Rug Glossary Abrash - change in rugs color due to differences in wool or dye batch. The rug color changes are usually more visible depending on viewing angle and lighting type and direction. |
| Asymmetric Knot - rug knot that may open to the right or left. Also know as a Persian or Senneh knot. |
| Border - area around the edge of a rug surrounding the field of the rug. |
| Carding - combing of fibers with a wire bristle brush prior to spinning into yarn. |
| Chain Stitch - crochet stitch consisting of successive loops that lock the final weft in place at the end of a rug. |
| Crocking - loss of dye color at spots in a rug due to friction or wear. |
| Dhurrie - a flatweave rug from India, usually amde of cotton or wool. |
| Field - center area of a rug surrounded by the border. The field may be blank or empty using a single color, or it may contain a medallion or pattern. |
| Flatweave - any rug woven without a knotted pile. |
| Foundtion - combination of warps and wefts in the body of a rug. |
| Fringe - warps extending from the vertical ends of a rug which are woven or knotted to prevent the wefts and knots from unravelling. |
| Ground - interlaced combination of warp and weft that comprises a fabric. Also known as foundation in pile rugs. |
| Jufti Knot - knot tied over four warps instead of the usual two of a symmetric knot |
| Kilim - a woven rug with a tapestry-like appearance. |
| Laa - Farsi word meaning layers. Unique quality measurement for Nian rugs. Laa is the number of threads forming the fringe. The lower the laa, the higher the price. |
| Kork - refers to any fine wool. |
| Mori - rug weaving technique of certain Pakistani and Indian rugs. |
| Node - one loop of a pile knot around a warp as seen from the back of a rug. |
| Painting - dye or stain applied to the front of rug after weaving. |
| Pile - nap of a rug or tufts remaining after knotted yarns are clipped or carved. |
| Plain Weave - the most simple interlacing of warp and weft. |
| Plug - piece of rug sewn or woven into a hole in another rug to repair that rug. |
| Ply - two or more yarns spun together. |
| Selvedge - edge warps of a rug with the foundation weft around those warps. |
| Soumak - a flatweave rug made using a technique that produces a herringbone effect. Soumak rugs are reversible, one side is the traditional soumak chain stitch like weave with the other side resembling an antique rug worn to the knots. |
| Spin - the direction of a yarn's twist, left or right. |
| Staple - refers to the average length of the fibers in a yarn. |
| Symmetric Knot - rug knot tied on two warps. Also known as a Giordes or Turkish knot. |
| Tapestry Weave - a variety of weaves where a pattern is created by ground wefts that do not run from end-to-end. |
| Turn-Arounds - reversal in direction of new wefts. |
| Washing - a chemical solution used to soften color and increase luster after a rug is woven. |
| Warp - parallel 'warp' yarns run vertically through the length of a rug. Warps are interlaced with wefts. |
| Weft - yarn woven horizontally through the warps of a rug. |
| Whip Stitch - stitch used to overcase and lock the final weft in the end of a rug. |
| Worsted - wool yarn with long staple and fibers that were combed prior to spinning into yarn. |
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