Guide · For the trade
Hand-knotted rugs: how to judge quality before the client sees the invoice
Hand-knotted rugs are made by tying individual knots of yarn around the warp threads on a loom, row by row, then shearing the pile; nothing is glued, and the design is visible on the back. Quality comes down to four things you can check on a sample: knot count (25 to 100 knots per square inch for most decorative work, 150 and up for fine pieces), the wool, the pile height (1/8 to 5/8 inch) and the finishing. A well-made hand-knotted wool rug is a 50-year floor; a hand-tufted rug of the same look is a 10-year one.
This guide is for the designer specifying a hand-knotted rug for the first time, or explaining to a client why it costs what it does. It covers how the construction works, how to read the back, what the knot count does and does not tell you, hand-knotted versus hand-tufted and hand-loomed, fibers, sizes and lead times, and the questions clients ask.
What a hand-knotted rug is
A vertical loom is strung with cotton warps. The weaver ties a short length of yarn around two warps, cuts it, and moves to the next pair; a row of knots is followed by one or two weft threads beaten down to lock it. The three knot types are the Persian or asymmetric knot, the Turkish or symmetric knot, and the Tibetan knot, which is looped around a rod and cut in one pass and is the construction behind most contemporary rugs from Nepal and northern India. At the end the pile is sheared to height and the warps left at each end become the fringe. A 9x12 at 100 knots per square inch holds about 1.5 million knots and takes a team of weavers four to six months.
How to read the back of the rug
Turn the sample over. On a hand-knotted rug the pattern is as clear on the back as on the face, each knot shows as a small square, and the rows run slightly uneven because hands tied them. The fringe is the warp, continuous with the rug, never sewn on. There is no backing cloth and no latex. If you see a cotton canvas, a painted-on latex layer or a fringe stitched to a hem, the rug is tufted. If the back is perfectly regular and the pattern is slightly blurred, it is machine woven.
Knot count: what the number means
Knot count is knots per square inch, measured by counting knots along one inch horizontally and one inch vertically on the back and multiplying. More knots allow finer curves and smaller motifs and take longer to weave. Most contemporary Tibetan-weave rugs are made at 60, 80 or 100 knots; many of the hand-knotted lines in our catalog run from 16 to 100 knots per square inch, and emma gardner design weaves at 100 knots in Tibetan wool and wool-silk blends. A chunky Moroccan-style knot at 16 to 25 knots is not lower quality, it is a different look with a tall, loose pile. Above 150 knots you are into fine Persian and city-style work, where the count is the price. The honest rule: match the knot count to the design. A large-scale abstract needs 60; a fine botanical needs 100 or more; a shaggy Beni Ourain look needs 16.
Hand knotted vs hand tufted
These are the two constructions clients confuse, and the price difference between them is the one you will have to explain.
| Check | Hand-knotted | Hand-tufted | Hand-loomed or hand-woven |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Each knot tied by hand on a loom and cut | Yarn punched through a canvas with a tufting gun, held by latex and a cloth backing | Woven on a hand-operated loom; flatweave, loop or cut pile without knots |
| Back of the rug | Pattern visible, knots countable, fringe is the warp | Cotton or canvas backing glued over latex, fringe sewn on if any | Weave visible, flat, often finished with a plain hem |
| Expected life | 30 to 50 years and more in a residence | 7 to 15 years; latex dries and the back can crack or shed | 15 to 25 years in low to medium traffic |
| Time to make a 9x12 | 4 to 6 months | 1 to 2 weeks | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Use it for | The rug the room is built around; living and dining rooms; anything the client will keep | A short-term look, a child's room, a budget that will not reach knotted | Solids and textures, large sizes, bedrooms and studies |
Hand-tufted is not a bad product. It gives a plush, dense face at a fraction of the cost and it is what most of the hand-made rugs sold online are. But it is not an investment, and a client who thinks they bought a hand-knotted rug will notice in year eight. State the construction on the spec.
Fibers: wool, silk and the blends
The best hand-knotted rugs are wool, and the best wool is high-altitude: Tibetan and Himalayan wool is long-staple and high in lanolin, so it resists soil and takes dye evenly; New Zealand wool is whiter and softer. Wool is naturally flame resistant and self-extinguishing, and it springs back under furniture. Silk adds sheen and detail and is woven as a highlight in a wool field or as a 30, 50 or 70 percent blend; a 50/50 Tibetan wool and Chinese silk rug is the usual luxury spec for a primary bedroom or a formal living room. Viscose, Tencel and sari silk give the same sheen for less, and the rule for all of them is the same: they stain with water and are not for high traffic or dining rooms. A wool-and-Tencel blend in a bedroom is fine; in a kitchen it is a mistake.
Sizes, custom sizes and lead times
Hand-knotted rugs are made to order in the standard sizes, 6x9, 8x10, 9x12, 10x14 and 12x15, and because they are woven to order, a custom size costs only time. Our catalog lists 555 hand-knotted styles, with 245 available in 8x10, 251 in 9x12 and 218 in 12x15 and larger; see the hand-knotted collection. A made-to-order piece in a standard size and colorway is 12 to 16 weeks from most mills. A custom design through our Design Studio is a rendering in your colors, a woven strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks, and 18 to 20 weeks of production, then freight and installation anywhere in the country. Tell the client the full timeline on day one.
Pad, placement and care to specify
Every hand-knotted rug goes over a pad: a 1/4-inch felt-and-rubber pad on hard floors, a thin rubber grip pad over carpet. Vacuum with the beater bar off, rotate the rug once a year so the window side fades evenly, and send it out for washing every three to five years. A hand-knotted wool rug in a living room, with pad and that care, outlasts the sofa, the paint and often the client's ownership of the house.
Questions designers ask
How do you tell a hand-knotted rug from a tufted one?
Turn it over. A hand-knotted rug shows the pattern on the back, in small countable knots, with a fringe that is the continuation of the warp. A tufted rug has a cloth backing glued over latex, and its fringe, if it has one, is sewn on.
Is a higher knot count always better?
No. Knot count should fit the design: 60 to 100 knots per square inch for most contemporary and transitional work, 150 and up for fine curvilinear Persian designs, and 16 to 25 for a Moroccan-style shag. Within a given design, more knots means sharper detail and more weaving time.
How long does a hand-knotted rug last?
A wool hand-knotted rug in a residence, on a pad and washed every few years, lasts 30 to 50 years and is often resold or passed on. The pile wears down slowly and evenly instead of delaminating, which is the failure mode of tufted rugs.
Do hand-knotted rugs shed?
Wool sheds lightly for the first few months as the loose fibers from shearing work out, then stops. Heavy or continuous shedding points to a short-staple wool or a tufted construction. Silk and viscose do not shed but mark with water.
Can a hand-knotted rug be made in a custom size or color?
Yes, and it is the normal way to buy one: most of our hand-knotted lines are woven to order and will take a custom size, a custom colorway from poms, or both. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for a strike-off and 18 to 20 weeks of production.
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