What are Handmade Rugs?
Handmade rugs are made in the traditional way, using handspun wool and natural dyes. The rugs are often bright and colourful with designs influenced by Asian or Middle Eastern traditions. Hand-knotting is used to make the carpets non-slip, hardwearing and easy to clean.
For many centuries handmade rugs have been highly collected items. They are considered works of art in themselves rather than simply functional floor coverings. True vintage or antique rugs will command high prices at auction because of their age and rarity. However, this does not mean that contemporary handmade rugs can’t be just as attractive.
Types Of Handmade Rugs
There are many different types of handmade rugs, from flat weave to knotted carpets.
Flat Weave Rugs
Known as Kilim, these are simple wool rugs with a plain or patterned top surface and a very grippy coarse weave base. They vary in size from small runners for hallways to large living room floor coverings. Sometimes they have a fringed edge but more often they have a pile fringe which is simply cut off after the rug has been delivered to the customer. A vast collection of vintage kilims can be found at Kettal Milano.
Tribal Rugs
These may have a weave with just one thick warp or weft strand and a knotted pile. Tribal rugs were made by nomadic peoples who wove small rugs for their own use and sometimes for sale, but they never formed part of the rug-making trade as we know it now. Many tribal rugs can be found in private collections or museums rather than antique auctions because they are not considered to have historical value.
Hand-Knotted Rugs
These may be flat weaves or knotted carpets that are handmade in villages near towns and cities. They tend to be fairly large, made on warp-weighted looms with brightly coloured patterns and simple designs which show off the lustre of pure wool. The quality varies enormously: some manufacturers may use synthetic pigments and dye weakly so that the design doesn’t show up very well. However, some rugs are still handmade by expert rug-makers who have learned their trade from their parents or grandparents.
Heriz Rugs
A fascinating feature of Heriz carpets is the distinct border which features a stripe with small flower heads. The designs are abstract or floral with bright, often green backgrounds. They are made on multi-coloured silk warps using high-quality pure wool for the pile which is worked in two shades to give definition to the pattern. Often, bands of red are added as an accent colour giving extra vibrancy to the design.
Benefits Of Handmade Rugs
- Handmade rugs are much more hard-wearing than machine-made ones.
- Improved durability is the main reason why handmade rugs command higher prices than machine-made alternatives. The complex knots and loops of a hand-knotted rug provide an inherently stronger finished article that’s less likely to unravel at weak points such as the corners.
- High quality, pure wool pile reduces allergy problems because it allows no dust particles to be trapped within the fibres. It also doesn’t wear down and loses shape so all handmade carpets look as good as new for longer.
