Do you prefer Handmade or Machine made?
Machine made rugs: It is slightly cheaper than handmade tufted rug, looks nice and beautiful in the beginning but as time goes by it starts to look dull and gets dirty very often. If something spills, you can definitely clean it but I am not hundred percent sure that it gonna be same as before.
The material used in machine made rugs are polypropylene, Olefin these material are nothing but some kind of synthetic fibers and if it catches fire then it will burn like plastic.
Good thing about machine made is they don't shed but with use you will notice that the pile is falling and rug is loosing it looks slowly.
Best way to identify a rug if its machine made then look for the material used in it, it can be polypropylene, Olefin or some kind of synthetic fiber but definitely not wool.
Handmade area rugs: To understand handmade rugs in depth it is important to understand few thing like:
Construction Type: Hand tufted, Hand knotted, Tibetan, Durries, Sumac
Hand-knotted rugs: These rug are expansive because it is hand-knotted, for example a 8 feet by 10 feet rug can take 6 months to weave, with knot density of around 200-250 knot per square inch. This quality of rug could cost between $4000 to $10,000 for a 8 x 10 size rug.
Quality means knot per sure inch, so the price of the rug is determined by the density of knots and next thing is the material like wool or silk.
Hand-tufted rugs: The production of these kind of rug is faster as compared to hand knotted and usually takes 7 days to manufacture and finish a 8 x 10 size rug. This rug has cotton backing and latex is used to stick the cotton backing.
It is important to remember what kind of latex is used, some use synthetic latex to minimize the cost of production some manufacturer uses natural because it is much better and does not cause any kind of latex allergy and its definitely safe.
Some manufacturer's also use white powder ( marble stone powder) to give thickness and weight to the rug but I don't think it is good for your health, because later as the rug gets old the powder starts to settle on the floor.
While you are looking to buy hand tufted rug, look for the supplier who uses natural latex because they will also not us any kind powder.
Tibetan Rugs: These rug are similar to hand- knotted and they do not have cotton backing. It is normally weaved on vertical looms like hand-knotted but they employ a different kind of technique to tie the knot. A iron rood is place on the weft and the knots are tied around it and once the row is complete the cut the knots and remove the rod giving it different texture.
The production of this rug is less time consuming than hand- knotted, it takes around 1 month to finish a 8 x 10 rug.
Hand-tufted rugs: The production of these kind of rug is faster as compared to hand knotted and usually takes 7 days to manufacture and finish a 8 x 10 size rug. This rug has cotton backing and latex is used to stick the cotton backing.
It is important to remember what kind of latex is used, some use synthetic latex to minimize the cost of production some manufacturer uses natural because it is much better and does not cause any kind of latex allergy and its definitely safe.
Some manufacturer's also use white powder ( marble stone powder) to give thickness and weight to the rug but I don't think it is good for your health, because later as the rug gets old the powder starts to settle on the floor.
While you are looking to buy hand tufted rug, look for the supplier who uses natural latex because they will also not us any kind powder.
Tibetan Rugs: These rug are similar to hand- knotted and they do not have cotton backing. It is normally weaved on vertical looms like hand-knotted but they employ a different kind of technique to tie the knot. A iron rood is place on the weft and the knots are tied around it and once the row is complete the cut the knots and remove the rod giving it different texture.
The production of this rug is less time consuming than hand- knotted, it takes around 1 month to finish a 8 x 10 rug.
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| Hand-knotted Woolen Rug Production Process |
