We are often asked about the differences in the way area rugs are manufactured.
There are basically three kinds of area rugs.
- Hand Knotted Area Rugs
- Machine Made Area Rugs
- Hand Tufted Area Rugs
Hand knotted area rugs are by far the best area rug you can buy, depending on the knot count per inch. It is also the hardest category to acquire.
It takes many years to learn the different origins and meaning of the symbols used when making a hand knotted area rug, but once you get interested in rugs, it becomes almost an addiction. They are true pieces of artwork and they wear like iron!
If you invest in a hand knotted rug for the first time, you will completely understand the reason why these beautiful rugs cost more than the other alternatives listed above.
Did you know the average hand knotted 9 x 12 rug can take up to four men working on it for over a year? That’s more man-hours than building your average home here in the states. That means it would take a skillful weaver 6480 hours to weave a 9x12-foot area rug with a density of 150 knots per square inch. That’s why they usually have two to three workers on a single rug. It helps to reduce the time to make that area rug.
Because they are hand made, each rug is unique in its own way. It is nice to know that no one else will have the exact same rug as you. Before the manufacturing process begins, there are several decisions that have to be made first like which type of wool to use. There are various wools throughout the world and every nation thinks there’s is better. I prefer New Zealand Wool and Tibetan Wool.
The New Zealand Wool I briefly touched on in the machine made area rug section, so please refer to that page for more information. Tibetan Wool, because the sheep run wild and because of the high altitudes at which they live, the wool is very strong and full of lanolin. It’s really thick and luxurious. The slight texture has a more casual feel to it than the New Zealand wool and has more of a mat finish to the pile.
The raw materials must be sorted, scoured, and spun into yarn. Now days the yarn can be spun and spooled by machine and even dyed to the perfect color, which cuts some of the labor time down. But the area rug is still all hand made. The manufacturing process is made up of woven threads going up and down called the warp and while the threads going side to side are called the weft. They are intertwined together to create a base structure to weave the rug.
After one row of knots is finished a mallet is used to condense the pile. This will be repeated time and time again to ensure the pile is as dense as it can be. The tightness of the pile affects the wear ability of the rug. The more knots per inch, the longer it will last and give you years and years of enjoyment.
These rugs are meant for wear and tear. Remember the wool is a real animal that was raised outside under all the elements the world can toss at it. Don’t fret if you have something happen to your area rug. The most important thing to remember is to never scrub, always blot your rug if you get a spot on it. Then call a professional, which well gladly recommend.
Our in home consultation services are perfect if you are not sure what to do. Our area rug designers can help quide you down the right path.
Call the Rug Goddess today at 1-800-481-1572!