Area rugs are a trendy and valuable addition to any home. They can be used in various ways, from adding warmth to the room during the winter months or creating a comfortable place for your pets to sleep. Area rugs also help provide grip when walking on hardwood floors and protect softer surfaces like wood, tile, and carpeting. But before you buy that new rug for your living room, take the time to learn about how they’re made! Are you interested in learning about the process of rug making? If so, then this blog post is for you! Here is the step-by-step process that is used to craft the best area rugs.
Weaving of Rugs
Rugs are weaved or crafted by knotting individual strands of yarn together. The process begins by placing the warp on a loom, which holds the vertical threads in place while weaving. Weaving is done with two sets of strings at right angles to each other called “warp” and “weft,” or warp and woof. The warp threads are strung along the loom, held taut in place by a frame. The warp runs parallel to the floor and is threaded through holes called “nodes,” which contain it firmly in place.
After this process has been completed, the weft threading begins weaving back and forth across the rug’s width. This makes the pile, which is the finished surface of the rug. The weft threading is added in a figure-eight motion around two warp threads at once to create an even, flat foundation for the yarns that will be used for the weave or pile portion of your new area rug. The pile is the finished surface of your area rug, which will be made from wool or synthetic fibers.
The Material Of the Rug
The crafters use wool, silk, or synthetic materials, which are then hand-hooked using dyes. First, cut the yarn into short strips and then use a crochet hook to create individually knotted loops. This is how they make silk rugs. The process of making an area rug using synthetic material involves sewing together pieces of fabric. Which are then cut and sewn in layers until it forms a finished piece that can be rolled up for shipping or displayed on the floor.
For the use of natural materials, they turn to wool. Wool is the choice for many home decorators because it can be dyed in any color and comes in a natural texture. They give hand-knotted rugs their unique feel. When choosing your rug, consider how it will fit into your room’s style or accent an existing décor. They turn the raw wool into yarn, which is then knitted into the fabric that becomes part of your rug. The final piece can be hand-knotted or machine-made and tufted to create a soft area rug like any other in your home, whether it’s for the hallway, living room, or bedroom space.
Dye Used in the Rug Making
The dye used is usually natural and is derived from plants and insects. The artisans use vegetable or plant-based dyes to dye wool, silk, and other textiles. Dyeing is a process that requires chemicals to alter the chemical structure of natural textile color molecules to produce specific colors related to certain metals such as iron, chrome, and copper. They are used to change the color of natural fabrics like wool and silk. Most of the rugs crafted by the artisans are small pieces that serve as decorative items for their homes or as a source of income. They use the natural dye method to color wool, silk, and other textiles. While nowadays, machine-made rugs are dyed by chemical means, handmade rugs are dyed with natural dyes making them enviably better.
The Knots of the Rugs
The craftsmen weave the knots by hand to produce rugs of all sizes. The knot is used as a unit in determining the quality and price of an area rug. A handmade rug with 200 knots per square inch (KPSI) will be more expensive than one having 120 KSI because it uses superior materials, time, skills, and effort. Machine-made rugs have about 80 KSI, while handmade ones contain 200 to 350 knots per square inch (KPSI). The quality of the area rug also depends on the variety, length, and thickness of the yarn used in making it. A hand-knotted oriental rug is usually made by using expensive silk or wool yarn.
The Pile Height of the Rug
The pile height of the rug is also called the nap. It is measured by determining how many inches of yarn can be wrapped to form one inch of the pile in inches. The appropriate length and thickness of each strand will depend on the size and design of an area rug. For example, thicker strands are used for large-area rugs with a small knot count to make them thicker and coarser. There are different types of pile heights that you will see on the market, such as a plush, semi-plush, low cut or level loop, and Berber styles.
Each type has its characteristics depending on what it is used for. Plush rugs have a deep pile, while low-cut or level-loop styles are flat with no pile. Berber is an informal style that has a dense napped surface and low, tight loops. The pile of a rug will affect the durability and comfort level.
Rug Design
There are different methods to construct a rug, but they all use similar tools. Loom for weaving, shears or scissors used by weavers to cut warp threads, and yarns for pile knots; weights that keep tension on weft threads and a comb to separate the wefts. Weaving is done on an upright or horizontal floor loom where yarns or strands of cloth are fastened at each end to form the warp. Which will eventually be rolled up inside the finished rug as weft.
The warp threads can also be tied onto another piece of fabric, called the warp beam, which is then rolled onto a roller. In some cases, as with Chinese rugs and Navajo rugs, different colors of yarn are tied to each warp thread. So, when those threads are rolled up inside the rug during finishing, they will produce designs or patterns on its surface. While machine-made rugs are formed in a loom, handmade rugs can be formed in several ways.
First, tapestry or embroidery stitches may be used to sew them together with yarns of different colors. Secondly, braiding techniques may also produce rug-like patterns. These braided rugs were produced in the Caucasus and Central Asia regions. The next step is to clean, dye, shear, or feel them, so they become soft and fluffy. The cleaning process can be done using a comb with sharp metal teeth that remove any dust particles from fibers.
People That Make Carpets and Rugs
The process of rug making is not easy, and it takes a lot of time, patience, and effort to make one area rug that will be used in someone’s home or business for many years. Many people work together throughout this process. They including farmers who raise the sheep needed to produce yarn; women trained in weaving; and designers who create the styles. The tribespeople who live in the mountain regions of Iran and Afghanistan produce many beautiful rugs.
Summing up the process of rug making is a long and arduous one that requires many steps. Each step with its skill. It may seem like there are too many to keep track of, but you need the right tools for your job-whether. It is an expert weaver or someone who specializes in spinning wool into yarns. Investing time in understanding how these ancient artworks will lead to more beautiful rugs! If you’d like help finding the perfect rug for your space without all the work. We have over ten years of experience helping customers find their “rug soul mate” so they can focus on other aspects of life instead.