An Oriental rug, according to purists, is one that was hand knotted or woven, rather than machine made, and came from any number of countries. In Asia, these include China, India, Tibet, Persia, Turkey, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and in North Africa, Morocco and Algeria.
A loom, which is a large wooden frame with evenly spaced pegs on long, parallel beams, is required to make such a rug. A vertical loom is preferred over a horizontal, flat one. Following that, you’d decide on the rug’s border, the centerpiece, and other patterns in the “field,” or background, in a traditional design. You could start weaving once you’d spun and dyed all of the colors of wool, silk, or even yak hair.
The warp, weft, and woof are the rug’s structural elements. The warp is made tautly stringing cotton across the loom’s top and bottom pegs. The warp on a stand-up loom runs up and down. The weft is the other set of strings that are threaded in and out of the warp and run perpendicular to it. With this weaving, the weft creates the design in a Kilim, or flat rug. The woof, on the other hand, creates a more complicated pattern out of individual wool knots tied to the warp in a knotted rug. This fundamental technology has remained unchanged for centuries.
The knotting procedure is the most complex and time-consuming. With five workers knotting 6,000 knots per day, an area rug could take months to complete. Working from the bottom up, you would construct rows of knots in various colors, following the original design. The weft holds the knots in place and strengthens the rug in between those rows. You’d end up with an uneven rectangular surface covered in millions of knots.
By trimming the knots to the same height and creating a springy, soft pile, you can level the surface. The rug can then be untangled from the loom removing the warp from the pegs. These strings are frequently tied off and the familiar fringed edge is left. Finally, you’ll wash and stretch the rug to give it a lush appearance.
Machines can make rugs that look like real Oriental rugs, but they simply loop and weave thread to mimic real knotting. Furthermore, machine-made rugs frequently use inferior materials to silk, cotton, or wool, such as rayon and other synthetic fibers, which dealers frequently try to pass off as genuine.