HOW TO IDENTIFY A RUG IS HANDMADE

The Back of the Rug

The quickest way to check if a Carpet or Rug is handmade is by looking at the back. If the pattern is equally visible on the back as it is on the front, it is handwoven in most cases. This is because each colour that is hand-knotted is tied around the cotton base going from the back to the front to create the pile at the front.

Historically in Belgium and now in Turkey, Iran and India, there are machines that can make a Woven Carpet with the front looking the same as the back but in most cases, the materials are not natural and the designs are repeated for economies of scale. These carpets will always appear to be machine-made to the expert and to most Modern Handmade Carpets and Persian Carpet enthusiasts.

At Master Rugs in Richmond, we have a small selection of machine-made carpets some of exceptional quality and others to show the difference and cater to budget situations like rugs for holiday houses. Here is an example of a machine-made carpet using a man-made fabric called microfibre Modern Midcentury Design Carpet. The carpet has a backing that looks like hand-tufted but is actually machine-tufted. The design is set to the machine and can make it in any colour you like in a relatively short time.

Handbound Sides and Ends of the Rug

Another way to identify a handmade carpet is by its binding. Hand binding is visibly different to machine binding. Machine binding almost looks like it was done by a sowing machine because it essentially has been.

Rug Imperfectons

With most Modern Handmade Carpets and Rugs there are not many flaws due to the fact that they are generally less detailed. However, with Traditional Handcrafted Persian Carpets there are small defects or variations to the design for originality and due to the high probability of deviation from the graphical design. This kind of variation gives greater authenticity and charm to the handmade carpet.

Rug Fringes

Finally, the fringe at the ends is often attached to the Machine Made Carpet so that it appears like a hand-made carpet that was woven onto a cotton base that ends up with a visible cotton fringe. This is identified by looking at the back to see if it looks like a sowing machine has attached the rug to the fringe.

For more tips or to see the difference between a Luxury Handcrafted Modern Carpet and a Machine Made Carpet visit our showroom at 487 Church St Richmond Vic 3121. Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you found it enjoyable and helpful.