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Turn a plain jute rug into a bright Berber-inspired floor cover using a simple embroidery technique called couching

Spruce up your floors with a DIY design inspired by traditional Berber crafts. Berber communities originate from the Atlas mountains in North Africa, spanning countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Their distinct aesthetic features shapes that have special meanings, and these were often incorporated into gorgeous woven looped rugs. Try our project using coloured rope to add pattern to a plain rug, and invite the beautiful Berber style into your home.

1 Start by planning out a rough design on paper. Use a large A3 sheet to help you visualise where you'd like to place your motifs. Look for existing lines within the rug design to help you create sections. Begin with a motif in the centre of the rug (such as a classic Berber diamond shape) and a border, then balance out your design by drawing shapes on either side of the centre point.

2 Using tailor's chalk, draw the first section of your design onto the rug (we started with the border). Don't worry if you make any mistakes, just rub off the chalk with a damp cloth and start again. Mark one section or motif at a time, otherwise the chalk will rub off as you handle the rug when stitching the pattern.