In this second part (of a two-part blog series, the first part can be found here), we shall explore how Oriental rugs are constructed, the different techniques involved, and what the outcome of each of these techniques means for the rug that you buy. At Oriental Rug of Houston, we house a wide collection of Oriental rug types made through the hand-made process as well as the powerloom, both resulting in high-quality and durable authentic rugs that come from a long tradition of rug weaving in the Orient. Each design and rug type transparently guides all buyers, whether first time or experienced, on what they can expect from our rugs, and we enjoy providing a history of the rug design so that you feel connected to more than just the product but also its origin story while choosing the best rug for yourself. Without further ado, let's delve into the different techniques used in constructing an Oriental rug.
Table of Contents
An Oriental Rug in the Making
Different Techniques of Constructing an Oriental Rug
From antiquity to modernism, rug construction has seen a massive change. This is because of the nature of rugs' use, transforming from functional items of everyday life to art pieces that adorn a variety of interiors as globalised as the world we live in. While rugs began as mere floor coverings, the popularity of aesthetic rugs for transforming interior design date beyond the Renaissance itself, and the Oriental Rug market has dominated ever since. What started with the traditional hand-made process has now graduated to powerloom/machine-made production to meet the growing demand of a global oriental rug market. As a result, two different oriental rugs can look similar to the untrained eye, and while the design of the rug is what first attracts you, it is the construction of the rug that will determine its longevity, how it ages and its ultimate value. To understand an Oriental rug fully, we must look past the surface and into how it is made.
Foundation Materials: The Building Blocks
As seen in part one of this blog, oriental rugs come from diverse parts of the Eastern-lying continents. The variety of origin is reflected in the fibres chosen by each culture in the weaving of their rugs and constitutes the first critical decision in rug construction as it directly influences the final product's texture, appearance, and value. The most common fibers are:
Wool: Wool remains the predominant fiber in Oriental rug production, prized for its resilience, natural lanolin content, and ability to accept dyes. Historically, pastoral communities of the orient had easy access to wool fiber from sheep, and based on how the sheep were reared, their diet, and the over-all climatic conditions of the region, the wool obtained would either be coarse of fine. Wool form mountainous regions tends to be coarser and more durable, ideal for rugs subjected to heavy use, while wool from the Merino sheep is considered the finest in the world and finds use in many new age oriental rugs. Coarser wool can be found in Persian rugs originating from the pastoral tribal weaving traditions, Turkish Oushaks, and Tibetan rugs. Wool can be use in the both pile rugs (raised, soft surface created by yarn that stands up from the foundation giving the rug its plushiness) as well as flatweaves (rugs that have no raised surface as the rug yarn is tied tightly and results in a thin, flat, and lightweight rug). Wool rugs are an investment piece, and promise to last through generations making their maintenance all the more important.
Cotton: Serving a distinct structural role in oriental rugs, cotton is used in the foundation of the rug into which the rug fibers are tied by hand or by loom. It is less commonly used in the over-all construction of the rug design because of its tendency to mat. On the other-hand, serving as the rug's foundation or backing, cotton fiber is strong and can withstand the tension of a large volume of tightly tied knots, providing a great base for a variety of intricate or large designs. The most popular combination found across most oriental rugs, particularly Persian rugs, is a wool rug made on a cotton foundation.
The Foundation of quality - examining the texture and weave of Oriental rug fibers
Silk: The high-quality silk used in carpet weaving is produced by the mulberry silk moth scientifically called Bombyx mori, although there are other silk-producing moth varieties as well. Popularized through the Silk Road trade route between China and the Middle-East, silk rugs are known for their lustrous sheen and represent the apex of luxury in rug materials. The fine quality of the silk fibers results in photographic detail in rug designs and creates distinctive light-reflective properties that produce a light and dark side to the rug when viewed from different angles. Silk fibers are also exceptionally strong, making these rugs very durable. But given silk's expense, it's used primarily to the pile of showcase pieces or in accent details (touches of silk added to a wool pile to enrich the design) that highlight specific motifs instead of the entire rug, making 100% silk rugs a luxury item. They are worth investing in if you're looking for a beautiful rug that retains its beauty through the years.
Jute: Woven from natural plant fibers from the jute plant, the use of jute creates a textured, eco-friendly and an appearance in rugs. Jute's primary advantage is that it's biodegradable, inexpensive, and extremely durable for high-traffic areas of your home. They excel at adding warmth to any space, and pair beautifully when layered underneath a smaller rug. Do keep in mind to avoid placing these rugs in moisture prone areas such as kitchens and bathrooms as they are highly absorbent and may be difficult to clean if not dried properly.
Synthetic Fibers: The 20th Century introduced man-made fiber that fundamentally expanded the material palette available to rug manufacturers, particularly in the machine-made rug segment (more on machine-made rugs ahead). Synthetic fibers include nylon, polypropylene(olefin), polyester, viscose, and acrylic. While traditional Oriental rugs remain true to their use of natural fibers, synthetic materials have been incorporated in to serve legitimate purpose. They are great for outdoor use, high-moisture environs, and heavily used commercial spaces where budget constraints make natural fiber options impractical.
The Art of Dyeing Rug Fiber
Dyed fibers
While rug fiber has a beautiful color of its own, dyeing of the same from an aesthetic point-of-view is a crucial process of the rug's design and over-all character. Historically, dyes were derived from the natural sources available then including plants, insects, minerals, and dyeing recipes were developed and passed down through generations. madder root (reds), indigo (blues), turmeric and pomegranate rind (yellows), cochineal (pinks), and walnut husks (browns). These color have the characteristic quality of ageing gracefully into 'patina', a layer of color that developed because of the oxidation of the dye overtime. Today, synthetic chrome dyes have replaced the organic ones and introduced wider hues of colors that are faster to achieve and age just as well.
Another interesting process in the dying of rug fiber is that of 'abrash': the natural color variation in rugs caused by inconsistencies between separately dyed batches of the same color yarn that were then woven into the rug. Once considered a flaw, abarsh is now celebrated as evidence of authentic hand-made rugs and the natural dying process.
Hand-Made and Loom-Made Rugs: Where the Magic Begins
The distinction between hand-made and loom-made rugs represents a fundamental categorization in Oriental rug production, encompassing not merely manufacturing methodology but also cultural authenticity, labor investment, and market value. Traditional oriental rugs have always been made by hand, however, with the growth of the rug market and demand for these rugs in the west, powerloom-based machine made productions sprang and, today, hand-made and powerloom-made rugs are a parallel market which you can opt for based on your lifestyle and practicality.
Hand-Made Rugs: Hand-Knotted and Flatweaves
Hand-knotted rugs is the traditional method of creating oriental rugs, where skilled artisans tie individual pieces of colored yarn around a set of vertical threads called 'warps' stretched on a loom, one knot at a time. The weaver follows either a written pattern or works from memory, selecting the appropriate colored yarn for each knot to gradually build up the rug's design row by row.
Master artisan at work, patiently hand-knotting one knot at a time
After completing each horizontal row of knots, the weaver passes a horizontal thread called weft through the warps and beats it down with a comb-like tool to pack everything tightly together. This process is extraordinarily time consuming, and a single weaver might tie anywhere between 8000 to 12000 knots per day. Based on the intricacy of the design, the weaver can take months if not years to complete the piece. The density of the knots tied are measured per square inch of the rug resulting in the measure 'Knots Per Square Inch (KPSI)', which can be checked by seeing the rug's back. KPSI helps determine the resultant labor cost, refinement of the rug and it's underfoot-feeling, and over-all market value. In general, rugs with higher KPSI(300-1200) tend to be more expensive than rugs with lower KPSI (25-100). Interestingly, some weaving traditions have their own knot style, such as the Anatolian Ghiordes knot, the Persian Senneh, and the Tibetan knotting technique.
Traditional rug-making tools - metal comb and sickle
Advantages
Investment Piece: Hand-knotted rugs appreciate in value over-time, such as antique or vintage orientals, and make wonderful heirlooms.
Unique: No two hand-knotted rugs can be alike as each carries subtle irregularities in color, pattern, and weave, creating a distinctive one-of-a-kind piece.
Superior material: Hand-knotted rugs typically use high-quality material such as cotton for the foundation of the rug, and wool or silk in the pile.
Disadvantages
Functional art-piece: Hand-knotted rugs command a premium price because of the material used, time taken to construct, and extraordinary craftsmanship involved.
Maintenance: Although wool fibers offer a natural dirt repellent quality, hand-knotted rugs do require being shown some love through maintenance. This allows the rug to age gracefully and endure through time.
Weight: Weighing heavier than machine-made versions, hand-knotted rugs can be a bit difficult to move by yourself. it is advised that you seek assistance in moving the rug around your home.
Flatweaves rugs, too, are an ancient and traditional method of constructing an oriental rug. Historically prized by nomads for their lightness and versatility, flatweaves rugs originally take from other textile forms such as bags, tent drapes, bed coverings, saddlebags and the like, eventually employed to produce floor coverings are are, today, known by a variety of names such as the Turkish and Persian Kilim, the Indian Dhurry, or the Azerbaijanian Soumak. They are constructed in various techniques of inter-locking the rug fiber as opposed to knotting it on a foundation, resulting in rugs that are flat with no pile, lightweight, and Reversible.
Out stunning wool flatweave
Advantages
Lightweight, Versatile, and Reversible: As mentioned earlier, the construction of a flatweave rug makes it super light and easy to move, hang, fold ad stow away for later use. They are also reversible as you will find that they rug fiber is not knotted or punched into a foundation, allowing these rugs to be used in either direction.
Easy Cleaning: Without a pile for the dirt to hide in, flatweaves are easier to spot-clean, vacuum, and dry-out.
Durability: If properly cared for, a flatweave rug will reward you with years of longevity in remarkable condition. This means that you should ideally avoid placing the flatweave in a super high-traffic area of your home such as thresholds.
Disadvantages
Underfoot Comfort: The absence of pile in these rugs means that while still functional, flatweave rugs offer limited insulation and cushioning underfoot particularly on hardwood floors. Although, their decorative ability can definitely be harnessed to overcome this by layering your flatweave atop another rug, creating insulation and anti-slip padding underfoot while also serving as a unique and stylistic way of placing your rug.
Machine-Made Rugs
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th-19th Century, the carpet weaving industry was amongst the other domains which saw a transformation in the way that the textile was produced with the introduction of the powerloom. To be sure, different types of looms were used earlier as well, such as the two-forked handloom and the Jaquard Mechanism, but the powerloom took each region's rug production capabilities and supply chains to a whole different level. On the whole, the 'loom' is the fundamental architectural framework upon which all rug construction depends as its design influences the weaving process. Contemporary powerlooms are electric machines that automate the interlacing of warp and weft threads at high speed, serving as the industrial counterpart to the hand-knotting process. A computerized digital pattern is fed into the machine which then replicates the design mechanically and uniformly across the entire rug surface. The knotting of the rug fibers in this case typically takes place by looping the fiber and adhering it to a synthetic backing.
Advantages
Speed and Volume: Machine or powerloom rugs can be completed within hours, as opposed to hand-knotted rugs that may take months if not years.
Affordability: Because of the speed of the machines, powerloom rugs are widely available and, thus, more affordable if you're looking for a beautiful oriental rug design at a non-premium price point.
Consistency: Precision and accuracy are hallmarks of the powerloom process, resulting in rugs with no irregularities of design.
Disadvantages
Authenticity: The machine-mad rug, no matter how accurate, is not a one-of-a-kind like the hand-knotted rug. The rug's design will remain authentic to its roots, but the construction of the rug may not. If artisinal heritage and and cultural history are of great importance to you, a hand-knotted rug is the best way to go.
Shorter Lifespan: Without individually tied knots anchoring the pile to the foundation, fibers are more prone to shedding, but not to the extent that the entire rug will disintegrate at your feet. Simply, the rug will begin to age sooner than a hand-knotted rug.
Depreciation: Unlike authentic Oriental rugs which appreciate in value as they age, powerloom rugs depreciate overtime and hold little to no resale value.
Hand-tufting combines handicraft with modern efficiency
Hand - Tufted Rugs: The Hybrid Category
Hand-tufted rugs are a distinct hybrid category of rugs that combines both, the hand-made and machine-made process of rug construction. It is said to have originated in the United States in the 20th Century to meet the demand for affordable, decorative rugs with a semblance of handicraft quality, and today many such rugs can be produced by DIY (do-it-yourself) at a reasonable price. Hand-tufted rugs are made by using a tufting gun used by hand that punches yarn through a canvas foundation to create pile. Once complete, the canvas backing is then secured by an adhesive backing to hold the knots punched in place.
Advantages
Affordability: Aided by the tufting gun and adhesive backing, these rugs are not as premium priced as hand-knotted rugs and makes them more accessible if you're looking for quality craftsmanship but cannot afford the premium prices of traditional hand-knotted rugs.
Softer Pile: Featuring deep, luxurious pile heights, hand-tufted rugs feel exceptionally soft and cushioned underfoot and can be quite cozy.
Disadvantages
Durability: Because the rug knots are held in place via adhesive, and not built structurally in to the rug's foundation as in hand-knotted rugs, it is common to find little bits of yarn pulled loose. This does not in anyway mean the rug will fall apart, but that shedding of yarn is a completely normal of the rug's construction. This also mean that these rug don't have as long a life-span as hand-knotted rugs.
Placement: Given the durability of the rug, hand-tufted rugs are not well-suited for high-traffic areas such as kitchens or entryways and can cause it to age prematurely.
Little investment value: Hand-tufted rugs don't sell well as vintage or used should you wish to sell your rug forward.
Finishing Touches: From Loom to Floor
The completion of the rug weaving process marks for you the beginning of the rug's transformation into a finished and cherished textile art. There are multiple post-weaving procedures valued and followed across the globe, and each process constitutes multiple steps to ensure that the rug is prepared for its final appearance, longevity, and market value.
The final transformation - an artisan fixing an Oriental rug's knots
In hand-knotted rugs, typically the first of these is cutting the completed rug from the loom by severing the warp and weft threads. Once cut, the exposed threads are then secured immediately to prevent the entire structure for unraveling by tying the threads into a fringe, either by simple knotting or braiding. As the rug fringes are the most-stress prone areas of the rug, we at Oriental Rug of Houston like to keep our rug fringes shorter so as to avoid excessive distress and tangling of the threads as well as to give our rugs a neater appearance. In machine-made rugs, on the other hand, the rug is cut from rolls of continuously produced material and the fringes are added to the rug's end later.
The next step, in the case of pile-rugs, is shearing or pile-trimming. Here, the irregularities in the rug's pile length are evened out uniformly using specialised scissors to clarify the rug's pattern. Shearing is also used to create pile of varying depths as a design in the rug itself. Embossing is another shearing method done specifically around design motifs to add detailing or to make the motif protrude from the background.
The final finishing process is marked with the washing of the rug to remove any dust and loose fibres from the rug's foundation. The number of washes to the rug varies as per manufacturer as well as overall rug design. For instance, some Oushak rugs are purposefully given a vintage distressed look (intentionally worn and weathered, sometimes with rug foundation visible in between designs) and so will wash and treat the rug accordingly (chemical washing, controlled bleaching, stone-washing etc) to achieve the desired look.
Lastly, the rug is dried and stretched, either manually or via a machine, to ensure that the final product has no moisture content or curved edges. Here, manufacturers can choose to give the rug a final clipping before they pack and bail it for you.
At last....
We've seen that the Oriental rug construction combines technical mastery, vision, cultural continuation, and adaptability through the ages. Understanding this methodology allows you to appreciate the the extraordinary process of behind the final art form that is the oriental rug. Each type of rug construction methods comes with its own set of pros and cons, and it is up to you as the buyer to see what suits you and your lifestyle best. At the end of the day, an Oriental rug is meant to be cherished, enjoyed and loved.