Construction of Hand-Knotted Rugs – Foundation part 1 of 5
The construction of hand-knotted rugs is one of the very few traditional manufacturing methods that hasn’t changed over the centuries as technology advanced. It’s impossible to pinpoint when the first hand-knotted rugs were produced, but fragments of rugs have been found in Persian tombs dating from several centuries B.C. Hand-knotted rugs have been consistently produced by much the same method ever since!
Why is it that essentially every other manufacturing method (including farming, writing, and printing, not to mention more recent developments with the industrial age) has evolved and improved over the centuries, while traditional rug making has been constant? Could it be because it’s the one tradition that you can’t improve?
This article is a first in a series on the traditional construction of hand-knotted rugs. Today’s topic will identify the basic elements of a rug, and discuss the foundation in detail. Future topics in this series will discuss wool selection and preparation, dyes, types of knots, and weaving looms.
BASIC RUG COMPONENTS
The “foundation” refers to the basic structural components of hand-knotted rugs, namely the warps (A) and wefts (B). The fringe (E) is simply an extension of the warps, and the kilim (F) is a visible part of the foundation (warp and weft) without any knots.
FOUNDATION
The foundation is the base of the rug, made up of the warps and wefts.
WARP
The warps are the vertical strands of fiber which stretch from the top to the bottom of the loom. Setting up a loom so that the warps have even tension is absolutely critical in producing a high quality rug. All of the knots of the rug are tied directly onto the warp strands, so just like a house – if your foundation is not firm and secure, your house will fall apart!
Once the rug is completed and cut from the loom, the ends of the warp strands are knotted together to form the fringe. Although decorative, the fringe is also important as a firmly knotted fringe ensures that the rug knots stay secure and do not unravel. (As a side note, this is why it is important to be very careful when using a vacuum cleaner anywhere near your rug’s fringe – the modern day roller can chew up a fringe very quickly!)
Fringe
A couple other notes about the fringe: 1) to suit modern tastes, some high quality hand knotted rugs with contemporary designs do not have a fringe and instead the ends of the warps are woven back into the rug, and 2) most rug mass-producers sew a fringe on to the ends of cheap machine made rugs to make them look as though they were hand made. This is easy to spot from the underside as it will be obvious that the fringe is not an integral part of the rug.
WEFT
The wefts are the strands of fiber that are woven through the warps in between rows of knots. Once a row of knots is tied to the warp strands, the weaver will weave a horizontal strand of fiber in and out of the warps. He or she will them press this weft strand down against the row of knots to secure them in place.
MATERIAL
In most cases, the warps and wefts are made up from the same material. In the vast majority of rugs the foundation is made of cotton. Cotton has been grown and hand spun for this purpose for thousands of years, and like all the materials used in a traditional high quality hand-knotted rug, it is completely organic and with good care will last for generations. Cotton is the preferred choice for the foundation because it is very strong, causes the rug to lay flat, will not stretch over the years, and will ensure the rug keeps its shape.
Wool is occasionally used for the foundation material, generally by nomadic tribes who do not have ready access to cotton. A wool foundation is recognized by its darker and thicker fringe.
Finally, silk is used for some very fine (and very expensive!) silk hand knotted rugs. A rug with a silk foundation and silk knots can produce the finest patterns as the knot count can be very high. Because silk is much thinner and more delicate than cotton, these rugs are best suited for areas that don’t get a lot of foot traffic, or hung on a wall as decoration.
That covers the topic of the foundation – we hope you enjoyed this article and look forward to discussing more aspects of rug construction in the future!
See part 2 of 5 - Knots
See Dyes part 3 of 5
See Wool part 4 of 5
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[...] See Foundation part 1 of 5 [...]
[...] Foundation part 1 of 5 See Knots part 2 of [...]
[...] Foundation part 1 of 5 See Knots part 2 of 5 See Dyes part 3 of [...]
[...] Foundation part 1 of 5 See Knots part 2 of 5 See Dyes part 3 fo 5 See Wool part 4 of [...]