More than just a sort of ornamental flooring, handmade rugs have other uses as well. Each item is a unique work of art made by an expert weaver. A weaver may spend days, weeks, or even years finishing each section of a rug manually tying each knot, depending on the size of the rug. There are many various types and designs of handmade rugs. The fascinating rug world has a lot to offer, ranging from handwoven rugs to hand-tufted, hand-knotted, hand-hooked, and flatweave carpets. The texture, durability, and strength of a handmade rug are determined by its creation. For instance, Oriental and Indian rugs with a high knot density often have a longer lifespan than flatweave and machine-made rugs.

Handmade Rug Types

Like many other works of art, handmade rugs need a great deal of labour, patience, and talent to create. The structure of a rug determines its worth because not all handmade carpets are manufactured in the same way. Here is a list of words you should be familiar with before we discuss the different types of rugs and how they are made:

Weft: The foundation of every handmade rug is made up of weft. The rug's horizontal yarn is what has been woven through it.

Warp: The rug's base is made up of a warp. The vertical yarn, which is often cotton, is what holds the top and bottom beams together.

Pile: The wool, cotton, or silk fibres affixed to the rug's backing provide a thickness that extends from the rug's base.

These fundamental elements may be found in both modern handmade carpets and traditional ones sold for the Western market. The weaving method is the only significant structural element that varies from one rug to another.

Hand-Knotted Rugs

These are the classic Persian rugs, still made in India, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, among other nations. India is a significant supplier of hand-knotted rugs, which are prized for their supple texture and toughness. How are hand-knotted rugs created? As the name implies, weavers proportionally tie knots to produce a pile to construct a hand-knotted rug. The stages that go into creating a hand-knotted rug are as follows:

Initially, one vertical warp on the left is traversed by the yarn or wool fibre.
The yarn is brought around to the right side of the warp after being passed forward.
The yarn is then threaded through the right side of the following warp.
Finally, the yarn is brought back to the front on the warp's left side.

There could be one to six million knots per square inch in a single area rug that is 8 by 10 feet in size. And it takes 12 to 14 months to make one of these hand-knotted rugs. Additionally, find out the rug's knot density from the rug dealer if you want to get a handcrafted rug like a contemporary rug and want something sturdy. Your rug would be more durable if it had a greater KPSI (knots per square inch) count!

Hand-Loomed & Flatweave Rugs

Unlike hand-knotted rugs, flat-weave rugs are woven on a loom, which makes the process less time-consuming. The weft is thrown through the centre of the top and bottom warps to create flatweave carpets, which lack a pile. After that, the warp and weft are both intertwined while the weaver beats the rug to make it more compact. Reversible flatweave carpets are the ideal choice for outdoor spaces where you want something lightweight and less expensive.

Loomed rugs feature a pile, unlike flatweave rugs, although the manufacturing technique is very similar. The top and bottom warps are still used, but now a rod pipe is used in place of the weft. As a result, the yarn is lifted, and a pile is created. Both methods are interchangeably used by the weavers when they create loomed rugs (passing the weft through warp and rod pipe). Finally, the weaver either cuts the loops created by the rod pipe, leaving them uncut for a richer texture or leaves them uncut.

Hand-Tufted Rugs

Loomed rugs and tufted carpets are both manufactured similarly. But when producing tufted carpets, a foundation fabric is employed as a starting point rather than only the warp and weft. This foundation cloth is a square-shaped pre-woven fabric. The foundation material is stretched taut and hung to start the process. The pattern is then created by the weavers using a tufting gun like the one in the image above. Using a tufting gun, yarn or wool fibres are shot from the back of the rug to the front. The rug pile is then created by cutting this yarn.

Hand-Hooked Rugs

Hand-hooked rugs are created on a pre-woven base cloth, just like hand-tufted carpets. The distinction is that the weavers pass the yarn through the rug's foundation using a hooking tool as opposed to a tufting gun. Additionally, as opposed to hand-tufted carpets, where the yarn is pushed from the back to the front, foundation rugs hook the yarn from the front to the rear before bringing it back to the front.

Make sure to take into account all the qualities you need when estimating a fine rug's value. A superb hand-knotted rug is a worthwhile investment due to the skill and labour that go into its creation. An original design that allows you to alter the position and surroundings of the rug placement is provided by the skill and craftsmanship of a hand-woven flat weave rug. Enjoy your search at Villedomo and make your decision.

Handmade Rug Types, Construction, and Weaving Techniques