ARE ALL RUGS DIFFERENT?
To put it simply nearly all handcrafted Modern Persian Carpets and Rugs and even Machine Made Rugs are of different qualities and sizes so vary in price. Each masterpiece has its own quality, design, colour, size and fabric(s). In today's market there are numerous shortcuts taken and compromised fabrics have also entered the online rug market.
The Design Phase
Variations begin with the artistic design which I like to call the architecture of the masterpiece done on a graph page and now also graphically on a computer. Such artistry involves calculating the number of knots of each colour required shown on a grid to develop the rug design for its intended size. This can take between one week to four months and requires expert skills in design and mathematical calculation of how much of each colour and fabric is required for the rug. Here is an example of a Modern Persian Carpet that has taken around four months to design Ari Gold
The Dying Phase
Hand-dying the colours selected for a 3.00 meter x 2.50 meter masterpiece can take anywhere between 1 month to 3 months depending on the number of colours required for the masterpiece. This involves choosing the colours preparing the dyes and then dipping the fabric into a hot vat of the dye often natural plant and vegetable dyes until it changes to the right colour. Once the colour is made it will vary after the rug has been completed so is never the same unless it is not washed. The only time the colour of two hand-knotted carpets will be the same is when they are handwoven on the same loom and washed together. This carpet is one of an identical pair made all at the same time Kashan Pair
The Weaving Phase
The weaving phase for a hand-knotted carpet that is 3.00 x 2.50 meters in size can take between 5 months to a year with three people at the loom working full time. The variation in time is subject to the number of knots required per square meter, the thickness of the fabric woven onto, the number of colour changes, the thickness of the fabric used for the pile and the number of different fabrics used for the pile.
This Bijar design carpet is one of the most densely made Persian Carpets using very thick wool on a very tight base Bijar Herati Design
The Carving Phase
This is when the carpet is cut off the loom and lands on the ground ready to be hand carved. All the knots of fabric are shaved down evenly while some are done with a high low pile where one fabric is lower than the other to give texture. This is a highly skilled task and takes anywhere between a week and a month depending on the item. This is an example of a high low hand knotted Modern Rug where the wool was sheared down lower than the silk for texture Modern Pastel Design
The Washing Phase
This process involves hand washing the carpet with water and sometimes with bleach to soften the colour. In most cases, the carpet ends up a different colour from any other handmade rug due to the temperatures and length of time used for the dying process and the outcome from the wash and dry.
So in conclusion the process of making a Modern Persian Carpet is lengthy and has many variants so all Rugs will differ in quality, result and popularity.
