Guide · For the trade
Tibetan rugs: the Tibetan knot, Nepal weaving and what the knot count buys
Tibetan rugs are hand-knotted rugs made with the Tibetan knot, a loop of yarn wrapped around the warp and a metal rod, cut free row by row, which produces a dense, even pile with a slightly ribbed texture; nearly all of them are woven today in Nepal, in the Kathmandu valley, by Tibetan weavers and their descendants. They are specified by knot count, 60, 80 or 100 knots per square inch for most decorative work, in Tibetan highland wool, often with silk, and they are the construction behind most of the modern, textural and custom hand-knotted rugs in a designer's library, including ours.
This guide is for the designer specifying a hand-knotted rug for a contemporary room, or trying to read "100 knot Tibetan" on a spec sheet. It covers what the knot is and why it matters, the wool, knot counts in numbers, how Tibetan compares with Persian and Indian knotting, sizes, custom and lead times. The hand-knotted rugs guide covers judging any knotted rug; this one is about the Tibetan construction.
What a Tibetan knot is
Persian and Turkish knots are tied one at a time around two warp threads and cut with a knife. The Tibetan knot is made by wrapping a continuous length of yarn around pairs of warps and around a metal rod laid across the loom; when the row is complete the weaver runs a blade along the rod, cutting the loops into a row of tufts in one stroke, and beats the row down. The result is a pile with a uniform height straight off the loom, a faint horizontal rib that reads as texture in solids, and a back that shows the design in soft, slightly blurred rows rather than the crisp grid of a Persian weave.
Nepal rugs: where Tibetan rugs are made
Tibetan rug making moved to Nepal with the refugee community after 1959 and grew into Nepal's largest export craft; Kathmandu and its valley hold the workshops that weave for the American and European trade. The traditional wool is changpel, from Tibetan highland sheep, long-stapled and rich in lanolin, which gives the pile its sheen and its resistance to soil; most production today blends Tibetan wool with New Zealand wool for consistency of color. Silk, nettle (allo), hemp and linen are added for contrast, with silk at 20 to 60 percent in the lines we carry. Of the hand-knotted rugs in our library, Prestige Mills weaves 26 styles in Nepal at 100 knots, in 100 percent wool, 80/20 wool-silk, 60/40 silk-wool and a 70/30 wool-and-nettle with silk, at pile heights from 0.2 to 0.5 inch; emma gardner design's hand-knotted line is specified at 60, 80 or 100 knots, most of it at 100.
Tibetan knot counts: what the number buys
| Knot count | Knots per sq in | Pile height, typical | Detail it holds | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 knot | 60 | 3/8 to 1/2 in | Solids, broad geometrics, large-scale texture | Textural contemporary rugs, bedrooms, oversize at a saving |
| 80 knot | 80 | 5/16 to 3/8 in | Medium-scale pattern, soft edges | Most living room and dining room work |
| 100 knot | 100 | 1/4 to 3/8 in | Fine line, curved pattern, silk detail | Pattern, custom design, silk and wool together |
| 150 knot and up | 150 to 200 | 1/4 in and under | Painterly and photographic detail | Signature pieces, flat silk |
A Tibetan knot count is counted per square inch the same way as a Persian one, but the Tibetan knot is larger, so a 100-knot Tibetan is a dense, substantial rug while 100 knots in a Persian weave is a coarse one. Do not compare the numbers across constructions. Higher count means finer detail and a lower, firmer pile; it does not by itself mean longer wear, because a 60-knot rug in good wool at 1/2 inch is as durable as a 100-knot at 1/4 inch. Price rises with the count because the weaver's time does.
Tibetan vs Persian and Indian hand-knotted
Choose Tibetan for a modern or transitional room, a solid or a texture, a custom design, or any rug with silk in it; the knot's even pile and the Nepalese dye houses' range of soft, saturated colors are built for that work. Choose a Persian or Turkish knot, usually woven in India, Pakistan, Iran or Turkey, for a traditional pattern with sharp medallions and borders, a dense low pile, or an antique look. Durability at equal wool quality is similar. The practical differences on a spec: a Tibetan rug's back shows soft rows rather than a sharp grid, its fringe is usually finished off or woven into a flat selvedge, and its pile is ribbed in the solids, which photographs as texture and hides footprints well.
Sizes, oversize and custom Tibetan rugs
Tibetan looms in Nepal are built wide, so the standard sizes run through 10x14 and 12x15 and most workshops will weave 14x20 and larger in one piece without a seam, which is why Tibetan is the first construction we quote for an oversize hand-knotted rug. Custom is the norm rather than the exception: nearly every Nepalese line in our library offers custom size, custom color and custom knot count, and the full custom program through our Design Studio is woven this way. The sequence is a rendering in your colors, a woven strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks, production in 18 to 20 weeks, then freight and installation anywhere in the country.
Pad, placement and care
A 1/4-inch felt-and-rubber pad on a hard floor; a thin rubber pad over carpet. Keep silk-blend Tibetans out of entries, kitchens and rooms where water spills are likely, because silk and viscose stain with water; wool Tibetans at 60 to 80 knots take a living room or a dining room without trouble. Vacuum suction only, rotate twice a year, professional wash every 3 to 5 years. Shedding is light and brief.
Questions designers ask
Are Tibetan rugs actually made in Tibet?
Very few are. The craft is Tibetan; the weaving since 1960 has been in Nepal, and "Tibetan rug" on a spec sheet means the Tibetan knot and Tibetan-style wool, woven in Nepal. Some Indian workshops now weave with the Tibetan knot as well, and the spec sheet should say where.
What does 100 knot mean on a Tibetan rug?
100 knots per square inch, 10 by 10, the standard quality for patterned and silk-blend work. It holds fine curved detail at a pile of 1/4 to 3/8 inch. 60 and 80 knot are the lower counts for solids and large-scale designs, and they are not lesser rugs for that purpose.
How long does a Tibetan rug take to make?
A running-line 9x12 at 100 knots is roughly four to five months on the loom; from Interiors a made-to-order piece in a standard size and color is typically 16 to 20 weeks, and a full custom rug is a 4 to 6 week strike-off plus 18 to 20 weeks of production, then freight.
Is a Tibetan rug durable enough for a living room?
Yes. In 100 percent wool at 60 to 100 knots it is a 40 to 50 year rug in a living room or dining room. Keep the silk-heavy blends for bedrooms, studies and rooms without traffic, and specify a pad on every floor.
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