Rug Facts

What is an hand-knotted oriental rug?

Not all rugs can be truly be called Oriental rugs.  “Oriental” defines the rug as being hand-knotted or hand-tied from the Near East, Middle East, or Far East.  Hand-knotted or hand-tied rugs are literally, hand-made rugs!  These rugs are made by the same traditional method they have been made for centuries - by skilled weavers individually tying each knot by hand, thus creating a unique one-of-a-kind rug.   Depending on the pattern, it can take anywhere from a few months to a few years for one weaver to complete a 9x12 rug!

Hand-knotted rugs are much more durable than mass-produced machine made rugs.  Since each knot is hand-tied, the resulting rug has a great combined strength and consistency.  This is why hand-knotted rugs age so well and why they nearly always retain and increase in value over time.

What’s the advantage of hand-knotted rugs over machine made rugs?

There are too many advantages to name!  However, most importantly, a machine made rug is literally by machine – this allows them to be made in just a fraction of the time that hand-knotted rugs are made.  This is why they can be significantly less costly.  However, these rugs are often made with glue and synthetic materials – over time, the glue can harden and cause the rug to curl up or start to have that “just about to fall apart” look.  Synthetic materials don’t age well, and the rug will quickly lose its allure.  There is no machine that can re-create the quality built into a hand-knotted rug!  With each knot individually hand-tied, you are guaranteed a durable, beautiful heirloom that can be enjoyed by several generations.

What about hand-tufted rugs?

Just to be clear, hand-tufted rugs are NOT hand-knotted rugs!  Hand-tufted rugs are actually close in quality to machine-made rugs.  These rugs are made by a worker using a hand tool to punch strands of wool or synthetic material into a sheet of canvas.  The canvas is then glued down onto a fabric backing – it is only the glue that holds the wool or synthetic pile in place, there are no knots involved.  It can take a worker as little as 3 or 4 days to make a complete 9x12 rug (as compared with over a year for a hand-knotted rug!).  As you would expect, these rugs do not age well, and as the glue dries and ages, the rug can start to fall apart.

What materials are Oriental rugs made from?

Wool and silk are the traditional primary materials used in quality hand-knotted rugs.  Cotton is sometimes used in the foundation, but not the pile.  Silk is often used as a highlight or accent material, adding sheen and beauty.  These natural materials create a rug that is both beautiful and strong.  A rug made primarily of wool will age gracefully over time, naturally repel dirt, and is easy to clean.  Over time, wool starts to look “polished” – as the natural oils from human hands and feet coat each individual strand of wool, this creates a softer look that causes the rug to become even more desirable!

What’s the deal with number of knots?

Generally speaking, a large part of a hand-knotted rug’s value is placed on how many knots there are in one square inch. A higher knot count is generally more costly because in a higher knot count rug, the weaver will have to make many more knots for the same size rug and it is more likely to be mixed with (or made entirely of) silk as it is thinner thread. A higher knot count rug will generally be more dense (wear better) and have a finer woven pattern than a rug with a lower knot count. However, more knots are not always better – in many traditional tribal rug patterns, a lower knot count is more appropriate for the style of pattern.