About Oriental Rugs

All oriental rugs are made in one of two ways: they are either hand-woven (flat-weaves) or hand-knotted (pile rugs).

Individual weaving groups may adopt slightly varying methods of construction, particularly in the type of knot used to form the pile, and it is often these slight differences in weaving and structure, taken in conjunctions with their appearance, that enable carpet experts to attribute individual rugs correctly. The fundamentals of construction are basically the same, however, before discussing the two methods of weaving in detail, it is important to clarify some universal weaving terms.

Warps and wefts

The warp and weft are the basic constituents of all textiles and are often referred to as the ‘foundation’ of a rug. The warp describes the strands of material that run lengthways from the top to the bottom of a rug and form fringes at the end; the weft runs widthways and forms and selveges, or sides.

Selvedges and fringes

The selvedges are the outer edges of the rug where the weft strands have been wrapped around the last few warp strands in order to hold the rug tightly together across its width. The fringes are continuations of the warp strands, and are secured at the top and bottom of the rug to both hold the weft strands in place and add the final decorative touch to the rug.

Tied fringe

Probably the most common and found in rugs from a broad cross-section of weaving groups. Two or more warp strands are tied together to form a knot which presses against the final weft strand and holds it in place. The process is repeated across the entire width of the rug.

Kelim fringe

The weft stands are continued beyond the edge of the pile and interwoven with the warp strands to form a short length of the kelim at either end of the rug. This method is also extremely common.

Thin information was found in Oriental Rugs A Buyer’s Guide by Lee Allane.