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Rug Terms
Background Color
As the term implies, this is the most dominant color in a rug. The most widely used colors for the background of a rug are various shades of red, blue, beige and yellow.
Border Color
The dominant color in the border of a rug, usually a shade of red, blue, beige, yellow or green.
Foundation
The foundation of a rug, consisting of an interlaced combination of warps and wefts, is the basic structural element that holds the rug together.
Fringe
Warp threads extending beyond the end of a rug is called the fringe.
Hand-Knottted
Hand-knotted rugs take the longest time to make and they are the most expensive type of rug. To make a quality hand-knotted rug, the weaver loops wool or silk around the warps, one at a time, creating a thick pile. Then, cotton yarn is woven through the warps to hold them together. The cotton yarns are usually tied off to make a decorative fringe.
Hand-Made
Hand-made rugs can either be hand-knotted or hand-tufted. In general, hand-made rugs cost more than machine-made rugs.
Hand-Tufted
Hand-tufted rugs are made similar to hooked rugs with the exception of the loops being cut to create a flat surface. Some tufted rugs feature a combination of looped and cut pile, which makes for an interesting three-dimensional effect.
Tufted Rug
A process of punching tufts of wool through the base fabric of a rug to create a less costly version of a hand-knotted rug.INSERT BREAK Hand-Woven
This refers to rugs that are woven on a hand loom.
Heat Set
This is a process of applying heat to twisted yarns to help maintain their strength.
Hooked Rug
This type of rug is made by pushing loops of yarn through a canvas backing. Making a hooked rug is a relatively quick and easy process and it is an affordable alternative to an authentic knotted rug.
Knotted Rugs
Knotted rugs are made by hand on either a horizontal or a vertical loom. This rug-making method involves wrapping tufts of wool or pile around the warps. The wool or pile is tied around each individual warp strand to make the pile stand perpendicular to the floor.
Rug Patterns and Styles
All-Over Design
A rug with an all-over layout does not have a central or dominant design. Instead, the motif is spread symmetrically throughout the rug.
Art Deco
Art Deco was a style of architecture and interior design, popular from about 1925 to 1940, which had geometrical designs and bold colors as the main characteristics.
Art Nouveau
This style of art, architecture and decoration, from the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, featured leaves and flowers with flowing lines.
Contemporary
Contemporary rugs are non-traditional styles of rugs that include shag and braided rugs, as well as pile-weave rugs with modern or geometric patterns.
Geometric
The basic term for rug patterns that are created with straight lines.
Medallion
This is a large design in the center of some Oriental and European styles of rugs.
Medallion and Corner
This is a special layout with a full medallion in the middle of the rug and quartered medallions in the corners of the rug.
Motif
The motif of a rug can be a single form or an interrelated group of forms that comprise a large part of the overall design or a rug.
One-Sided
This is a rug layout with the design being oriented in one direction, rather than looking the same from either end. Pictorial rugs and some prayer rugs are examples of one-sided rugs.
Oriental
Oriental means “of the Eastern World” or the region of the world reached by early European explorers after they circled around Africa. It is still in used even though it is considered by many to be an out-of-date word.
Pictorial
A pictorial rug is one that has a pattern resembling a picture. It can feature people, animals, mountains, a river, trees or almost anything at all.
Transitional
This refers to a wide range of rug designs that fall in between the traditional European and Oriental designs and the newer contemporary rug designs. Good examples would be rugs with a floral or botanical design. Tribal Rug
Rugs woven by North African or Middle Eastern tribal peoples. It can also refer to rugs made by others that use the traditional styles and patterns of the original tribal rug makers. Sometimes, the term "tribal" is used to describe rugs made by any nomadic group.
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