Handmade Rugs Versus Machine Made Rugs
The art of making handmade rugs is an ancient craft that originated from Turkey. Today, there are many different types of handmade rugs available, and some countries have developed a particular style. This is especially true for handmade rugs from Turkey. Many handmade rugs made in Western Europe such as Belgium and Italy are made with a machine. However, authentic handmade rugs made in other countries such as Iran, Turkey, Nepal and India are often made with a hands-on process by skilled artisans.
One major difference between a handmade rug made with a machine and an oriental rug is the texture of the fabric. Handmade rugs often have a more natural appearance than do machine-made rugs. The texture can be defined by its nap or the pile of the rug.
Handmade rugs can be defined by how they are made and by the way in which the fabric is made. For example, handwoven rugs made from weft yarns (long threads) are characterized by their very tight weave. In other words, these rugs have fewer knots. Also, the knots are very small.
Another difference between a handmade rug made by hand versus machine-made one is the process of weaving the yarn into a warp. Although most handwoven rugs use the same basic technique, the end result is different because of the way the yarn is processed. Typically, weft yarns are woven very tightly by a series of looms, called “kana” or “tassels.” This tightly woven yarn is then threaded onto a warp which is made by interconnecting threads. These two processes create a smooth surface, but if a spiral weft yarn is used, the spiral shape of the warp also creates a smoother surface.
A handmade rug made from weft yarns has a looser weave and is generally considered to be of a lower class than machine-made rugs. Hand woven materials are typically much more expensive than machine-made rugs. Many people consider machine-made rugs to be inferior to handmade rugs because of the fact that the latter is made by a human being. However, many experts maintain that there are some similarities between machine-made rugs and oriental rugs.
While the differences between a hand-knotted rug and an oriental rug may be subtle, the differences between the prices of these two types of hand-knotted items are obvious. The price of a hand-knotted carpet will obviously be more than that of a machine-knotted one. However, when it comes to the level of quality and the feel of the rug, the differences between the two are not enough to dissuade most consumers from purchasing them.