Hand Knotted, Tufted or Machine Made Oriental Rug. Can You Tell The Difference?

On a regular basis, Oriental Rug Salon cleans for customers who believe they have a “hand-made” (hand-knotted) area rug because that’s what the salesman told them when the sad reality is they overspent on a machine made rug.

The difference in price between an 8X10 hand-knotted area rug and an 8X10 machine made one could be thousands of dollars difference.

This blog is designed to provide the reader with the ammunition necessary to be able to distinguish a hand-knotted area rug from a tufted or machine made rug and potentially save thousands of dollars when purchasing your new rug.

A hand-knotted rug can be recognized by a three-part test. First, the fringe must be a physical part of the rug. It cannot be sewed on, glued on, or tacked on. This fringe is an extension of the warp/weft and is the foundation upon which the rug is knotted. Think of the fringe as the “skeleton” of the rug.

Second, you must be able to see the knots on the back of the rug. If you cannot see the pattern and the bare knots, there is a problem. If the back of the rug is covered by anything such as a canvas or cotton backing, rubber, anything… consider this part of the test failed for a hand-knotted rug.

Third, and this one is a little tricky, fold back an edge of the rug to expose the base of the pile. You should be able to see tiny little knot-heads at the base of every fiber. If you do not see these knots-heads, but just find the fibers coming through a screen, this is definitely not a hand-knotted rug.

Tufted Area Rug – You Can’t See The Rugs Design On The Back

Tufted rugs are easier to recognize. They usually have a full, thick pile, and will have a canvas backing. They may or may not have fringe. (Fringe is exclusively for styling with this type of rug, and is not a part of the foundation.)

Fringe Sewed on Machine Made Rug

Machine-made or power-loomed rugs can be a little tougher to distinguish from hand-knotted rugs. The higher-end rug manufacturers, such as Karastan, have done an excellent job manufacturing rugs that look, feel, and wear just like a hand-knotted rug.

If you use our three-part test as mentioned above you should be able to distinguish between a well-crafted machine made rug and a hand-knotted one. On a machine made rug, if you look closely, you will find that the fringe is either sewn or glued on or both. The back of the rugs will show the pattern and will even look like knots, but when you perform part three of the test you will not find knots at the base of the fiber. You will only find that the fibers are injected through a screen or hooked around a base string and pressed together with other strings.

Oriental Rug Salon is a full-service Oriental rug cleaning and repair facility serving all of SW Florida. We are a Certified Partner with the prestigious Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the international Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI). In addition, we are A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau and Angie’s List and our technicians are certified by the world’s most respected certification body for textile professionals.

For more information about our area rug cleaning or repair services please visit us online at www.OrientalRugSalon.com or call us anytime at 239-424-8171.

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Hand Knotted, Tufted or Machine Made Oriental Rug. Can You Tell The Difference?

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