Hand Knotted Traditional Rugs: A Comprehensive Guide

By Author: Phoebe Holland
Total Articles: 94
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Traditional rugs are of many types, but the cream of the crop are those hand-knotted ones. And why not? They are exquisite, crafted with utmost care and extremely durable. In short, they are true masterpieces and deserve their due recognition.

If you have been wondering what makes them stunning heirloom pieces and exploring reasons to spend a part of your salary on them, keep reading. We will discuss everything about traditional hand-knotted rugs in this article today.

A Brief Introduction to Hand Knotted Rugs

Hand-knotted traditional rugs are floor coverings fabricated on a specially designed loom employing the hand-knotting weaving technique. We all know them as Persian rugs, Kashmir rugs and Oriental rugs. The process is labour-intensive and involves tying thousands of knots to a base. The same knots constitute the pile of the area rug with the weaving done from the bottom up.

The following materials make them up:

• Wool
• Silk
• Jute
• Cotton
• Bamboo
• Blend of distinct fibres

The most ordered are traditional wool rugs ...
... and for good reasons. They are more durable and endure 10,000 bends until they surrender. The most supple and textured pieces have New Zealand wool blended with local wool to strengthen the floor covering.

Identifying Hand-Knotted Rugs

Enclosed are five ways to determine the authenticity of traditional hand-knotted rugs:

1. Check the backing – There should be none as they are not machine-made rugs having latex coating covered with canvas or fabric to hold the tufts together.

2. Check for symmetry – There is complete symmetry in the designs, both at the front and back of the rugs.

3. Inspect the knots – If you find the knots to be uneven, extremely tight, and visibly tied together, be sure it’s a hand-knotted traditional rug.

4. Examine the fringes – Unlike machine-made rugs, hand-knotted ones have fringes naturally extending from the whole design.

5. Check the quality – Quality is determined by knot density. An ideal one has anything in the range of 40 to 2000 knots per square inch.

6 Reasons to Own Hand-Knotted Area Rugs

Be it a traditional wool rug or a silk one, hand knotted rugs are worth having. Find your reason from the discussed ones below:

1. An heirloom piece – Given the beauty and durability of hand-knotted floor coverings, they can easily be passed down from one generation to another.

2. Unique – Each hand-knotted rug is unique as they are not mass-produced but fabricated gradually by different weavers who all put their thoughts into the designs to create nothing short of masterpieces.

3. Durable – Unlike machine-made rugs, the piles of which get pulled out easily with time, hand-knotted versions stay tightly tied in place.

4. Valuable investment - Traditional hand-knotted rugs may be expensive, but they offer value for money. They withstand the ravages of time and retain their stunning beauty.

5. Timeless – When you buy an expensive rug only to learn that it is no longer in style after a few years, it can be quite disappointing. Persian or Oriental rugs hardly provide you with that scope by being timeless pieces. They also adapt well to traditional, modern and contemporary interior themes.

6. Work of Art – Have you ever taken a close look at a traditional wool rug? If you have, you will know how remarkable the aesthetic is. And why not? A lot of effort, care and fine craftsmanship go into tailoring each piece to provide them a distinctive touch.

Traditional hand-knotted rugs may lack the sheen and may not be flawless, but they are far superior in terms of quality, authenticity and artistry. Every homeowner deserves at least one to take pride in. Fortunately, Rugs.ie, the rug store based in Cork, features innumerable such Persian and Oriental floor coverings to clad homes in luxury and comfort.

Author Bio:

This author specialises in home décor and lifestyle topics. She uses her write-ups to share tips, tricks and the latest trends on home décor items, inclusive of traditional rugs, modern rugs and transitional rugs. When she mellows out, she listens to music and spends time gardening.

Owner of Rugs.ie - Rugs shop in cork, Ireland.