The definition of an Oriental Rug is a hand knotted product.
People generally don't realize that it takes usually takes three to four men working on a 9 x 12 hand-knotted area rug a year to a year and a half, depending on the knot count to finish the entire rug. That's more labor hours to finish that rug than your average home in the United States.
Before hand knotting many processes have to be performed. The process used to make the yarn, either hand spun and dyed or machine spun and dyed, is only one process and generally dictates the cost of the area rug.
Hand spinning of the wool is another process that creates irregularity in the tension of its twist; it is inadvertently spun looser in some places and tighter in others. One practical effect of this irregularity is that, when soaked in dye, a hand spun yarn absorbs less where it is spun tightly and more where it is spun loosely. Because of these two factors & dash; the irregularity of colors, and the rug & the rugs irregular texture, results in a very handmade look.
Wool mainly, and silk rarely, are the chief materials for the finished pile. The dyeing process could be one of natural or chemical dyes. Your finer carpets are generally either vegetable, botanical or animal dyes, which are all considered to be natural dyes. The dyeing process until the middle of the nineteenth century were all of natural origin and the secrets of the craft were guarded by dye masters. At one time before the turn of the century, in Persia artificial dyes were banned because of the adverse effects on the economy it was having on family's who carry dye recipes that have been passed down from generations. But since time has passed most larger manufacturers of mass produced rugs will use modern synthetic dyes to keep the manufacturing costs down.
The patterns and design names of most hand knotted rugs are repeatedly the name of the village or town that the rug was woven in. Basically there are two types of knots used throughout the Orient and India for the actual knotting of the carpet. The Ghoirdes or Turkish knot, which is a full knot , and the Senneh or Persian knot, which is a half knot.
The actual base of the rug is woven threads going up and down called the warp, and threads going side to side called the weft are entwined 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.
After the hand weaving of these rugs the carpet is sheared and washed. The washing process is time consuming in its self. The rugs are laid out on a flat surface and washed with a broom back and forth by hand and then left to dry in the sun to set the dyes in the carpets, this process takes days.
These beautiful Persian and Oriental area rugs are inspired by traditional patterns and colors from Iran, Persia, China, and India. Persian and Oriental area rugs will provide you with a lifetime of beauty and service.
Let the Rug Goddess and her area rug consultants help educate you on picking the right Oriental or Traditional Area Rug. We can help save you hours and hours of time, not to mention lots of money.