Rug Glossary
The words of rug making, explained simply. From abrash to weft.
- Abrash
- Soft changes in tone across a rug, caused by small differences between batches of dyed yarn. A natural sign of a handmade rug.
- Backing
- The cloth on the back of a hand-tufted rug, fixed with latex to hold the tufts in place.
- Beater
- The heavy comb a weaver uses to pack each row of weft tightly against the last.
- Bhadohi
- A district in Uttar Pradesh, India, and one of the largest centers of handmade rug making in the world. Where every RUG ROOT rug is made.
- Binding
- Yarn wrapped around the edges of a rug to finish and protect them.
- Cut pile
- A pile made by cutting the yarn loops, giving a soft, velvety surface.
- Dhurrie
- A flat-woven rug from India, made of cotton, wool or jute, with no pile.
- Flatweave
- A rug made only of warp and weft, woven tightly together, with no knots and no pile.
- Fringe
- The ends of the warp threads, left loose or tied at the short ends of a rug.
- Hand-knotted
- A rug in which every knot is tied by hand around the warp threads. The slowest and most lasting way to make a rug.
- Hand-tufted
- A rug made by pushing yarn through a cloth with a hand-held tufting tool, then sealing the back.
- Handloom
- A rug woven on a hand-operated loom, with yarn passed between the warp threads and packed tight.
- Jute
- A strong plant fiber with a coarse texture and natural golden-brown color.
- Kilim
- A flat-woven rug with a tapestry weave, traditionally from Turkey, Iran and Central Asia.
- KPSI
- Knots per square inch: a measure of how finely a hand-knotted rug is made. More knots allow finer detail.
- Latex
- A rubber-based glue used on the back of hand-tufted rugs.
- Loom
- The frame that holds the warp threads tight while a rug is made.
- Loop pile
- A pile in which the yarn loops are left uncut, giving a textured, hard-wearing surface.
- Naksha
- The graph drawing of a rug's design used by weavers in India. Each square stands for one knot and one color.
- New Zealand wool
- Wool from New Zealand sheep, valued for its softness, strength and even color.
- Oushak
- A rug style named after the town of Uşak in western Turkey, known for soft colors and large, open floral patterns.
- Pile
- The surface of a rug, formed by the ends or loops of yarn.
- Pile height
- How tall the pile is, from the base of the rug to the tips of the fibers.
- Rug pad
- A layer placed under a rug to stop slipping, add cushioning and reduce wear.
- Selvedge
- The finished edges along the long sides of a rug.
- Shaggy
- A rug with a long, deep pile, usually an inch or more.
- Shearing
- Trimming the pile to an even height after weaving.
- Shedding
- Loose fibers that come out of a new pile rug. Normal in the first weeks or months.
- Tufting tool
- A hand-held tool that pushes yarn through a cloth to make a hand-tufted rug.
- Viscose
- A fiber made from wood pulp, with a silk-like sheen. Soft but delicate.
- Warp
- The threads running the length of a rug, fixed to the loom. They form its backbone.
- Weft
- The threads woven across the warp, from side to side.
- Wool
- Natural fiber from sheep: warm, soft, resilient and naturally resistant to dirt.
Keep reading
- Weaving Techniques — Hand-knotted, hand-tufted, handloom and flatweave. What each one means for you.
- Rug Materials — Wool, jute, wool & jute and viscose. How each one feels, wears and cleans.
- How a Rug Is Made — From yarn to finished rug, step by step.