Guide · For the trade
Custom round rug: the three ways to make one, the diameter limits and what to send
A custom round rug is made one of three ways: cut from broadloom and serged, which handles any diameter up to the roll width (12 ft, 13 ft 2 in or 15 ft) in 3 to 5 weeks; recolored or resized on a mill's own program in 8 to 16 weeks; or woven to the circle by hand in hand-tufted or hand-knotted wool, with a strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks and production in 18 to 20 weeks. The common diameters are 6, 8 and 10 ft; anything is possible, and a round larger than the roll width is seamed or hand-made.
This guide is for the designer with a round table, a rotunda, a bay window or a client who wants a circle and cannot find the diameter or the color in a line. It covers which route fits the job, how a circle is cut and finished, the diameter limits, pattern and border on a curve, what we need to quote and the timeline. For the standard diameters and what goes under which table, see the round rug sizes guide; this one is about making a round that is not standard.
Why custom is the usual answer for a round
Round rugs are a small share of what the mills weave: 111 rounds and squares in our catalog against thousands of rectangles, most of them 6 and 8 ft in machine-woven polypropylene or hand-tufted wool. The diameters stop at 8 or 10 ft and a round in a sisal, a wool Wilton or a flatweave almost never exists as a listed size, so a round that matches the hall broadloom, a 12 ft round under a 72 inch table, or a circle in the client's colors is a custom order more often than not.
The three routes to a custom round rug
| Route | Diameter range | Lead time | Edge | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut and serged from broadloom | 3 ft to 15 ft in one piece; larger with a seam | 3 to 5 weeks | Serged, or a narrow binding; a leather or fabric border is mitered in segments | You want the round in a carpet from the catalog, a matching stair or hall, a large diameter or a quick date |
| Mill custom program | Usually 4 ft to 12 ft | 8 to 16 weeks | The line's own finish | A line's round design in a new color or a diameter the line does not list |
| Hand-made to the circle | 3 ft to 20 ft and beyond | Strike-off 4 to 6 weeks, production 18 to 20 weeks | Woven selvedge; no seam at any size | A medallion, a radial pattern, a logo, a rotunda, or fibers and knot counts no line reaches |
How a round is cut from broadloom
The circle is cut from a square of carpet one diameter on a side, so an 8 ft round comes out of an 8 by 8 ft piece and the four corners, about 21 percent of the square, are waste; that waste is in the quote and is why a round costs more per square foot of finished rug than a rectangle. The cut is made from a template and the finisher serges the edge with a yarn that follows the curve cleanly. Binding tape can be sewn on a curve at diameters of 6 ft and up, eased around the circle; below 6 ft the tape puckers and serging is the right finish. A wide fabric or leather border is made in mitered segments, usually 8 to 16 of them, and the joins show as a feature of the piece, so we show the client a drawing first. Roll width caps the one-piece diameter: 12 ft from a 12 ft roll, 13 ft from a 13 ft 2 in roll, 15 ft from a 15 ft roll. A 16 or 18 ft round is cut from two drops with one seam across the center, which disappears in a solid and shows in a stripe. The bound carpet rugs guide covers the finishes.
Pattern on a circle: centering and direction
A circle has a center and the eye finds it. On a patterned broadloom the cut is placed so a motif or the intersection of a grid lands at the center and the pattern reads symmetrically at the edge; tell us which element to center and we place the template on the roll. A stripe on a round reads as a direction, which can be the point under a long table in a round room and otherwise argues for a texture or a solid. A border woven into the broadloom cannot follow the curve, so a bordered round is either a hand-made piece with the border woven to the circle or a cut round with an applied border. For a medallion, a radial design, a logo or a pattern that turns with the circle, the hand-made route is the only one: the rendering shows the design at the finished diameter and the strike-off is a wedge of it with the edge. The rug renderings guide walks through what you receive, and the logo rugs guide covers artwork and the commercial fire ratings.
What to send to quote a custom round rug
- The finished diameter, and the room dimensions if you want us to check it. Under a round table, the table diameter plus 24 inches on every side is the minimum: a 48 inch table takes an 8 ft round, a 60 inch table a 9 ft, a 72 inch table a 10 ft.
- The carpet style and color, or the look if it is a hand-made piece: poms, a fabric, a paint chip, a photo.
- The edge: serged, bound or bordered, and the border material.
- Anything to center: a motif, a logo, a compass point in the room.
- The floor it sits on, so we specify the pad cut to the same template; a round has no corners to pin it and drifts without one.
- The ship-to address and the install date.
A cut-and-serged round is quoted in a day or two; a hand-made round with the rendering.
Questions designers ask
How large can a custom round rug be?
In one piece, the roll width: 12 ft, 13 ft or 15 ft depending on the carpet. Larger rounds are seamed across the center from two drops, or hand-made to any diameter without a seam; hand-knotted and hand-tufted rounds of 20 ft and more are woven for rotundas and lobbies on the same timeline as any full custom piece.
Can a round rug be cut from the same carpet as the hall or the stair?
Yes, and it is the most common custom round we make: the stair runner, the hall runner and a round in the entry or under the breakfast table from one broadloom in one dye lot. Order them together so the color matches.
How long does a custom round rug take?
Cut and serged from broadloom, 3 to 5 weeks. A mill's custom program, 8 to 16 weeks. Hand-made to the circle, a strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks and 18 to 20 weeks of production after approval, then freight and installation anywhere in the United States.
Does a round cost more than a rectangle of the same size?
Per square foot of finished rug, yes, because the corners of the square are cut away and the curved edge takes more finishing time. Net pricing is quoted to trade accounts with the carpet and the finish specified.
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