Guide · For the trade
Moroccan rug guide: Beni Ourain, Azilal and the Moroccan knot, specified for the trade
A Moroccan rug is a hand-knotted wool rug in the tradition of the Berber tribes of the Atlas Mountains: a loose, long-pile knot of 10 to 40 knots per square inch, undyed or vegetable-dyed wool, a pile of 3/4 to 2 inches, and a drawn-by-hand lattice, diamond or abstract design. The Beni Ourain is the ivory field with a charcoal lattice; the Azilal is the same construction in color; the Beni Mguild is the deeper, darker version; the Moroccan kilim and hanbel are the flatweaves. New Moroccan rugs are made in Morocco and, in the Moroccan knot, in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in custom sizes and colors.
This guide is for the designer who has a Moroccan rug in a living room, bedroom or lounge scheme and needs to know which type, what construction they are paying for, and where the long pile does and does not work. It covers the types by name, vintage versus new, the sizes and rooms, pad and care, and the questions clients ask.
What is a Moroccan rug, as a construction
The Berber weavers of the Middle and High Atlas tied a symmetrical knot around pairs of warps on a vertical loom, with two to four rows of weft between the knot rows and the pile left long, 1 to 2 inches, for warmth. The knot density is low, the wool is heavy and hand-spun, and the pattern is drawn as it is woven rather than from a cartoon, which is why the lines wander and the lattice is never square. The result is a thick, soft, slightly irregular rug with the handle of a blanket. That construction is what the trade now calls the Moroccan knot, and it is reproduced in wool by hand-knotting workshops outside Morocco; the Moroccan-knot pieces in our catalog are hand-knotted in 100 percent wool in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in custom sizes and colorways. From the back, a Moroccan knot reads as a coarse, open grid with the weft showing between the rows; the hand-knotted rugs guide covers the reading.
The types by name
| Type | Region | Look | Pile | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beni Ourain | Middle Atlas | Ivory undyed wool, charcoal or brown lattice and diamonds, sparse | 1 to 2 in | Living rooms and bedrooms; the modern default |
| Azilal | High Atlas, Azilal province | Ivory ground with abstract shapes in saffron, red, blue, pink; often single-knot and looser | 3/4 to 1.5 in | Bedrooms, kids rooms, a lounge that wants color |
| Beni Mguild | Middle Atlas | Deep red, purple, blue and brown fields with lattice; dense, heavy | 1 to 1.5 in | Libraries, dens, rooms with dark woods |
| Boucherouite | Across Morocco | Rag rug of recycled fabric strips in loud color | 1/2 to 1 in | Studios and kids rooms; not a traffic rug |
| Moroccan kilim and hanbel | Across Morocco | Flatwoven wool in stripes and diamonds | None | Halls, dining rooms, layering; see the kilim rugs guide |
| Moroccan trellis (machine made) | Mills worldwide | The Beni Ourain lattice printed or woven in polypropylene or wool, often as a shag | 1/2 to 1.5 in | Rentals, budget lines, short schedules |
Vintage versus new Moroccan rugs
Vintage Beni Ourain and Azilal rugs, from roughly 1940 to 1990, are the pieces that made the type famous, and they bring the problems of any vintage rug: one size each, uneven wear, and provenance that is hard to verify, since much of what is sold as vintage was woven recently and washed. For a project with a plan, a new rug is the spec: woven in Morocco by cooperatives to order in 8 to 16 weeks, or in the Moroccan knot through our mills, where the Moroccan style collection holds 62 styles, 52 of them hand-knotted wool, in custom sizes and colorways, with a rendering, a strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks and 18 to 20 weeks of production through the Design Studio. Machine-woven Moroccan trellis rugs in the same filter cover the short schedule.
Where the long pile works, and where it does not
A Beni Ourain at 1 to 2 inches of pile is a bedroom and living room rug. The pile is wrong on a stair (over the 1/2 inch limit and a slip hazard), under a dining table (chairs will not slide) and in a hall or doorway (it stops a door and mats within a season). For a Moroccan look in those places, specify the Moroccan kilim, a low-pile Moroccan-knot piece woven to 1/2 inch, or a machine-woven trellis in a low loop; the shag rugs guide covers the rules for any long pile in a room.
Sizes and the rooms designers specify
The 8x10 Moroccan rug is the most searched size and the bedroom size under a queen or a king with the top edge at the nightstands; the 9x12 is the living room size under a 90 inch sofa. Hand-knotted to order, the size can follow the plan: 7x10 for a tight bedroom, 10x16 for a long living room, a 6 foot round for a reading corner. The area rug size guide gives the layout numbers by room; the ivory and cream filter is the quickest way to the Beni Ourain palette.
Pad, shedding and care to specify
Under a Moroccan rug on a hard floor, a 1/4 inch felt-and-rubber pad cut 1 inch inside the edge; the rug carries its own cushion. A new hand-knotted Moroccan rug in hand-spun wool sheds for its first three to six months, more than a fine Persian, and that goes in the client handover with the vacuuming rule: suction only, no beater bar, which would pull the long pile and the loose knots; see the wool rug shedding guide. Rotate twice a year. Professional wash every three to five years. Wool is naturally flame resistant and self-extinguishing, which is part of why the type works in front of a fireplace.
Questions designers ask
What is a Beni Ourain rug?
A hand-knotted rug from the Beni Ourain tribes of the Middle Atlas: ivory undyed wool, a long pile of 1 to 2 inches, and a sparse lattice or diamond design in charcoal or brown. It is the Moroccan rug most designers mean, and new pieces are woven to order in Morocco and in the same knot in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
What is the difference between a Beni Ourain and an Azilal rug?
Construction is the same loose, long-pile Berber knot. The Beni Ourain is monochrome, ivory and charcoal, in a lattice; the Azilal is on an ivory ground with abstract shapes in saffron, red, blue and pink, often looser and lighter. Specify the Beni Ourain for a quiet room and the Azilal for one that wants the rug to carry the color.
Are Moroccan rugs durable, and do they shed?
The wool is heavy and lasts decades in a bedroom or a living room, but the low knot count and long pile mean the rug mats in a traffic path and should not go on a stair or in a hall. New pieces shed for three to six months; specify vacuuming without a beater bar and the shedding stops.
Can a Moroccan rug be made in a custom size or color?
Yes. Hand-knotted Moroccan-knot rugs are woven to any size and shape and recolored to a scheme, with a rendering, a strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks and 18 to 20 weeks of production. A lattice in the client's accent color and a plain ivory with no pattern are the two custom requests we see most.
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