How to Make a Rug

We sell lots of different kinds of rugs here. People often ask how they are made.

So here is a rundown on rug construction.

The majority of rugs in our shop are woven. Two strands are interwoven to create cloth. Do you remember doing this at camp?

Colorful potholder

Image: Etsy

 

The up and down strands are called warps. The left and right strands are called wefts. Remember, wefts go WEFT and right.

Weaving is the construction for virtually all fabric. From simple burlap:

Blown up sample of burlap.

 

To gorgeous hand-knotted rugs.

Beautiful hand-knotted rug.

 

Handknotted

Handknotted rugs employ the same in-and-out weft construction as any fabric. The wefts and warps are usually made of cotton.

The handknotting innovation arrived about 10,000 years ago and has continued until today.

Here's what's different: after each weft is installed, weavers tie a row of knots tightly, by hand, around every pair of warp threads.

This is a drawing illustrating the technique.

Blowup illustration of rug hand-knotting.

Image: Persian Weavers

Aesthetically, this technique opened a universe of possibilities. It enabled rug designers to create any shape or color in a rug. 

The knotted yarn creates the pile of the rug and can be dyed endless colors. The yarn traditionally is made of wool and/or silk. Wool is the toughest most durable fabric material on earth. 

Even though it takes a very long time to tie the knots, the rug repays the effort by looking beautiful for a long, long time.

There is no other way to make a hand-knotted rug than by hand.

 

Hand-knotting in Nepal

A Nepalese weaver.

 

Hand-knotted rug with multiple and varied decorative elements.

91-Caspian Jasper - Handknotted

 

Flat Weaves

These resemble the potholder example above. Thick weft yarns are weaved in and out between the warps. The resulting rug can be any size, any color. Generally, flat-weaves work best in less formal settings than hand-knotted rugs.

Hand Loomed

Weaver at a hand loom.

Flat weaved rugs on a hand loom offer an artisan, hand-made look. It's prized by designers and homeowners and is more expensive than machine flat weave.

 

Example of a hand-loomed rug.

34-TV-597, a captivating hand-loomed rug.

 

Machine Loomed

Machine loomed rugs are faster and easier to make and are naturally less expensive than hand loomed. These can be a great choice for budget savings.

Power loomed rug.

34-KR-336, a beautiful example made on a power loom.

 

Tufting

Tufted rugs are not weaved. They are built from a piece of weaved fabric called a monk cloth which is then decorated with many strands of yarn called tufts.

Tufters tightly stretch cloth on a frame. They then "shoot" a piece of yarn through the monk cloth. When all the tufts have been shot, they are glued to the back of the rug. Then another backing is glued on.

 

Electric tufting gun.

Tufting gun

 

Aaron Mitchell of Addison/Dicus & Bailey has a side gig. He makes tufted rugs featuring Japanese anime characters and sells them online. 

He's creating a rug with an anime character by the artist Akira Toriyama.

His tufting is the same as that of a rug and gives a closeup look at how it's done.

 

Before the shooting starts, he outlines the image.

Line drawing ot anime character

 

 

Aaron then fills in the cartoon with colors and lines to produce a rug. 

 

Still in production, this is what it looks like now.

Partially finished tufted rug with anime character.

 

Tufted rugs have much of the artistic potential of hand-knotted rugs. They can be less expensive because they can be made in days, not months. You can think of them as a different medium.

Example of a tufted rug.

Jo Jen Denim - machine tufted rug

 

For more on tufted rugs, read When to Use Tufted Rugs.

 

Close Out Opportunity

Hand loomed wool rug.

Stitchery Stripe S and Sand Castle rug 11 x 14
Can be cut down; New Zealand wool; hand-loomed; machine serged.

Designer net: $3489.80
Close Out: $1750.00

 

Image Sources
If you want to know more about hand-knotted rug construction, I suggest checking out this video from Persian Weavers. The narrator knows his stuff! And he's a great teacher!

Potholder image from Etsy.