The history of the art:

The artistic flair of our rugs stems from the traditional weaving processes that have been refined and perfected over thousands of years throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.  The beauty and intricate designs of our rugs are a reflection of this history and the daily lives of those that craft them.

 Many researchers of our traditions believe that the art of hand-knitting rugs with raw materials began with nomadic tribes as means of emulating the warmth and comfort of an animal’s fur coat.  Whatever the true origins, the art quickly gained popularity throughout the region.  It became a creative way to visually reflect the historical and cultural aspects of society.  And it is a sentiment that continues to this day. 

 We believe it is for this reason that few comparable rugs have lasted even a few hundred years, let alone thousands.  Some of the more exquisite samples are now displayed in museums across the world.  Even so, it is still fairly common to find rugs more than 100 years old in surprisingly good condition.  They are often passed down from generation to generation and remain in use by loving families. 

 A brief look at our weaving process: 

  1. Turning wool into yarn: 

We begin our crafting process by receiving large bales full of natural wool.  We then divide the wool so that we can break up the clumps and remove debris.  After that, the refined wool is spun into yarn.  It is rotated through many machines to ensure a durable twisted composition.  

  1. Yarn washing: 

The Yarn is the cleaned thoroughly to remove dust and grime.  We do this by submerging the yarn into a special detergent, followed by several iterations of squeezing the fluids out.  Next, the yarn is washed and rinsed with water to remove the detergent.  After that, it spends 3 days hanging in the sun to dry.  

  1. Yarn Dying: 

The blending of our dyes is in itself an art.   Each dye is boiled for a specific time depending on the preferred color and type of dye used.  It is then carefully combined with other dyes to provide the perfect color to be used.  After dying the yarn, we once again hang it to dry. 

  1. Rug construction: custom tools for handcrafted rugs 

We employ 3 traditional methods to craft our carpets and rugs: 

  1. Design Planning: Our creative designers draw a full-scale design on a specialized chart paper prior to weaving. The paper features different squares that symbolize the rug’s nots. 
  2. Looming: After the designed has been refined and finalized, the rug is placed on a special type of frame called a loom. Here, columns of thread are stretched from top to bottom.  We then warp the yarn with cotton, providing a smooth, straight and comfortable rug.  The warps are then protected with “wefts”, which are organized horizontal rows of pure wool, cotton, or silk.
  3. Knotting: We it’s time to hard-knot the rugs, the weaver uses a long strand of our quality yarn. After crafting 10 wefts, the weaver is ready to begin the real work.  Using a piece of soft silk or wool, he or she will tie knots around one or two warps in the same row.  The weaver works carefully, knot by knot, until the design is complete.  In modern weaving, hard-knotting is the most complicated and demanding process in crafting a rug.  As such, the cost is usually higher with the increased labor, but the quality cannot be matched. 

Hand Hooking 

Each rug that is hooked by hand features a looped-pile surface.  The hand-hooked process is also known as a rug map or talim.  It is used to set the rug’s design and color scheme.  Typically, two weavers will work together on a single rug.  Using a scaffolding technique, they will raise and lower themselves along the rug.  They will then use a tool to push the yarn back and forth through a rug support.  Hand-hooked rugs maintain our stringent quality standards but are available at lower prices, since they are easier to stitch.  Connected (or tufted) rugs are crafted using the same methods as hand-knotted rugs; the only difference is the pile and raw materials used to make them.  Tufted rugs feature a cut-pile surface, whereas the surface of hooked rugs feature a looped pile.  The rugs will frequently use both the cut and cycle techniques.  

  1. Rug washing 

Once again, the rug is washed to remove any remaining detergent, dirt and yarn contaminants.  This is achieved by flattening the rug on the floor and running water over it.  Cedar wood is used to force water through the rug pile.  This technique removes the last vestiges of toxins and impurities from the rug.  Once more, we hang the rug to dry. 

  1. Rug Shaving & Leveling 

On some occasions, the rug is shaved manually.  Other times, it’s shaved with a specialized machine before its entire length is leveled.  This technique helps define the intricate details of the rug’s design and color scheme. 

  1. Stretching 

Each rug is stretched by hand over a metal frame with the assistance of a vice-like machine.  The stretch is held for one day to set its proper size and shape. 

  1. Finishing 

After drying, each rug is carefully inspected by a professional artisan to ensure the proper measurements and quality.  If necessary, it will be subject to retriming.  After the final inspection, it is ready for sale. 

  1. Packing 

At last, the finished rug is prepared for packing.  It is rolled with a pipe or foam to prevent wrinkles during shipping.  It is then covered by a durable jute sacking bag for protection.