Dover Rug & Home prides itself on offering customers beautiful hand-knotted rugs—but what does it mean for a rug to be hand-knotted, and what is the difference to the consumer?
How are hand-knotted rugs created?
Rug weaving is an ancient art with centuries of vibrant history, and it all begins at the loom. Hand-knotted rugs come together on a specially designed loom, where a highly skilled worker ties each knot by hand, producing the “pile” of the rug. (See the photo below for a detailed look at the parts of a hand-knotted rug.) Depending on the size of the rug and the intricacy of the pattern, this process can easily entail more than a year’s dedicated work.
Durability of hand-knotted v. machine-made rugs
Hand-knotted rugs woven with wool that feels “smooth and strong,” as noted here, will provide the sturdiest, longest-lasting rugs. The superior structural integrity of hand-knotted rugs is difficult to overstate; able to withstand extremely high-traffic areas, these rugs can last for generations.
The visual difference between hand-knotted and machine-made rugs
The distinction between hand-knotted and machine-made rugs is more than just construction; it is clearly evident upon close examination of the rug itself. Hand-knotted rugs are comprised of individually knotted fibers, allowing them to reveal a denser, more intricate design with greater depth of detail than their machine-made counterparts. As this reviewer suggests, “comparing the appearance of the two types of rugs is similar to comparing an original oil painting versus a printed reproduction of the painting—both show the image clearly, but the one-of-a-kind texture and depth of one is much more visually appealing.”
At Dover Rug & Home, we often reiterate that rugs are art: the art you live your life on. Now that you know a little more about the artistic process involved in producing our hand-knotted rugs, we hope you share the appreciation we feel for this ancient art form!
