So Tom or anyone, how do they know where to put the different colors. Is the pattern painted on the warp yarns before they begin tying?
Here is some of the answers to your question:
In some cases there are designers that fashion the look of a rug. A ‘cartoon’ is made on graph paper. The units of measurements on the graph paper prove to be the guide for the weaver for locating the knots and colored yarn.
In other cases, the weaver has it in their mind and the imagination flows out so that art, in the form of a rug, appears in a series of woven colored yarn. The craft of the experienced and talented weaver really is something to behold.
Often tufted rug designs are drawn on the foundation much like a coloring book. Then the operator fills in the lines with color yarn as the ‘cartoon’ describes. Much like coloring in a coloring book.
Look at some the pictures under the thread:
Rug Production Pictures of ALL Sorts
You will see the “cartoons” on the loom. The weavers are consulting these paper documents.