made edge on wool. Binding, a 1 1/4 inch cotton or linen tape folded over the edge, takes a gentle curve, about 12 inches and up, and puckers on anything tighter. A leather border at 1 1/2 to 4 inches is mitred at corners and will take a long sweep but not a tight one, so a leather-bordered rug with a curved front is usually serged on the curve and bordered on the straights. The binding and serging guide shows the finishes.
Shapes we cut most
- The curved-front living room rug, straight at the back wall and bowed at the sofa, for a room with a curved sectional; see the rug size for a sectional guide.
- The hearth notch, a rectangle with the corner cut out to sit against a raised stone or brick hearth.
- The column cutout, a rectangle or oval with a square or round hole where a structural column lands.
- The bay or bow window rug, a rectangle whose end follows the window bay in three facets or a sweep.
- The ring and the crescent, for a round dining room with a round table, or a curved stair landing.
- The organic blob, now the most searched irregular shaped rug, a lobed free-form outline that is almost always hand-tufted in two or three colors and sits under a coffee table rather than a sofa.
How an irregular rug is priced
Net pricing is quoted to trade accounts, and the logic is the same for every shape: the material is charged on the smallest rectangle the shape fits inside, because that is what is cut from the roll, and the finishing is charged by the linear foot of edge, with curves at a higher rate than straights. A 10 by 14 foot oval is a 10x14 in material plus about 38 feet of curved serging. A shape with a hole adds the inside edge. A hand-tufted shape is priced by the square foot of the bounding rectangle plus a shape setup.
Fiber and construction for a shaped rug
Dense, low constructions hold a cut edge best: Wilton wool, hand-loomed wool, sisal and a tight flatweave. A deep plush or a shag loses yarn at a curved edge and is a poor candidate for a complex outline. Hand-tufted wool at 1/2 inch is the workhorse for free-form shapes. Viscose and silk take a shape well in a bedroom and nowhere with traffic.
What to tell the installer
A shaped rug is placed to the template's reference wall, so the template or the drawing goes with the rug. Pad is cut 1 inch inside the outline, not as a rectangle underneath, or the pad shows at the curves. At a hearth or a column, the installer dry-fits first and trims the pad, never the rug.
Questions designers ask
Can any rug be cut to a custom shape?
Any broadloom can be cut to a template and serged or bound, with a 6 inch minimum radius for serging and 12 inches for binding. A finished rug with a woven border can be cut, but the border is lost on the cut side. Hand-knotted rugs are better woven to shape than cut.
How long does an irregular shaped rug take?
Cut from broadloom and finished, 3 to 5 weeks from approved sample and template. Hand-tufted or hand-knotted to shape, 4 to 6 weeks to a strike-off and 18 to 20 weeks of production.
Does a custom shape cost more than a rectangle?
Yes, by the extra edge finishing and the waste from the bounding rectangle. The material cost is the same as the rectangle the shape fits inside; curved edge finishing is more per foot than straight, and a shape with a hole adds the inside edge.
How accurate does the template have to be?
Within 1/2 inch for a rug that meets an architectural element, and within 1 to 2 inches for a free-standing shape. The finisher cuts to the template exactly, so the template is the rug. For a hearth or a column, make it from the room, not the plan.
Can a shaped rug be made in a round or an oval instead?
Often it should be. A round dining rug or an oval under a curved sofa answers most of the same rooms in a shape clients recognize; see the round custom rugs guide. The irregular shape earns its place when the room has a curve or an obstruction the standard shapes cannot follow.
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