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Techniques and weaving
processes |
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In all the main carpet weaving
centres of Iran, the fundamentals of carpets
weaving are the same. The warp and the welt are
often referred to as ‘Foundation”. The warps are
the strands of the material that run length ways
from top to the bottom of the rug and form
fringes at the ends. The welt runs width wise.
Normally both the warp and the welt are made
from cotton material and white colour but some
nomads such as Ghashgha’i, Baluchi, Lori,
Bakhtiari etc. use wool as a foundation. In the
early stages of carpet weaving, the first two
centimetres (maximum 4 cm.) were woven as
ordinary textile and in Persian terminology was
called “Gilim-baff’. After this phase the basic
part of carpet weaving begins. According to the
design selected, the fibres that could be the
wool, silk or cotton and composed of coloured
and numbered skeins are laid adjacent or hung
from the pile. After the first row of knotting
is executed every other line, one or two weft
threads are passed through the warps. As a hook
has separated the warps from each other, it is
therefore easier to pass the welt through the
warps. The function of the welt is to press
together and firmly unite the knotted parts to
the body of the carpet. The knots are combed
downwards by means of a special metal comb, to
press the knots into the carpet. Most of the
Persian carpets are usually two wefted and the
tribal carpets are one wefted. After weaving a
few rows, the senior artisan carefully cuts the
head fringes with special scissors. When the
knotting of the carpet is completed, again a few
centimetres of the carpet are woven as “Gilim-baft”
as was done at the beginning. Then the wraps are
cut just a little. Following this, the carpet is
laid on the ground or on a flat cylinder were
the surface is sheared and smoothed. Machines do
the shearing at some of the modern weaving
centres of Tehran and Kerman.
The height of the pile, the width of the
selvage, number of welts, length of the fringes,
etc is variable depending upon the local custom
and traditions.
After some wear the pile of the carpet
gets gradually reduced, leading to a better view
of the carpet design and pattern. Consequently
the high-pile carpets are woven by tribesmen
specially in colder regions; exception being in
some weaving centres such as Kermăn where the
carpets are generally high pelted in response to
the demands of the local and foreign markets.
The high piled carpets are generally favoured by
people in cold regions of Iran, Europe and
America; and short piled carpets in warmer zones
of the Arab Countries and some countries in
Europe.
The beginning and the end part of the
warps that protrude out of a carpet are called
fringes.
The length of these fringes depends upon
the local practice and preference. these fringes
are left loose or divided and tied together. The
ancient Sanandaj carpets
are known to have fringes of ten
centimetres having different colours, but this
practice is no longer prevalent..
Knots (Ghereh)
In Persian Carpets, tying a short length
of yarn around two adjacent warp strands so that
the ends of the yarn protrude upwards and form
the surface (pile) of the carpet creates the
pile.
This process is referred to as knotting.
The proximity and density of the knots
contribute to the fineness and the long wear of
the carpet.
With more knots, the pattern and design
of the carpet are highlighted.
In the Persian Carpet weaving two main
types of knots are used, the Ghiordes Knot or
(Turkish) and the Senneh (Persian) Knot. Each
has it own advantages and disadvantages and in
practice both are considered equally good and
the choice of the knot does effect the overall
quality of the carpet.
Ghiordes or Turkish knot (symmetric)
The knot is formed by looping the pile
yarn across two warp strands and then drawing
each end back through the inside of both the
warps.
This type of knotting produces extremely
compact carpets. The Turkish knot is used in
north-western parts of Iran, mostly by the
tribes and in the provinces of Azarbaijan,
Kordestan, Kermanshahan, Hamedan and Zanjan.
Senneh or Persian knot (asymmetric)
The knot is formed by looping the pile
yarn through warp strands and then drawing back
through one.
It’s also referred to as “asymmetrical”
knot, because the pile yarn may be drawn to
either the right or left of the warp strands.
The Persian knot is mostly used in
Eastern, South Eastern and the Central Provinces
of Iran and in the cities of Mashhad, Yazd,
Kerman, Arak, Ghom, Esfahan, Kashan and Tehran.
Jofti knot
It’s a fraudulent knot used by some
dishonest weavers.
The knot is produced by tying the pile
yarn around four or six warps strands rather
than the customary two. It improves the speed at
which the carpet is woven but result in poor
structure and is less compact and durable.
Finesses of knotting
This refers to the number of knots in
length is referred to as (Raj) viz a 50 (Raj)
carpet has in length 50 knots in every seven
centimetres.
In some weaving centres of Iran, one of
which is Azarbăijan, the counting is done on an
area of 49 square centimetres (7x7 cm)but in
reality the best method is to multiply the
counted knots on the surface of the carpet in
one square centimetre.
If the carpet is woven accurately and
with precision the number of knots in length and
width should usually be the same but it often
happens that the number of knots along warp is
more than along the weft.
The number of knots is one of the main
indicators of the fineness of a carpet. The
higher the number of knots per square metre, the
finer the weave is considered to be. Carpets are
often classified by
fineness under following scale:
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1. |
Coarse carpets known as “kershak” |
36 to 50 thousand knots per
square meter |
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2. |
Medium coarse carpets |
50 to 100 thousand knots per
square meter |
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3. |
Ordinary/medium |
100 to 200 thousand knots per
square meter |
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4. |
Medium/fine |
200 to 325 thousand knots per
square meter |
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5. |
Fine |
325 to 500 thousand knots per
square meter |
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6. |
Extra-Ordinary/Fine |
500 thousand to 1 million
knots per square meter |
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7. |
Exceptionally rare |
Woven with silk filaments and
have more than one million knots per square
meter |
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