Garba wheel rangoli

How to draw it, step by step

Sweep the floor and wipe it with a damp cloth so the powder grips. Mark the centre with chalk. Then follow the pictures. Each one adds one part.

1. Make a small filled circle in red. This is the centre of the whole design, so place it carefully.

2. Draw twelve short pointed petals around the centre, filled in yellow. Mark the twelve tips with dots first so the petals come out even.

3. Draw a thin white circle around the design. A string held at the centre, with chalk at the other end, keeps it round.

4. Add twelve small green diamonds in a ring, one in each gap.

5. Place twenty-four white dots in a ring. Drop a pinch of powder and press lightly for each dot.

6. Finish the edge with eighteen small half-circles in pink, touching each other like a lace border.

Tip: Count twelve points around the white ring before you start the diamonds. Twelve is easy: mark a clock face.

Where it works best

Draw it in the middle of the garba ground or the society hall before the dancing begins, large enough to be seen from the edge of the circle. On a floor that will be danced on, chalk paste or wet rice paste lasts far longer than loose powder.

What usually goes wrong, and the fix

A wheel must look as if it turns, and that comes from perfectly even spacing. Mark twelve points like a clock face before drawing any diamond. Repeat the colours in a fixed order all the way round, and check the order before you start the last quarter. More fixes are on rangoli problems and fixes.

Make it your own

• Swap one ring of petals for flower petals or for real diyas placed on the floor.
• Add one of the border designs around it to make it larger without drawing a harder centre.
• Print the outline and try two or three colour plans with pencils before you choose.

New to rangoli? Read how to make rangoli and colours and materials first.

More designs like this

• LotusMedium
• Peacock feathersMedium
• Eight petal flowerEasy
• Circle of diyasMedium