FAQS

What type of rug do we weave?

Our rugs are woven on heavy floor looms.mostly using a four harness construction.

The construction of handwoven rugs consists of weft and warp. The weft runs horizontal and the warp runs vertical and finishes off in a fringe. The weft in our rugs is usually fabric instead of yarn thus the term "rag rug". However, the term "rag rug" does not do justice to my larger area rugs, because of the patterns and materials I use. Weft materials can be cotton including corduroy or denim, wool, synthetic blends & upholstery materials. Warp yarns can be poly cotton, orlon acrylique, nylon, wool or jute.

Types of weave structures:

1. Knotted:

Common manufactured carpeting woven on industrial automated Wilton type looms. Loops of material are pulled through a burlap type grid, then knotted, then sheared off. Examples range from a short pile, like indoor/outdoor to the most extreme deep pile like the old shags of the sixties.

a. Persian

Hand or modern machine woven; tied knots of wool yarn on a burlap type grid; sometimes sheared to a short pile. The more knots per inch, the finer the rug. Complex design, beautiful colors, durable. Some cultures used to lay a new carpet on the street and let the donkey carts age it before sale. Some rugs took twelve women (their fingers have more finesse) a year to weave.

b. Double Cord

Hand woven heavy shag - deep pile - pieces of fiber, leather and other materials looped and knotted onto a background grid of warp and weft. Capable of exotic designs, colors, textures. We do, but very expensive.

2. Flat woven

A bed of lengthwise warp threads is crisscrossed with shots of weft, each shot beaten tight. No loops or knots. Weaves are warp-faced, weft faced, or balanced depending on which part of structure dominates.

Finger manipulated warp threads generally two shafts

a. Kilims

b. Navajo

Different colored balls of wool yarns are worked into each shot of weft to build the rug. Beautiful, distinctive "earth" designs woven by the navajo Indians.

c. Tapestry

Shaft manipulated warp threads generally more than two shafts

d. Our rugs

Except for the double cord, all our rugs are flat woven. Our designs are simpler than the navajo because our warp threads are manipulated in groups on shafts rather than by hand in the navajo rugs. Design complexity depends on the number of shafts on the loom. Our looms have up to 20 shafts and some are computer controlled and air powered.

1. Rag Rug

I usually use a four harness construction. Rag rugs are also woven in a two harness, tabby (or plain) weave. However, I prefer the sturdiness of a four harness technique. A rug woven in a tabby weave usually weighs a third less than a four harness weave. Thus, my rugs will be less apt to wrinkle up or move around on the floor. Fabrics normally used in my rag rugs are denims and corduroys ripped into strips and then sewn together to form the weft. Using a loom with four harnesses also allows me to create a pattern in the warp sequence. The pattern I usually use is a repeating scallop. The warp I usually use is poly cotton which is stronger and more washable than 100% cotton. Rag rugs are very functional and durable and are machine washable.

A variation on the Rag Rug uses upholstery fabrics for weft. The upholstery materials are velours, brocades, ultra suedes - these add a luxurious look to a Rag Rug.

Another variation in weft fabrics uses scrap cotton terry-cloth looper clips from factories that construct socks. When these clips are chain looped together they form little "bumps" in the weft strip which creates an interesting "popcorn" look in the rug.

2. Shag Rag Rug

This style of rug is woven with the same construction as my Rag Rug. But the materials used are shaggy selvages from textile factories. These selvages are a byproduct in the weaving process of fabric yardage on the industrial looms. Material content can be wool, cotton chenille, or synthetic blends. These rugs have a wonderful thick texture. They are also machine washable.

3. REP (Ripsmatta) Rug

This is a rug in which there is a pattern. It is also called a "warp-faced" rug because the warp dominates. In a Rag Rug the warp and weft play equal parts in how the rug looks. In a ripsmatta rug, pattern is created by alternating contrasting colors of warp. The stronger the contrast, the stronger the pattern. The complexity of the pattern is determined by the number of harnesses used. Two harnesses creates a very simple pattern. Because I have a loom with eight harnesses, I can create a complicated pattern. These rugs are very attractive and are more contemporary in style than a Rag Rug. I use fabric strips of cotton or wool for weft and cotton, orlon acrylique, or nylon yarn for warp.

4. Wool on Wool

This style of rug is constructed like a Rag Rug and uses the four harness scallop pattern. However, the materials I use in this style create an area rug that is very thick and rich. I use fabric strips of beautiful wool for the weft and wool yarn with accent colors in cotton for the warp.