Carpet Construction
As with any product you are interested in purchasing, it pays to be an educated consumer when you are shopping for a new carpet or rug. What kinds of carpets are out there? What materials are they made of? How are they constructed? The answers to these questions can give you more information about which carpet might be right for you, and will help you decode carpet terminology.
First, what is carpet? It is a textile floor covering which consists of an upper layer of pile (the term used to describe the fibers used to make the weave on a rug or carpet) attached to a backing. Pile is generally made from man-made materials, wool or, sometimes, silk. The pile tufts are often heat treated to maintain their structure.
There are many different types of carpets, and there are several methods of construction. Tufted carpet is made with a large machine similar to a sewing machine that an individual operates. The rug design is drawn onto a canvas backing, and the worker fills in the pattern with the appropriate color fiber. The tufts are individually inserted into the canvas, which is then coated with a compound to anchor the tufts. Tufted carpets almost always require the addition of a second backing for stability and strength. There are patterning attachments that give a variety of textures and patterns. 90% of all manufactured carpets are tufted.
Woven carpets are produced on a loom, similarly to woven cloth, and the pile can be either plush (cut) or Berber (looped). Typically, many colors are used and a wide variety of intricate designs can be produced.
Needlefelted carpets are an advanced carpet construction method, produced by intermingling and felting individual synthetic fibers using barbed and forked needles. These rugs are incredibly durable and are typically found in contract applications such as hotels, where there is a lot of foot traffic.
In a knotted carpet, the structural weft threads are drawn through the warp yarns to create cloth. The warp is the lengthwise thread, and the weft is the transverse thread. The warp threads are set up on the loom before weaving begins. A row of knots is completed and cut. The knots are typically secured with one to four rows of weft. The warp is usually cotton and the weft is usually jute. There are two main types of knots used: symmetrical (also called Turkish of Ghiordes) and asymmetrical (also called Persian or Senna). Knotting by hand is most prevalent in oriental carpets and rugs; Kashmir carpets are also hand-knotted. Shag rugs are also a type of knotted carpet. Hand-knotted rugs are made by a weaver who sits behind a loom and hand ties the knots.
Flatweave carpets are another type of construction created by interlocking warp and weft threads. Types of oriental flatweave carpets include kilim, soumak, plain weave, and tapestry weave. Types of European flatweave carpets include Venetian, Dutch, damask, list, haircloth and ingrain.
Finally, there are hooked rugs, which is a simple type of rug handmade by pulling strips of cloth such as wool or cotton through the mesh of a sturdy fabric such as burlap. This type of rug is now often made as a handicraft. Historically, people would recycle worn out cotton and wool garments into hooked rugs.
Stayed tuned for more carpet information!
