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| Anyone who has tied their hand at
this art can testify, a knotted carpet is much more than the sum of
its parts. Every carpet starts with a loom, a simple frame which gives
the base threads the necessary tension to allow knots to be tied on
them. Te most basic form is the horizontal loom used by nomadic tribal
weavers. This is nothing more than two stout poles, often poplar trunks
which usually grow straight and are common in rug weaving areas. The
poles form the top and bottom of the loom and are pegged out on the
ground at a distance slightly greater than the intended length of the
finished carpet. |
 Special Hooked Tool |
 A woman weaving a carpet by hand |
Long threads usually of
wool, are wrapped tightly between the poles and spaced side by side,
evenly and closely to the desired width of the finished carpet. These
vertical threads are the warps and once these are in p lace the weaver
is ready to begin.The weaver works kneeling on the ground. The next
task is to create a firm foundation at the bottom end of the loom. This
is done by weaving a ball of thread over the first warp, under the second
over the third and so on. These horizontal threads are called wefts. |
| Once again the weaver
reaches the other side, she works the weft back again, reversing the
order of the weave. This time she takes the weft under those warps that
she worked over the firs time, and over the ones she went under, slowly
building up a basic woven material. This flat weave foundation, called
a kilim, is continued for anything from 2.5 to 15 cm (1 to 6 inches)
or more, according to local style and the whim of the weaver. |
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| Now the weaver is ready
to tie her first row of knots. There are basically two kinds of knot,
the Persian (asymmetrical) knot and the Turkish
(symmetrical) knot. In fact these names have no geographic
connection, so the knot the weaver uses is decided by the custom within
his or her tribe, not by the tribe's location.Some weavers have a special
hooked tool to help tie the knots but most simply use their fingers
to wrap each length of woollen pile thread round two adjacent warps.
As each knot is completed, the trailing ends are cut with a knife, leaving
as haggy pile about 7.5 to 10 cm (3 or 4 inches) The weaver then takes
a special pair of heavy scissors, with a guard on their upper blade,
and carefully cuts back the pile to a length of about 2.5 cm (1 inch).
The details of the pattern are revealed for the first time from an area
that was previously a jumble of trailing threads. |
 Wool Threads for Weaving |
A skilled weaver can tie
some 20 knots in a minute, but it may still be several months before
the rug is complete. Once the finished length has been reached, the
weaver works another length of flat weave or kilim to secure the top
of the carpet in the same way as the bottom and the work is complete.The
finished carpet is cut from the horizontal beams which have kept it
stretched tight and straight and the trailing ends of the warp threads
are neatened. These now form the fringes that are an intrinsic part
of every oriental carpet. They may be plaited, knotted of left plain,
according to the traditions of the area, but the top fringe is nearly
always longer than the bottom fringe.The carpet is then dunked in a
stream to cleanse it of the grime which has accumulated over the months
of making, and lain out in the sun to dry. The pile is given a final
trim with sheaving sweeps from a huge, flat-bladed knife and the finished
piece is finally revealed in all its glory. |
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