A Useful Guide on Handmade and Machine-Made Rugs
Usually, our customers find it difficult to differentiate between handmade, hand-knotted and machine-made rugs. For our potential customers and general people info, here is a guide to help you understand the difference and giving you the convenience of making an authentic buying when you shop for rugs.
Hand Knotted Rugs and Carpets
Handcrafted rugs are produced by specially designed loom and then experienced workers knotted by then by hand. The art of making handmade rugs belonged to ancient history and had been admired by people from decades. Size of loom design depends upon the size or length of the carpet. The technique of weaving is from bottom to top. Making a hand-knotted rug is a lengthy and tedious work that needs lots of hard work and time. The carpet weavers insert a knot into the base of the rug; tie it with hand making a pile of the carpet. Weaving time of each rug depends on its size and pattern design. A top quality elegant rug takes about a year to complete and the cost is high too.
Hand-knotted rugs are made from wool, cotton, silk, jute and can be done from any other natural fiber material. Silk is used to highlight or enhance the pattern design. Hand knotted area rugs, if properly maintained can last for generations.
Also known as oriental rugs, hand woven rugs are sometimes collectibles. The quality of human-made rugs depends upon number of factors such as
- Dye used
- Knot count
- Quality of the yarn
- Pattern design
These rugs have a long lifespan, therefore high value for money. Another category of hand-woven rugs is a flat weave. These rugs are hand spun with flat pattern and have no pile. Examples of flat weave rugs are:
- Soumak
- Dhurrie
- Kilim
- Braided etc
Machine Made Rugs or Carpets
This type of rugs is manufactured by large machines called power looms. Such power looms are controlled by computers thus are electrically automated. Materials used to produce machine-made rugs include:
- Wool
- Synthetic fiber such as nylon, polypropylene, acrylic, and silk.
Machine made rugs are available in low prices as compared to hand-knotted rugs. Machine made rugs offer a short lifespan depending on their quality and material used. These rugs usually offer no value to the collector. Karastan rugs are an example of such type that is of high quality and design.
If you are planning to purchase a new Persian oriental rug for your home, visit allrugo.com to have a look at a vast variety of handmade Persian rugs and carpets.
