Hand-made are rugs are the luxury commodities of the carpeting world. They are beautiful, unique, and despite being ultimately flawed, they are lusted after as investment pieces the world over. But how are they made?

Well I could boggle your brain using terms like weft and warp and woof, but that terminology should be reserved for folk who really want to know everything, experts, professionals and aficionados! If you’re just wanting a little more info and a basic understanding, here’s what you need to know:

There are three main aspects to hand-made rug making:

• the weave
• knotting
• dye

The weave – the weave is the way in which the carpet is woven. There are three different types of hand-woven weave:  pile weave, in which the strands of the carpet are held together using an intricate system of knots, flat weave in which the strands are simply woven together in much the same way that linen and fabric is woven, and hand-tufted weave, in which tufts of carpet fibre are pushed through a backing and then clipped to create a tufted texture of patterns.

Knotting -  knots are used to create pile weave hand-made area rugs.  There are two different types of knot used in pile weaving and these are dictated by the tribe or area the carpet comes from. Symmetrical knots are typical of the Turkish or Kurdish. Asymmetrical knots are finer and generally what constitutes a Persian.

Dyes – there are two different types of dye used on hand-made area rugs. Natural, which, as the name states is made up of natural products, and synthetic, which is made up of man-made products.