Some fine Hand Knotting in Handmade Rugs

The artwork done in hand-knotted rugs is one-of-a-kind. Thousands of knots tied together by skilled weavers with hundreds of hours of labor invested finally result in the handmade rugs that endear. Perhaps this should be an appropriate reason behind the high price tag of the rugs. Handmade rugs are made on large looms. The vertical looms are used extensively from start to finish for weaving these rugs. The weaver ties the warp threads vertically on the loom. The threads are woven one by one, slowly through the warp. They hold the rug together, forming the edges of the sides of the rug. The weft threads are consistently added with the knots being hand tied to the warp threads. After completion, the top and bottom warp threads get trimmed and form the fringe of the handmade rugs. There are many visible knots in handmade rugs. The hand tied knots are used on the pile and design of the carpet. Persian Knots are used in carpets woven in countries such as Tibet, China, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Iran, Afghanistan etc. Also known as the Senneth Knot, Persian Knots are used extensively in designs with curves on them. The knot suffices for more complex and compound patterns. Then there are the Turkish Knots. These are mainly used in highly conservative Islamic Countries like Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The knots are also known in popular culture as Ghiordes Knots, or double knots. It is supposedly a bulkier knot in comparison to its Persian counterpart and produces a richer pile. The Jufti Knots on Handmade Rugs are ones tied on the warp thread. These get tied around 4 warp threads instead of 2 usually with Persian or Turkish. The rugs tied with these knots are usually less expensive, for they take a lot of time to make but do not wear as well as the others. The tools to weave these carpets are an institution themselves. There are 3 of them mainly. The Gollab is in the shape of a hooked knife, meant to pull weft threads through the warp. The Comb, also called the Beater, comes into play when weft rows get added one after the other to snug the rows of the weft and knots together, forming a tight weave. The Scissors, the last of the 3, is used for hand cutting and clipping the threads from the knots evenly. Ultimately it all comes down to the skill of the weaver. It is all in the hands, for that is the source from where the craftsmanship originates. The magnificence of the carpet in which the buyer revels is all a result of the toil, endeavour and slog undertaken by the weaver who pushes relentlessly hour after hour to finally create a piece worth selling.