How Warp and Weft Can Help One Identify Value in an Antique Rug

Antique rugs are woven and understanding the basics terms of weaving can help one understand the building blocks of the rug.  Weavers will string a warp thread through a loom and then add the weft threads. In a piece of plain fabric the weft would be the same color and with a tartan or flannel a pattern of different colors are used in both the warp and weft threads to create squares of color. Pictures emerge as multiple different weft threads are pulled to the top of left on the bottom.

Antique rugs though do not rely on these threads to produce the picture or pattern. Instead the warp and weft are the canvas one which the weaver will add the color. Wool, cotton, silk or some other spun fiber is looped on to the base. The ends of the thread produce the pile of the rug. Carpets today follow a similar principle except that most carpet fibers may only be looped once around the base and are then glued to keep them in place.

Many styles of antique rug use different techniques for their “knots” they will loop the thread forwards or backwards around the warp and weft threads as they have been taught. These style of knots help to define the type of rug and preserve the process of a community. 

The key though is how many of these knots will be in each inch of fabric. Anyone who has bought sheets knows higher thread counts generally relate to more expensive sheets. This is presumably because thinner threads are used to make these sheets. Thinner threads come from more expensive, softer cotton. These threads are in the same warp and waft pattern. They maker, remember, will knot the threads over the canvas. This is similar to cross stitching or embroidery but in this case the ends of each thread are part of the pattern as opposed to in embroidery where the extra threads are hidden on the backside of the fabric.  One counts the knots, in a square of fabric, from the underside to see how fine the detail work gets.

This works exactly the same as graphics on a computer screen. In the early days of graphics, games like Pac-Man and Asteroids were created with big squares of colors representing a shape. The circles would look like they were made with boxes, and the smaller the boxes the smoother the circle. Today's graphics use such small boxes that the formerly gagged lines look smooth.

Rug makers realized that the smaller the threads they tied on the smoother the rounded edges appeared and the more intricate the design could be.  Each thread still has to be tied into place though. More knots per inch means more labor and a higher price.  Any large antique rug represents a huge amount of time and patience. Delicate work that is performed by experienced hands.

If the pattern is very detailed the pile of the antique rug will often be kept short to allow the detail to shine. Longer piles will lead to the pattern becoming more fuzzy.  So be sure to examine the backside and the knots. Look at how small the weave is on the canvas. Think seriously about the amount of work that went into the hand knotted piece of art.