Learning about Antique Rug Wefts When Weaving Carpets
Rug Wefts – The ancient and complex art of fine rug making has been practiced for centuries. As is the case with most artistic practices, the construction of fine rugs, carpets, kilims, and other weaves is something that has been meticulously studied.
Such study is important for the broader appreciation of the practice, as well as for its continued utilization by artists and craftspeople. Two of the most basic units that make up rugs and other weaves are the rug wefts and the Rug Warps.
Rug Wefts
The area rug’s wefts are the yarns that run horizontally on the loom, over and under each successive vertical Rug Warp. The wefts may be made of entirely wool, cotton, or silk, or some combination thereof, and they may be plied or unplied. The wefts may then be compressed vertically with a weaver’s comb to cover the warps entirely, producing a simple ‘weft-faced tapestry‘ or kilim.
Carpet Wefts
Alternatively, the weaver may repeatedly introduce a row of looped ‘knots’ in between several passes of wefting which can then be uniformly clipped to produce pile. Though this process may seem as straightforward as possible, it is in fact a very scientific, very precise discipline that requires experience and an incredible attention to detail to get exactly right.
Just as with other artistic practices, the process behind the creation of a gorgeous, timelessly beautiful rug is of the paramount importance. At the end of the day, it is the successful, skillful execution of this age-old process that will determine whether the artisan will produce a truly exceptional work.