First the latest and new kolam designs for this special season for kolams.
![Margali-matham-kolam-1.jpg]( "a special colourful 15 dot colourful kolam")
The first kolam for the Margazhi season 2014. A flower kolam or poo kolam . This is quite a common kolam design with five flowers each with four two lobed petals as shown. The flower is drawn at the centre of the grid and on all four sides. The remaining dots are used to create patterns as shown. Finally add some small leaf patterns. Since it is a Margazhi special it is important to fill with beauitful colours - the entire kolam - not only the designs but also the gaps are filled up with various colours, pink, yellow and blue as shown. The centre of the flower is also decorated with white designs. The dot grid used is fifteen dot three rows, then upto three dots (ner pulli ). Though it is a 15 dot rangoli kolam it is quite simple and can be easily completed in a short time. Please try for this Margazhi. Intermediate steps are shown in the pics below. A similar floral kolam drawn free hand is also shown in this collection.![Margali-matham-kolam-2.jpg]( "filling the colours in the white rangoli or kolam")
![Margali-matham-kolam-3jpg]( "step showing how the floral patterns are drawn in the dot grid")
No collection of butterfly rangoli designs can be complete without the common butterfly rangoli with 8 by 8 dot grid. Four butterflies are drawn on four sides with a flower at the centre. There is another common rangoli with the word WELCOME running vertically and horizontally with the butterflies at the corners. The two images show the intermediate steps. It is better to draw the thorax and antennae of the butterfly before drawing the wings. It is easier that way and one will not get confused. Of course we have to make the final design as colourful as possible also because they are butterflies.
![butterfly-kolam-step-2.jpg]( "drawing the wings")
![butterfly-kolam-1.jpg]( "8 dots butterfly kolam")
![butterfly-rangoli-1812-4.jpg]( "rangoli withbutterflies and leaves")
![butterfly-rangoli-1812-4a.jpg]( "drawing the central pattern and butterflies")
The next kolam, a butterfly rangoli design without dots. It is combination of butterflies, flowers and leaves. First draw the star shape with two inverted triangles. Between any two sides draw the butterfly designs in blue and yellow ( I am not aware of such a butterfly in nature but give some allowance for my imagination!). Between two butterflies draw the flowers and leaf patterns and add suitable colours to complete the design. A simple rangoli with nature as theme (butterflies, flowers and leaves are congruous and hence suitable for a theme ) for competitions or for festivals. Of course it can be developed further from here. if there are no constraints. This also suitable for Margazhi season when we see many colourful and beautiful kolam designs
The next few kolam designs for Margazhi are already there in Rangolisansdots. Though I like them they have not become popular probably because they were hidden in some posts. So I have compiled some of them and moved them to this post for Markazhi month kolam. Hope you like them.
15 dots poo kolam for Margazhi
The first kolam for the Margazhi season 2014. A flower kolam or poo kolam . This is quite a common kolam design with five flowers each with four two lobed petals as shown. The flower is drawn at the centre of the grid and on all four sides. The remaining dots are used to create patterns as shown. Finally add some small leaf patterns. Since it is a Margazhi special it is important to fill with beauitful colours - the entire kolam - not only the designs but also the gaps are filled up with various colours, pink, yellow and blue as shown. The centre of the flower is also decorated with white designs. The dot grid used is fifteen dot three rows, then upto three dots (ner pulli ). Though it is a 15 dot rangoli kolam it is quite simple and can be easily completed in a short time. Please try for this Margazhi. Intermediate steps are shown in the pics below. A similar floral kolam drawn free hand is also shown in this collection.
No collection of butterfly rangoli designs can be complete without the common butterfly rangoli with 8 by 8 dot grid. Four butterflies are drawn on four sides with a flower at the centre. There is another common rangoli with the word WELCOME running vertically and horizontally with the butterflies at the corners. The two images show the intermediate steps. It is better to draw the thorax and antennae of the butterfly before drawing the wings. It is easier that way and one will not get confused. Of course we have to make the final design as colourful as possible also because they are butterflies.
Butterfly dotted rangoli or butterfly kolam with dots for Margazhi and Pongal
The next kolam, a butterfly rangoli design without dots. It is combination of butterflies, flowers and leaves. First draw the star shape with two inverted triangles. Between any two sides draw the butterfly designs in blue and yellow ( I am not aware of such a butterfly in nature but give some allowance for my imagination!). Between two butterflies draw the flowers and leaf patterns and add suitable colours to complete the design. A simple rangoli with nature as theme (butterflies, flowers and leaves are congruous and hence suitable for a theme ) for competitions or for festivals. Of course it can be developed further from here. if there are no constraints. This also suitable for Margazhi season when we see many colourful and beautiful kolam designsFlower kolam without dots for Margazhi and Pongal
The first kolam is floral design with with pink and blue flowers decorated with a white and green border. This floral motif is regularly used in rangolis. It has a central design formed with overlapping basic patterns as shown. From eight of the edges so formed leaving the remaining eight due to lack of space, eight flowers with four petals each are formed. The kolam is then covered with a single line border. The flowers are filled with blue and pink colours alternately. The kolam border has one more green colour line added parallel to the original border. Finally the flowers and the centre are decorated with white rangoli to get this free hand kolam. If you observe closely, the design formed is flowers inside a flower. A very different free hand kolam.
The second kolam has a floral design at the centre. The edges of petals are decorated with circular patterns that are further expanded to form the final floral pattern. Rhombus shaped designs are added on the circumference and the design is filled with colours to complete the kolam. The design below is show how by just adding a few patterns with white rangoli a kolam can be further beautified. In the kolam below free hand patterns are drawn inside the central flower and the periphery and of course in the circles and outer petals. See the difference it makes to the rangoli above. Thus by adding even simple free hand designs the a kolam can be made more beautiful.
Flower kolam without dots with leaves
Many kolam in Rangoli-sans-dots are drawn without any preparation. Very few finishing touches are given. All are of the 'no frills' type. The idea is to get an image as one would when she/he draws on the floor.I felt that this method would ensure that the images uploaded are congruous with or closer to to our real life. Above, one more rangoli for the upcoming festival season, a combination of petals and leaves. As stated elsewhere, we have to borrow a lot from nature for our rangoli designs - flowers, leaves, birds are usually used for our designs. Draw the flower design at the centre with seven petal. From each petal draw leaves extending outward with three smaller leaves extending inward. All the leaves are interconnected with simple patterns in blue. The flower is filled with pink colour and leaves, obviously, green. Some simple patterns at the centre and circles around the circumference complete the rangoli. The gaps that are seen can also be filled with a bright colour.. We can also decorate the periphery with designs using white rangoli powder. or with any other colour/colours to suit this design. The options are many.
lotus kolam without dots
Two images showing two steps in drawing the lotus rangoli ( or mandala )
Lotus is considered important in rangoli Above I have tried my version of a lotus kolam for Margazhi. The Hridaya kamalam is a lotus viewed from the top. This mandala (or rangoli) above has the side views of four lotuses at right angles to each other. The pattern at the centre can be drawn as shown in the image or we can draw any pattern suitable to draw four lotuses above and around it. First the three-petal motif is drawn and then four flowers are drawn on the four sides. Fill with pink and any other colour to complete the design. If required a circular border can be drawn around it . Since it is an auspicious symbol this design can be used for festivals like Varalakshmi Pooja, Raksha Bandhan and Navaratri.
This kolam on the left is a free hand design with four birds. Though not as colourful as the birds found in nature it is a simple rangoli that an individual can try, practise and draw and that is the aim or Rangoli-sans-dots - to give ideas for simple rangoli designs that can be drawn by an individual. Usually the very big designs that are seen in public functions are drawn by two or more people. Even drawing this simple design and filling the colours may take 15 30 minutes. So far as this kolam is concerned start with a square (pink ) at the centre. Using each side draw the bird designs so that the body of the bird comes inside the square as shown. This portion will be pink in colour and can be erased by filling with colours blue, green, red to get the complete the bird design. 
The next kolam is a beautiful design inspired by circular or wheel patterns. Draw the long triangles around the circles. At the base of the triangle add the patterns as shown. Finally draw the curved lines in the opposite direction. . Adding white lines after filling the colours gives a totally different effect to the rangoli.
The same rangoli in the previous stage.. A beautiful and symmetrical rangoli that resembles a wheel. Draw the central triangular patterns coloured in pink and grey. On the arms draw floral patterns and leaf designs above them. It is as if the leaf is protecting the floral designs. Add some simple curved lines with white rangoli powder. While the leaves appear to be anti-clockwise the white patterns are clockwise to give a unique effect to the rangoli. Suitable as a simple rangoli for Diwali.
Again all these simple kolam designs without dots can be drawn for all occasions, for learning or as simple rangoli designs for Diwali, Margazhi and Sankranthi.The design on the left is a complete floral design rangoli. The inner most pattern at the centre has floral petals orange in colour. It is surrounded by a double line border that is actually a flower. On each petal of this flower I have drawn petals or flowers with two different colours, pink and orange. so instead of using different colours for petals of the same flower as in the first two I have tried something different with flowers of different colours to produce another type of multi-colour floral rangoli. It is a free hand design with parallel lines and flowers on the outside are drawn with single lines. After completing the plain rangoli fill with colours and add some white and red or orange lines to depict the petals. Some simple spiral patterns and green leaves are also used.