Oriental rugs are handknotted, one knot at a time, on a loom. A loom is a frame that holds the warp threads, usually cotton but can be silk or wool, stretched vertically around the loom.
The weaver lifts each warp thread and hand knots the appropriate color wool, or occasionally silk, on the warp thread and then cuts the wool off. Following the pattern, the weaver continues knotting the appropriate color wool for the design across the loom to complete one row of the carpet. After each row, another thread, called the weft, is interwoven across the width of the loom to hold each row of knots in place.
This process is continued until the rug is complete.
Before the carpet is cut from the loom, several rows of weft threads are woven horizontally into a selvage end and the vertical threads of the warp are cut and then knotted, forming the fringe of the rug.
The weaver has been quickly cutting the ends of each wool knot as it is woven, leaving the pile uneven and rough. As part of the finishing process, the face of the carpet must be sheared to make a smooth surface. This step creates the level of the pile, defining the pattern and nuances of the design, and providing clarity and delineation. The length of the pile depends on the type of rug being produced. The weaver begins with a large shear, working down to a small, fine shear.
After this process, the edges of the carpet are secured with a strand of wool, taken from the background color of the rug, and hand sewn along the edges or length of the carpet to create a finished look. Another purpose for the edging is to provide extra pieces of the original wool for possible future repairs that may be needed on the carpet. The edging wool is an exact match of color and quality. Sometimes the edge is done in multicolor sections, providing repair wool for any of the colors used in the carpet.
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