Darja Checkered Moroccan Rug

From the air a dry plain cut into blocks. Darja is a step in Moroccan Arabic, and this checkered Berber rug climbs the same way: every edge turns in steps. Weavers once climbed it row by row from memory. Zarbish makes it today.

The light lines are a single knot wide and turn corners cleanly, so the nested frames read as if ruled, until a close look shows each corner is a knot or two off square. The checker inside sits lower in tone than the frame, and the side blocks are the deepest wool on the rug.