| The
Long Weaving Process |
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| There is something mysterious about a fine carpet, a work of
human craft with the power to endow whatever space it inhibits with life
and soul. The material ,the texture ,the sparkling colors ,the motifs and
their composition - all combine to create a unique object , a remarkable
presence . The handmade quality of a rug truly engages our spirit ,our feelings
and emotions. |
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The weaving of a rug (pile) is an extremely difficult and enduring
process. Every single dot or element on the rug has to be knotted
individually. Making a single rug is a commitment, which depending on the
quality and size of the rug, may take anywhere from a few months to several
years to complete. Rows of knots are tied on a foundation of warp and weft,
and these knots will become the pile. The warp runs along the length of the
carpet and part of the fineness of the weave depends upon its thickness and
the proximity of the warps to one another. When the rug is completed, the
warp ends form the fringes that may be weft-faced, braided, tasseled, or
secured in some other manner. The warps on the side of the rug are normally
combined into one or more cables of varying thickness that are overcast to
form the selvedge. The warps must be kept at an even tension throughout the
long weaving process. |
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The wefts pass under and over the warps from one side of the rug to the
other in a horizontal zigzag manner. They are loosely piled to allow them to
be tightly packed down to secure each row of knots. Weaving normally begins
by passing a number of wefts through the bottom warp to form a base to start
from. The knots are then tied around consecutive sets of adjacent warps.
Between each row of knots, one or more shots of weft are passed. The
fineness of the weave depends mainly on the density of the knots. The knot
count can be determined in a specific area of the back of the rug, by
multiplying the horizontal with the vertical knot counts.The higher the knot
count the better is the quality of the carpet. |
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The Long Weaving Process also involves the following stages : |
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1)
Carding
The wool in its raw form contains dirt,
grease, vegetable matter and other foreign particles. Carding is a process
of combing and cleaning the wool. In the
process, fibers are opened and separated and each fiber is set in a straight
and parallel position, and all
foreign particles removed. This process also helps achieve better blending.
Carding is either done manually or by machines |
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2)
Spinning
After carding, the wool is spun into yarns of desired
thickness. Spinning involves drawing and twisting the
wool fibers into yarns. The average length of a fiber
should be 4" to 6" to spin the ideal yarn for carpet
weaving. Traditionally, wool is spun by hand. However,
machines are also being used for this process |
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3) Dyeing
Wool is dyed either by chemical or vegetable dyes.
Vegetable dyes give a natural look to the carpets but
the colours are not very brilliant and it is more
expensive than chemical dyeing. Bright colours in
various shades can easily be achieved with chemical
dyes. Most carpet manufacturers use AZO free
chemical dyes, produced in Switzerland. Although
dyeing is done manually, it is a rather complex process.
Only an experienced "dyeing master" with a lot of
attention to details can achieve the best results.
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4)
Washing
After the carpet is completed and removed from the
loom, it is washed to remove dirt and to restore the
original shine of the wool. Washing is also performed
manually. As chemicals and dust particles are washed
away during this process, it could be harmful to the
environment. We are proud to be the only
manufacturer to have an environment friendly
wastewater treatment at our Kakani Washing Plant. |
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5) Stretching & Finishing
The finishing touches to a carpet include a process
of stretching of the carpet from all sides to maintain
the shape of the rug. Lastly, the carpets are trimmed
manually to achieve the right pile height with specially
designed scissors. The designs in the carpets are also
cut in physical relief according to the buyer's demands.
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