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. Symmetrical knots, also known as Ghiordes or Turkish
knots, have both ends of the yarn coming up together between two warps, with
the knot collar wrapping around two warps. Asymmetrical knots, also known as
Senneh or Persian knots, have the ends coming up singly between each pair of
warps with a knot collar around every other warp. Jufti knots may be
symmetrical or asymmetrical, but they utilize these configurations around
pairs of warps rather than single warps, making the pile less dense and
quicker to produce. Spanish knots are wrapped symmetrically around every
other single warp in an actual knot, the only rug knot that truly merits the
term.
