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In the Earlier years rugs were used to decorate the palaces and now they are used to decorate the houses. Some of the rugs are also used as artifacts to study the weaving techniques of earlier years. It is not surprising to see how they can change the look of your entire house.
Rugs are not a trend that will fade away, it is going to stay here for a while. Purchasing the right kind of rug for your house can be difficult if you don’t know what kind of rugs are available in the market. Co-ordinating the interior of your house, the right colors or designs of your carpet is not an easy task.
Don’t stress! We are here to help you.
Read on to find out if this your first time purchasing a rug and you are not sure about the types of rugs that exist or just want to increase your general knowledge.
Handmade Rugs
Handmade Rugs consist of two basic types of rugs: Pile rugs and Flatweaves
Pile Rugs
Pile rugs have “piles” in them and they are not flat like a fabric. The tuft’s of the yarn are clearly visible on a pile rug’s surface.It can be soft or coarse or thick or thin or just left in loops. Most of the rugs that we see in the shops are either tufted, hooked or hand knotted rugs that form a pile. Pile can also be described as the measure of the density of the fibres that form a rug and the height is measured from the surface of the carpet to the backing. The thickness of this pile is considered to a factor in the luxuriousness of the rug. Usually a longer pile is considered a more luxurious rug but it doesn’t always mean a stronger rug. In fact the rugs with low pile last longer than the the high piles.
Hand-knotted,shag, hand-hooked and hand-loomed rugs are all part of pile rugs. Hand-knotted rugs are formed by tying thousands of knots by hands to make one rug. One hand-knot rugs can either have 20 knots or 1000 knots depending on the size and intricacy of the rug requiring about one to five weavers working together at a time. Sometime it can even take an year to finish one hand-knotted 12’ x 15’ rug. Being tied by hands individually is one of the reason why they last hundreds of years and don’t deserve any bargain. You can buy hand-knotted rugs in wool, cotton, silk , jute or any other natural fabric.
Hand-Tufted rugs- Hand-tufted rugs are made using drill gun creating a loop pile.This instrument shoots the wool through a frame-stretched fabric after which Latex is applied to it. Latex helps keep the woolen strands in place which is then covered by canvas like backing to give the rug a finished look.
Hand-Hooked- Hand-Hooked rugs are low quality rugs which have loops instead of knots.If the loop pile created by the drill grill is not sheared, it is called a hand-hooked rug.
Hand-Loomed- As the name suggests, these rugs are made on a loom. It takes around1-4 people to finish the rug depending on the size, the colors and the design. What differentiates a flat weave from a loomed rug is the pile. A Hand-loomed rug has a pile in it.
Flatweave Rugs
A flatweave rug is flat with no pile. It’s made with warp strands that are used at the base with weft stands as the part of the base. This creates a design when different colors of threads are used and changing the width of the weft strands. In India or Pakistan, these flatweaves are famous by the name of Durries. The other countries where you can find them easily are Iran, Turkey or Afghanistan.
Woven Rugs
The carpet is produced on a loom quite similar to woven fabric. These types of carpets are usually produced using many colored yarns and these carpets often exhibit intricate patterns from predetermined designs.
Machine Made Rugs
The rugs are made by the machine using either wool or synthetic. Machine made rugs have a fringe sewn at the back and the designs & sizes are as good as perfect. These machines are called power looms which are electronically programmed. The materials used in their manufacturing can be polypropylene, nylon, polyester, acrylic, art silk or wool. As compared to the hand-made rugs they are much lesser price because of the less time consumption and the labour required. However, if the fabric of the rug is of superior quality, then they can last you upto 20 years.
Texture
Texture- Soumak/Twisted Knot
Soumak is a tapestry technique of weaving strong and decorative rugs. Soumak is a type of flat weave, which resembls kilim, but is stronger and thicker with a smooth front face and a ragged back.
Texture: Loop Construction
Loop construction is a tapestry technique of weaving strong rugs. These rugs have a rounded pile surface. These rugs are best identifiable by a deep pile.
Common Characteristics
With proper care, a rug can look as good as new for years to come. However, this depends on more than just cleaning them. Apart from cleaning them, what matters is how they are stored and what other products are used with them to extend their lifespan.
Colour
Now and again very slight shade variations occur throughout dye masses, thus the shade of home made rugs can be marginally exceptional from samples shown.
Creasing
Whilst a new rug is delivered it may display a few creases from being folded for transport. These will disappear after the rug has been laid flat for a while. Rolling the rug with the pile facing down and leaving it like that in a single day will speeden up the removal of creases.
Odor
As rugs are shipped in a sealed bag, odors from dyes and fibers can collect over time. This smell will clear up once the rug is removed from its bag and allowed to breath.
Wear and Fading
Rugs are often subjected to wear and tear over the years, and can be dwindled if exposed to direct sunlight or treated harshly. They must be rotated every six months to limit this.
Shredding and Sprouts
New rugs often shed loose fibres-this is a natural phenomenon with rugs. Over time, this will stop. Some rugs are more prone to shedding than others. Some loose, long fibers, known as “sprouts” may appear above the surface of the rug and can be trimmed with scissors to even the pile.
The types of rugs:
Velvet Weave Carpets
Velvet weave carpets have traditionally been recognized as high-end rugs. They are known around the world for their elegant presence in formal places of gathering. The simple form of the velvet weave allows for a thick plush product that has many excellent qualities.
Wilton Carpets
Wilton rugs are renowned for their strength and stability. Wilton carpets are often cut or loop products and different yarn types can be used to produce different surface textures.
Axminster Carpets
In an axminster gripper weave, cut tufts of yarn are inserted at the point of weaving by means of grippers, which inturn make them one of the strongest rugs in the world. Many different colours can be used in this weaving method.
Fusion Bonded Carpets
Fusion bonded rugs are a fusion of fibres in to the liquid adhesive material to form a carpet. These rugs are produced in a highly controlled environment, thus giving them a spectacular, rich, appealing finish.
Tufted Carpets
Tufted carpets are the most common carpets in the modern world. In this process yarns are stitched into the material. They are easy to produce, maintain, and are available in numereous materials, colours, and designs. Here, the fibres could be loop or cut pile or both depending on the manufacturer. Fibres are made of wool, polypropylene, nylon, acrylic, blends.
