Guide · For the trade
Axminster carpet vs Wilton: the two woven constructions and when to specify each
Axminster carpet is woven with each tuft inserted and cut individually from a spool or gripper, which allows an unlimited number of colors in a cut pile and is why it is the construction of hotel corridors, ballrooms and large-scale patterns; it is almost always 80 percent wool and 20 percent nylon, 0.27 to 0.3 inch pile, 45 ounces or more. Wilton carpet is woven on a Jacquard loom with the pattern yarns carried continuously through the back, limited to about five colors but able to weave loop, cut and cut-and-loop in the same cloth at a density no tufted carpet reaches; it is the construction of the wool stair runner, the petit point hall and the textured plain. Our library holds 58 Axminster styles and 952 Wiltons.
This guide is for the designer or the junior who has Axminster or Wilton on a mill's spec sheet and needs to know what it buys. It covers how each loom works, the numbers on the sheet, a side-by-side table, where each belongs in a residence or a hospitality job, the mills in our library that weave them and the questions clients ask. The broader woven versus tufted question is in the woven vs tufted guide; the hospitality side of Axminster is in the Axminster for hospitality guide.
How an Axminster is woven
On an Axminster loom each row of tufts is picked from spools or from grippers that select the right color for each point, inserted into the backing as the weft is beaten up and cut. Because any color can be placed anywhere, the pattern is limited only by the design, which is why Axminster is the construction for a 39 by 39 inch floral or a custom hotel pattern in twelve colors. The pile is always cut, the tufts are held by the weave rather than latex and the back shows the pattern in reverse. Spec sheets give the density as rows per inch, usually 7 to 10; Couristan's Premiere line is a 9-row Axminster at 13 ft 6 in wide.
How a Wilton is woven
A Wilton is woven on a Jacquard loom like a brocade: every pattern yarn runs the full length of the carpet and at each point the Jacquard lifts the color that should show over a wire while the others are buried in the back. A bladed wire leaves a cut pile, a plain wire a loop and different wire heights a high-low. The buried yarns are why a Wilton is dense and why it is limited to about five colors, or frames. Face-to-face Wilton, which weaves two carpets at once and slices them apart, is how most synthetic Wiltons are made, including Couristan's Creations line and the 396 Wiltons from Kane. Wool Wiltons from Prestige Mills, Bloomsburg run 0.19 to 0.3 inch pile at 32 to 73 ounces, in petit point, loop, cut and high-low. The pattern repeat on a Wilton is often small, 2 to 10 inches, because the weave favors it.
Axminster carpet vs Wilton in one table
| Axminster | Wilton | |
| Colors | Unlimited | Usually 2 to 5 (frames) |
| Pile | Cut only | Cut, loop, or cut and loop; high-low |
| Fiber in our library | 80/20 wool-nylon | Wool, wool-nylon, polypropylene, polyester |
| Pile height | 0.27 to 0.3 in | 0.19 to 0.3 in; up to 0.5 in in a cut pile |
| Face weight | 45 to 50 oz typical | 32 to 73 oz by style |
| Pattern scale | Any; 20 to 40 in repeats common | Small to medium; 2 to 10 in repeats common |
| Roll width | 12 ft, 13 ft 2 in, 13 ft 6 in | 12 ft, 13 ft 2 in, 15 ft |
| Custom | Custom color and pattern on a minimum, often 100 to 300 sq yd | Custom color on some lines; pattern changes cost a loom setup |
| Lead time, running line | 6 to 12 weeks | 4 to 10 weeks; some in days from the mill |
| Best use | Multicolor pattern, hospitality, dining rooms, large rooms with a bordered design | Stairs, halls, whole-house plains and small patterns, runners |
Where each belongs in a residence
Stairs and halls: Wilton, because loop and dense cut constructions hold at the nosing and the small repeats center in a 27 to 36 inch runner; the wool stair runners guide is mostly a Wilton guide. Dining and living rooms with a pattern: Axminster for a floral, a damask or a bordered rug effect in six or more colors, cut and bound to size; Wilton for a trellis, a stripe or a geometric in a few colors. Bedrooms and whole-house plains: Wilton loop or cut. Libraries and media rooms with a deep pattern: Axminster. The Axminster cut pile shows footprints as any cut pile does; the Wilton loop does not. Both are wool-faced and naturally flame resistant; every carpet sold in the US passes the DOC FF 1-70 pill test and the radiant panel result for a corridor is a line-by-line figure to ask for on the spec sheet.
Where each belongs in a hospitality job
Hotel corridors, ballrooms, restaurants and guest rooms are Axminster by default: the construction takes a custom pattern in the client's colors and is woven to the corridor width. Wilton is used for back-of-house, the plain textured guest room where a loop is wanted and stair runners in a boutique property. Both are specified by rows or pitch, pile height, face weight and a Class I radiant panel result (0.45 W/cm2 or more) for corridors and exits, which the mill states per line. The hospitality guide has the minimums and the custom process.
Mills in our library that weave Axminster and Wilton
Axminster: Prestige Mills (24 styles, 80/20 wool-nylon at 13 ft 2 in), Bloomsburg Carpet (13, woven in Pennsylvania), Couristan's Premiere series (12). Wilton: Kane Carpet (396, mostly face-to-face synthetics), Prestige Mills (193, mostly 100 percent wool), Couristan (106), Bloomsburg (48, Green Label Plus on the wool lines), Stanton (41) and Bellbridge (27). All of it is made to order and ships from the mill; samples go to trade accounts within 24 hours. The Axminster filter and the Wilton filter list every style.
Questions designers ask
What is the disadvantage of a 100 percent wool carpet?
Cost and a sensitivity to bleach and to alkaline cleaners that will take the color out. Wool also fades faster than a solution-dyed synthetic in direct sun. Against that it is naturally flame resistant, self-extinguishing, resilient and ages well; the 80/20 wool-nylon blend in an Axminster keeps most of those virtues and adds abrasion resistance.
Is Karastan a high-end woven carpet and is it in your library?
Karastan is a well-known American name for woven wool and it is not one of our 38 mills and brands. The woven wool Axminsters and Wiltons we carry come from Prestige Mills, Bloomsburg, Couristan, Stanton and Bellbridge and they are specified the same way: by construction, blend, pile height and weight.
Do they still make carpets in Axminster?
Yes; the town in Devon, England, still has a working Axminster mill and the name has described the loom type since the 18th century. The Axminster carpet in our library is woven by the mills above, Bloomsburg's in Pennsylvania; "Axminster" on their spec sheets refers to the construction, not the town.
Which are the high-end carpet mills for woven wool?
In our library, Prestige Mills, Bloomsburg Carpet, Couristan and Bellbridge for woven wool, with Masland, Fabrica and Milliken as the premium tufted mills. The Prestige Mills and Bloomsburg pages list their collections.
Browse: Axminster carpet · Wilton carpet · patterned carpet · wool carpet · woven vs tufted guide