This pattern incorporates a traditional nine-element design, consisting of three rows of three central elements. The design was inspired by the art of Native American pueblo dwellers of the American Southwest. The dwellings were often covered with adobe and embellished with angular, geometric designs such as those that create the intricate pattern of this blanket. Diamonds, crosses, arrows, and stepped, zigzag lines are common to Native American artistic traditions. Crosses often represent the four directions and zigzag lines, lightning or mountains.