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After the
weaving of a carpet is completed, it is taken down from the
loom and washed so as to remove the fragments and small
pieces of wool which have remained amidst the wefts and
warps of the carpet after it has been clipped.
This
operation gives luster and shine to the fibres of the wool,
and causes the pile to take its natural smooth direction and
the design, too, looks more distinct.
This
washing brings additional colours out of the skeins of wool
giving a pleasant shade to the carpet.
Carpet
washing is a technical process. If not washed correctly the
colours of different parts may bleed into each other. Expert
craftsmen can eliminate the bleeding of colours by chemical
substances, but it is best to test the fastness of the dyes,
especially the red and dark blue colours before washing the
carpet.
Most of the
carpets with sharp colours are often washed chemically
either in the special centres of the western countries or in
Iran so as to produce mellow and soft colours acceptable to
the demands of the dealers and consumers of those countries.
By this
method part of the dye substance used in the fibres is
oxidised and a pleasant colour change occurs in the carpet.
As an example we can mention the chemical process known as
“gold washing” used to change the sharp red tones of certain
carpets.
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