Glossary Of Rug Terms #21
Every so often, we write a rug term dictionary post for those wanting to improve their handmade rug vernacular.
Whether you are an expert on decorative rugs or reading about the field for the first time, you will find these terms very informative!
gloss- a sheen or high degree of light reflectance, present in silk, mercerized cotton, synthetic fibers and some coarse wools.
color poms- small bundles of cut yarn to assist in color matching yarn for pile or selecting rug colors for interior decoration.
colorways- the same design rendered in different color combinations. Used in describing commercial rugs and fabrics.
complementary elements- two or more sets of warps wefts or other elements of equal structural significance in a fabric.
comb- a weighted comb is used to beat down wefts over rows of knots in weaving pile rugs. An image of a comb is often used as a filler motif in tribal and nomadic rugs.
compound weaves- in simple weaves, there are only two sets of weaving elements (warps and wefts). Compound weaves consist of more than two sets of elements. The additional elements may be supplementary wefts or supplementary warps, or they may be more complicated interconnected or integrated sets of elements.
knitted carpet- an American hand-crafted rug made by sewing rag strips end-to-end. The strip is then knitted into a rug. There are contemporary machine-knitted rugs produced with a looped pile.
lappets- a common end design or elem design in Turkish rugs consisting of a row of five-sided figured or capped rectangles. The term “lappets” is derived from the folding ear flaps of a cap.
latch hooks- a motif consisting of parallel projections with short, right-angle or acute angle terminations pointed in the same direction. These are arranged on the sides of diamonds and other medallion figures or on the edges of broad stripes.
