Hand-Knotted Rug Characteristics:
As I grin open this row of knots you will notice how many individual knots make up only one row of pile on this hand-knotted rug from Turkey.
Hand knotted rugs are some of the most sought after hand-made textiles in the world. Their origins date back thousands of years and are among the most durable of area rug construction types ever produced by the fingers of rug artisans throughout history. These area rugs are made, one knot at a time, one row at a time. They are extremely time consuming to make even just one rug! The hand-knotted rug consists of differing types of knots and materials that comprise their construction. Some of these area rugs have fringe end finishes, some do not. They can be all shapes and sizes: Square, rectangular, circular, oval, throw rug size, up to palace/room size rugs, etc. What separates the hand-knotted rug from the hand-woven rug, is that the knots are separate and individually made from the adjacent knots. Notice in the above picture how each knot has a different color than some of the surrounding knots. Some are the same color, some are not. This is how the patterns come out when you look at a rug. Each knot is like an artist switching colors in a painting(or coloring by the numbers if you will). Depending on the thickness of the foundation yarns, you get a 'finer' knotted rug than others. Silk foundation area rugs with silk face fibers(pile), are the most finely knotted area rugs in the world. Think of an HD television in comparison to an older picture tube t.v. set. More pixels=higher definition. In the rug world, more knots in tighter spaces=higher definition patterns. The picture below is from the 'node side' of the rug(the back). Notice how many more knots are tightly knotted together in comparison to the rug above.