Defining the carpet weaving

“Weaving” refers to the technique used in making handmade area rugs. There are three major techniques: pile weave, flat weave and hand-tufted weave. Weaving of a carpet is basically the interaction of wefts and warp of pile joined together through the knots of woolen, cotton, silk strings, strings of artificial silk (namely viscose, acetate silks) and a yarn from an artificial fiber (in most cases acryl) on the foundation.

Foundation is the basic structural component of handmade rugs. These components consist of warps and wefts Cotton is the most common foundation material, but wool and silk are also used. Pile is the material (fiber) used for weaving rugs. Only natural fibers are used in handmade rugs. The main pile materials are wool and silk. Sometimes, goat and camel hair are also used by nomadic and village weavers.

Foundation Material

In general, the same material is used for both warp and weft, and it is often cotton. Wool is used as a foundation material in some nomadic and village rugs because wool is readily available to these weaving groups. Silk is generally used in foundation of rugs with silk piles.

Rugs with silk foundation and pile are very exceptional and expensive. These rugs are light in weight and are very finely knotted. Silk is a very good foundation material because it is very strong and keeps its shape.

Warp

Warps are vertical strands of fiber which stretch from the top to the bottom of the rug. Warps are extremely important component because the knots are tied to them and the weft strands are passed (woven) through them.

Even tension of all warp strands is essential in producing a rug without wrinkles. The extensions of warp strands are rug fringes. Fringes are knotted at the ends to ensure that the wefts and the knots do not unravel.

Weft

Wefts are horizontal strands of fiber that are passed (woven) through the warp strands. Unlike the warps, wefts are not structured prior to weaving. They are added before and in between the rows of knots to secure the knots in place. Each side of the rug, where the wefts begin and end, is called selvedge.