How to Make Persian Rug
Persian rugs have been hand-manufactured in Iran (once Persia) for more than 3,000 years. They come in many different weaves, colors, designs and fabrics. Today they are highly valued in the Western world as interior decorating pieces. Although it is a long and challenging process, hand-weaving a Persian rug can be a rewarding experience if you have the expertise.
Things You'll Need
- Pen
- Paper
- Weaving loom
- Silk/cotton/wool threads
- Knife or scissors
- Comblike packing instrument
Instructions
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1
Sketch your design using a pen and paper. Graph paper is recommended, as it provides an orderly pattern. Take into consideration the size of the area and interior decorations.
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2
Organize your weaving loom. It should consist of warps--long and strong threads made of cotton, wool or silk--running up and down, with wefts--similar threads that pass through, over and under the warps--running right and left. The effect should be something like a checkerboard of threads. These should be contained within a frame, or loom.
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3
Pass a number of wefts through the lowest warp to form a base for your rug.
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4
Using a fresh piece of wool, cotton or silk thread, tie loose knots around sets of adjacent warps. Use either Turkish or Ghiordes knots. This will create your pattern. As more rows are tied, these knots also form the pile. Use scissors or a knife to cut the thread after you've completed each knot.
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Once you've completed a row of knots, pass several rows of weft and use your comb instrument to pack them down against the knots. This procedure secures the rows of knots and keeps the rug weave tight.
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When your rug is finished (you come to the end of your warp and weft), the ends of the warp threads will be the fringe on the end of the rug. Tie them off with braids, tassels or beads to keep the rug from unraveling.
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Tips & Warnings
The knot count of a rug can vary from 52 to 550 knots per square inch. For a beginner, a low knot count is to be expected. Making a rug can take from several months to years, depending on the size of the rug. Don't get discouraged.
True Persian rugs are those that have been woven in Iran. Yours will be a representation.
