How Rugs & Carpets are Made

Hand-made rugs have a certain built-in value that ranks them above machine-made products. Hand-made labor is more costly and carries with it a certain expectation of care and quality. Hand-made carpets involve an endless series of choices and decisions, minor twists and turns, that collectively give the piece its personality and presence, something that the finest machine made carpet lacks.

Since the advent of western industrialization in the nineteenth century, rugs have been manufactured by machine loom processes of various types. Such rugs are generally made from the same materials as hand-made rugs, wool, silk, and cotton, often of high quality. The the standards of fabrication may also be high, and consistently so. But machine made rugs are mechanical in their execution, and often in their design as well. more about Machine-Made Rugs & Carpets

The materials that go into a rug are as important as the design and workmanship. They contribute enormously to the overall impression of the rug – its color, texture, tactile feel, and above all its durability. Wool, Cotton, Silk, Dyes

The processing of the raw materials and the way that rugs are woven have an enormous effect on their quality, durability and value. One needs to appreciate these issues to evaluate its worth. Some knowledge of the weaving technique is also indispensable in identifying carpet types as well as the age of a piece. Such 'structural' considerations are far more instructive than the design in assessing the origin and quality of rugs. Shearing, Carding, Spinning, Loom, Foundation, Warp, Depressed Warps, Wefts

The so-called knots that make up a pile carpet are not actually knots, but loops, wrapped around pairs of adjacent warps. They may be wrapped in several configurations. In all cases they consist of the knot collar – the portion that literally wrap around the warps – and the ends that actually constitute the pile. more about Types of Knots Used in Pile Rugs & Carpets