RUG GUIDE

 



 

Photo of sheep indicating shoulder section and wool to be harvested for use in the making of a high quality rug.
FROM SHEEP TO RUG

Diagram of the steps involved in the processing of wool into the finished rug product.
Photo of Handmade Wool Area Rug 
WOOL
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE & INSURE QUALITY:


  1. SPECIAL BREED -
    • Out of 952 breeds of sheep - only a select few qualify to meet the quality requirements of the wool used in the production of fine rugs.

  2. PROPER RAISING OF SHEEP -
    • A special diet as well as optimal climate and altitude are provided as essential factors influencing the quality of the wool.
    • The age of the sheep as well as the time of the year shearing occurs are additional important factors.

  3. SPECIAL SECTION OF FLEECE -
    • Only the best section of the sheep's fleece is used for each rug.
    • The shoulder wool is the longest and the most expensive.
    • Shoulder wool gives the rug's pile excellent strength, luster, resilience, softness and durability. A fine piece of artwork deserves nothing short of the finest materials


Diagram of the steps involved in the processing of Wool: WASHING, SORTING, CARDING, COMBING, SPINNING, PLYING.
WOOL PROCESSING STEPS: WASHING, SORTING, CARDING, COMBING, SPINNING, PLYING


 

The CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOL

illustration of types of yarn
WOOLEN YARN
IS SPUN AFTER CARDING
WORSTED YARN
IS NOT ONLY CARDED BUT IS GIVEN EXTRA COMBING TO REMOVE SHORTER FIBERS
depiction of 'S' and 'Z' twists used for yarn
'S' and 'Z' TWISTS
SHOW DIRECTION YARN IS SPUN
THE AMOUNT OF TWIST IN YARN
DETERMINES THE STRENGTH. NO TWIST SHOWS THE FIBERS PARALLEL; THIS IS VERY SOFT WEAK YARN. WITH MORE TWIST IN THE YARN, IT BECOMES STRONGER AND HARDER.
diagram depicting wool fibers
CROSS SECTION OF A WOOL FIBER
THE MEDULLA IS FOUND ONLY IN COURSE WOOL.
SINGLE WOOL FIBER
SHOWING ITS NATURAL CRIMP WHICH GIVES WOOL ITS WONDERFUL RESILIENCE.

 

 

The ADVANTAGES Of WOOL


ENVIRONMENTAL & AESTHETIC CONCERNS

  • Wool's structural advantages over synthetics:
    • Due to the spring-like properties of the wool fiber, wool offers greater bulk, density, elasticity, resilience and comfort and is able to retain its original appearance much longer than other carpetting materials.
    • Wool is naturally both stain and soil resistant - making a wool rug easy to care for.

  • Wool's safety advantages over synthetics:
    • The high moisture threshold and moisture-retention rate of wool fibers provides excellent natural resistance to flame, combustion and/or ignition.
    • Additionally, wool's hydroscopic properties - which allow it to both absorb and release water vapor without any palpable wetness - help to modulate extremes in humidity and also provides natural resistance against static electricity.

  • Wool's environmental advantages:
    • Wool is anti-bacterial as well as non-allergenic and non-toxic, and has been used for bedding, clothing and all types of insulation and floor coverings for thousands of years. It has been documented that the proximity of wool can actually reduce the human heart rate.

  • Quality of Life Issues concerning Wool:
    • Wool, especially in a rug or carpet, absorbs sound and dampens echo - creating greater intimacy and the conditions for more efficient communication. Even the sound quality of TV and stereo speakers is improved by minimizing reflected sound waves.
    • A wool rug can appreciably absorb the impact of a fall - thus reducing subsequent injury - especially possible injury to the head. A child falling on a plush wool surface as compared to a fall on a hardwood or tile floor surface offers the likelihood of 2 entirely different scenarios.
    • Your wool rug is a natural insulator that helps regulate the effects of extremes in temperature: cooling in Summer, and warming in Winter - thus contributing to a savings in energy costs.
    • Wool carpet has been shown to absorb common pollutants i.e.: formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide etc., and to prevent their re-introduction into the environment. This process is ongoing over time and is one of the many inherent properties - and benefits - of wool.

 

COTTON

Although wool is the best material for the rug's pile, it is not a good choice for the foundation (warp & weft). A rug made with a wool foundation will not lie flat and will be crooked (especially after washing). Only the nomadic tribes still use wool for foundations, mainly because they do not own land nor stay in one place long enough to grow cotton. Cotton makes the best foundation. Silk makes a good warp thread if extreme thinness is desired.

A wool foundation can be recognized by its fringe which is darker and thicker than a cotton fringe (warp).

The ADVANTAGES Of A
COTTON FOUNDATION

  1. Stronger
  2. Thinner
  3. Limited Stretching
  4. Even Shrinkage
  5. The Rug Will Keep It's Shape
  6. The Rug Will Lie Flat


DYES

FOUR TYPES OF RUG DYES

NATURALANILINEACIDCHROME
  1. Oldest
  2. Color Change
  3. Fewer Colors
  4. Inconsistent
  5. Hard on Wool
  6. Duller
  7. Fades in Light
  1. Corrosive
  2. Colors Faded
  3. Colors Ran
  4. Ruined Many Fine Rugs
 - (Developed in 1856 - Obsolete)
  1. Cheap
  2. Colors Run
  1. Resists Acids, Alkalis, Washing & Light
  2. Won't Harm Wool
  3. Over 600 Colors
  4. Colors are Fast
  5. Won't Run or Streak
  - (Developed in 1920's & 30's)

Today's synthetic (chrome) dyes are excellent and are not to be confused with the earlier unsatisfactory synthetic (aniline) dyes of the past.


THE RUG DESIGN PROCESS

Illustration of a Cartoon (a full scale visual chart) and Talim cards (hand-written verbal description).

CARTOON    
A cartoon is a full scale graph paper chart which indicates to the weaver the color for each knot. Every knot is represented by a tiny square.
TALIM
In some weaving districts talim cards are used instead of a cartoon. One person reads the color and number of knots to several weavers.

Four criteria used for determining a machine made rug.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A MACHINE MADE 'ORIENTAL DESIGN' RUG

  1. Machine stitching can always be found along both sides of the rug.
    The stitching is normally dyed to make it less noticeable.
  2. The design is often vague and indistinct.
  3. The back is covered with perfectly straight lines.
  4. The fringe is almost always sewn on and not an extension of the warp.


THE FINISH DETAILS

light and dark contrasts as observed on rug face
VALUE/COLOR PERCEPTION: RUG PILE DIRECTION AND LIGHT REFLECTION


The ADVANTAGES of
CHEMICAL WASH

  1. Imparts Sheen
  2. Moth Proofs
  3. Softens Colors
  4. Removes Dirt and any Excess Dyes
  5. Makes Rug more Stain and Soil Resistant
  6. Removes Loose Fibers

Optional Finish Tecniques:     
additional step of hand incising a pattern or design into rug surface
Sculpturing: Carving and incising the rug surface.      

 

 

Nejad Rugs  ·  1 North Main Street  ·  Doylestown, PA 18901  ·  215-348-1255

© 2007-2015 Nejad Rugs - All rights reserved