MondArt - Persian & Oriental Rug Warehouse

Every Persian or Oriental rug and carpet is crafted using techniques that are unique to the craftsman. These techniques may be determined by the region from which they hail, the type of rug they make, and/or even the trade secrets passed down through the generations in a single family.

However, no matter what the style, each rug is generally composed of four parts: the warps, wefts, knots and end finishes/fringe.

Warps
A rug starts with the warps. On a loom, the warps are the strings that stretch from beam to beam, and can be considered the base on which the rug is created. While the vast majority of Persian and Oriental rugs feature cotton warps, they may also be wool.

Wefts
Woven through the warps width-wise are wefts. Wefts can be considered part of the base, and are woven between rows of knots to provide support. Again, cotton is a common material for wefts however wool and silk may also be used. In most cases, the material is the same as the warps.

Knots
Each pair of warps is bound by a knot of yarn. The standing ends of each knot are cut, and it is this that creates the “pile” of a rug or carpet. Persian and Oriental rugs are knotted in two distinct styles: Turkish or Persian. The Turkish style, also known as Traditional or Symmetrical, is a double knot (and as a result, is generally considered to be more durable) while the Persian, also known as Commercial or Asymmetrical, is single.

While the craftsmanship of every part of a rug is essential in determining its quality, the knot is often considered to be the most important.

End Finishes/Fringe
Once the body of a rug or carpet is deemed complete, it is finished by wrapping the warps with yarn. It is important to reinforce edges so that it resists damage and unraveling. In the instance of finer Persian and Oriental carpets, a fringe may be added at the edges by knotting bundles of warps together once the piece has been removed from the loom, rather than being made separately and then glued on at the end. As a result, fringe may not only be decorative, it may also provide additional reinforcement and support.

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Rug Construction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.