Rugs and Carpets for Your Home
An introduction to synthetic and natural fibre carpets and rugs
Jan 21, 2009
Rugs and carpets are fabrics used mainly as floor coverings. Rugs come in pieces and cover only part of the floor. Carpets are usually fitted, covering the entire floor, and are fixed down by nailing, tacking or by adhesives.
Hand-woven and Machine-made Carpets and Rugs
Most commercial rugs and carpets nowadays are mass produced on machines and are thus cheaper and affordable. Some rugs are hand-woven on looms and tend to be expensive. Machine-made carpets and rugs have pile that is fixed on the backing and can be easily pulled out by tweezers. Handwoven rugs have pile that is knotted firmly and pulling at it only makes it tighter. The pile of hand-woven rugs usually lies at an angle according to the direction of the loom and weaver.
How Carpets and Rugs are Made
Apart from weaving, which is relatively expensive, carpets and rugs are machine produced by tufting, where needles insert pile through the primary backing and a layer of synthetic latex is applied to the backing to set the tufts in place. A secondary backing of jute, synthetic material or just plastic foam is then applied.
What are Carpets and Rugs Made From?
The synthetic yarns most commonly used in mass production are polyester, olefin, nylon and acrylic. Natural fibres include silk, wool, cotton, jute, sisal and coir. Synthetics are generally more resilient, need less maintenance, are moisture resistant and colour fast; however, the artificial look is very clearly distinguishable and not often desired.
Wool is still considered by most to be the best material as it produces rugs that are beautiful, soft, durable and live long while maintaining their original colour and texture. Natural fibres, as is the case with the infamous Oriental Carpets, are perishable materials that will inevitably suffer some kind of deterioration over time no matter how well maintained. Oriental rugs are the most expensive because they are hand-woven and have unique designs and textures and are made of the finest natural fibres. They are basically purely ornamental pieces and are usually hung on walls or laid on areas with low traffic.
General Classification of Carpets and Rugs According to Pile:
- Level loop: have smooth tight texture with low pile all cut at the same level.
- Multi-level loop: have different height pile giving a textured pattern.
- Plush pile: have thick, short loosely twisted pile that is usually cut and gives a lush and wavy appearance.
- Saxony (Wilton): are very durable, do not show foot prints – they resemble plush pile except that each individual yarn stands straight and is clearly distinguishable, whereas plush pile yarns tend to merge together.
- Frieze pile: have cut pile that is rought and curled.
- Cut & looped pile: have yarns that are of different heights and combines cut and looped pile to give a texture and pattern.
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