The math school
To think about carpets
The carpet you buy is completely unique and unlike any other, even if it resembles other carpets from the same area. Each oriental rug is part of the story of the area's rug-making traditions, but also of the families' own ways of creating and renewing patterns. The craft can be done in many different ways and both colors, threads and knots can vary in quality. Therefore, it is important to observe the carpet up close and touch it to get a true idea of it. A carpet also changes over time depending on the material, color and manufacturing method.
Also remember to lay out the carpet with the light let in with the rug. The colors and shades change depending on how the light falls on the carpet.
Carpet care
A hand-knotted carpet needs enough light and good air to be kept in good condition. So avoid having hand-knotted rugs lying around in cramped spaces, or in dark and damp places. It is important to protect the carpet against moth infestation, fur beds, strong sunlight.
If you have got stains on the carpet, you should not use stain remover or other similar agents, especially if you are not absolutely sure which colors have been used in the manufacture of the carpet.
Every four or five years, the carpet should be washed, and it is important that it be left with a carpet cleaning specialist. It is wise to turn to a recognized carpet company that carries out washing and repairs. The carpet should be vacuumed every two weeks (or even less often) and it is important to only vacuum with the piles.
Making a hand-knotted rug
According to artisans, the basic technique for tying a rug is simple and the craft has remained virtually unchanged since the 15th century. However, there are great variations of details that play a role in the manufacture of a carpet, and there is a diversity of different techniques.
The production of a carpet includes seven different working steps
- The loom is installed, and it must be stable and well fixed. The warp is arranged and a warp is chosen that is exactly adapted to the weight of the knot.
- The yarn is selected and it is important that it is the right material and dyeing technique. The most common materials are wool, cotton and silk.
- The coloring of the yarn is of fundamental importance. Up until around 150 years ago, carpets were made from yarn dyed with natural colors from plants or animals. Then Westerners introduced synthetic dyes that were both easier to obtain and easier to use, but of course the quality of the fiber's durability and color was noticeably inferior. In the last 40 years, the use of artificial dyes in Iran has decreased greatly and in most areas natural dyes are used again. This means that you can get an infinite variety of shades for the coloring of a carpet.
- Decisions are made about the type of finish, tying the threads together, preparation of the weft and execution of the stave edges. Decisions are made about how the pattern should be executed, for example whether it should be done using pattern sheets or from memory.
- The rug is tied on a loom, and it comes in different sizes that are adapted to different degrees of skill. The horizontal loom is usually used by nomadic tribes, while the vertical loom is used in cities. The technique is the same for both the horizontal and vertical looms, but the results are not the same.
- Knots and wefts are tied together to strengthen the fabric.
- The final smoothing of the carpet lug is done. This so-called finish is a job that must be entrusted to a very experienced master.
To make a hand-knotted rug, you need a warp that consists of longitudinal threads. You set up a so-called weft with transverse threads and then wrap two warp threads with yarn to form a knot. Then you fasten the knot with additional weft threads.
There are two different ways to be able to perform a knot around warp threads
The Turkish way or the symmetrical knot is done by weaving the yarn around two warps so that the yarn then comes out between the warps. The Persian way (Senneh knot) or the asymmetrical knot is made when the yarn is passed around a warp thread. Then there is the variant double knot or twin knot where you tie the knot around two threads. And a third variation, called the Jufti knot, is created by wrapping the knot around three or four threads.
Since the oriental rugs reached Europe, they have been a great success. They were imported by the thousands mainly by merchants in the Italian port cities. From the Middle Ages onwards, all wealthy families owned some excellent carpets and it was the very idea of the carpet that fascinated. That warm, soft thing had to replace the ancient mosaic art.
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Wool and dyeing
As the climate varies in different parts of Iran, the living conditions for sheep and lambs are different. There are many different races in the country. Many have wool of exceptional quality, a very thick and greasy wool of the heterotypic variety. That wool is very good for making carpets. The sheep and lambs found in mountainous areas have better wool than those that graze in more low-lying areas. Wool that is sheared in the spring is of better quality than wool that is sheared in the fall. White wool accepts the dye better than darker wool. After the wool is sheared, parts that have been affected by sweat, dirt, urine and dust must be cleaned. Therefore, the wool is washed thoroughly with water. The wool is then hand spun, but there are also factories that spin the wool.
Korkull
Cork wool is the soft wool that comes from the residue that sticks to the brush when the wool is processed. This wool becomes very soft and is used in the denser and more exclusive carpets in Iran. But even in these fine rugs, it can happen that they use merino wool that comes from Australia and New Zealand. That wool has the same exceptional quality as cork wool.
Cotton
Cotton is often used in the warp and in the weft of the carpet. Cotton is more durable and thus easier to use in the warp, as you can stretch the cotton much harder than wool. Moths do not eat cotton and then the carpet is protected from major damage that cannot be repaired. In case of moth infestation, only the pile of the carpet is attacked, which is easy to repair.
Silk
Silk is cocoon threads that silkworm larvae spin when they pupate. Silk is made by placing the cocoon threads in water to soften them so that the thin thread can be unraveled. Then you take the thread from 5-10 different cocoons and twist them together into one. Usually can
you get about 700-1,000 meters of thread from a single cocoon. As this is a very time-consuming process, the price of silk is very high and the material is classified as a luxury item.
Producing rugs with silk is very time-consuming and difficult. Therefore, silk is used on very exclusive, high-quality carpets. Most carpets made with silk have over 800,000 knots/sq m.
Silk is also used in some types of fine carpets such as Tabriz, Ghom, Esfahan and others together with cork wool. They are usually called carpets with
silk weft and are also very expensive and of high quality and can in some cases also have a silk warp.
Coloring
Natural colors mean that the color is obtained from plants or animals.
Red dye is extracted from a special type of louse. Different parts of plants, certain types of fruit or even different types of soil are used in dyeing. Especially in Iran it is tradition to use these types of
natural colors to achieve the coloring you want and you have been doing this for over 2,500 years.
Substances used for natural colors:
Safflower is a plant used for red coloring.
Rubia (madder) produces a red/pinkish color.
Cochineal is a bright red pigment produced by cochineal scale insects
Saffron crocus (Latin name crocus sativus) The plant has a firm and fleshy tuber and grass-like leaves as well as violet, funnel-shaped flower calyxes with a very long spout and six-lobed brim. The three badges hang forward outside the brim. Saffron is very rarely used nowadays for coloring as it is a very expensive commodity, but is still sometimes used in silk carpets to create a beautiful purple shade. Orange, yellow and purple colors can be obtained from saffron crocus.
Haematoxylon
campechianum is used to produce a deep purple color.
Color reseda (Vau) (Reseda luteola) is a plant species in the reseda family. Färgreseda is, as the name suggests, a color plant. It gives yellow color.
Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) is a dye plant that contains the blue pigment indigo.
The plant is often cultivated for the production of indigo pigment used in textile dye (indigo blue), but also to improve the cultivation soil. Indigo is used for dyeing organic clothing.
The plant is also used for hair dyeing and is often marketed as black henna. Natural hair colors in shades of brown and black often contain indigo.
Pomegranate. Fresh pomegranate juice is one of the strongest natural dyes for non-synthetic fabrics and it provides a special yellow pigment. In Southeast Asia and India, pomegranate is used as a dye to a large extent and often in combination with turmeric to further improve the color strength.
